Adam Shepherd nears TCR UK title with victory in restarted Brands opener
Capture Motorsport’s Adam Shepherd is within touching distance of a first TCR UK Series title after taking victory in a restarted penultimate race of the year at Brands Hatch.
A long red flag following a stoppage for debutant Jenson O’Neill-Going meant there was just eight minutes of racing, with Shepherd translating his pole position into a routine victory despite a late charge from title rival Callum Newsham.
It was Shepherd’s 14th career TCR UK victory and one which moves him closer to the drivers’ title, although Newsham still remains in contention after finishing second and securing the fastest lap.
Sam Laidlaw completed the podium in third ahead of fellow Cupra stablemates Brad Hutchison and George Jaxon.
Off the line, Shepherd got a strong getaway from pole position to lead Newsham into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, with third-place starter Max Hall dropping three places to sixth.
It wasn’t long before the safety car was deployed, after Harry Bloor spun his Cupra León into the gravel at Paddock at the start of lap two.
The race was then stopped following an incident for O’Neill-Going whose Jamsport Subari WRX STI initially ground to a halt at Druids under safety car conditions before subsequently catching fire.
Following a lengthy delay, the race was finally restarted with just under nine minutes remaining, with Shepherd bolting clear of Newsham to establish a healthy 1.2-second advantage at the head of the field.
Behind, Laidlaw piled the pressure on the back of Newsham at Druids with Hutchison in close company.
Having fended off Laidlaw, Newsham settled into a comfortable second place, knowing that position would be good enough to keep the title fight alive heading into Sunday’s final race of the season with Shepherd winning.
Indeed, Newsham’s pace in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR was impressive and the Scot closed down Shepherd heading into the closing minutes, earning an additional point by setting the fastest lap.
Away from the lead battle, the scrap for third place was intense with Laidlaw coming under threat from Hutchison, Jaxon and a recovering Hall.
Laidlaw rallied well to escape the chasing trio which became even more tightly knit entering the final two minutes. Jaxon was the quicker driver and initially got ahead of Hutchison at the start of the final lap before the positions reversed by the chequered flag.
Hall was eliminated from the battle for the final podium spot with under a minute left, an issue forcing him into the pits and out of sixth.
Luke Sargeant finished sixth ahead of Will Beech and Rick Kerry, while Mark Smith and Gregory Saunders secured their place on the front-row of race two with ninth and 10th respectively.
The season concludes tomorrow with race two scheduled to start at 15:00 GMT.
