Photo: TCR UK

Callum Newsham grabs TCR UK points lead with race one win at Donington

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Callum Newsham moved into the TCR UK points lead after taking his fourth victory of the season in race one at Donington Park.

The JH Racing Hyundai Elantra N TCR driver was never headed from pole position and took a largely straightforward win by over six seconds from 2025 champion Adam Shepherd, with Jenson O’Neill-Going completing the podium.

It was a difficult race for erstwhile points leader Max Hart, who finished sixth after a poor start and subsequent five-second post-race penalty for track limits.

Off the start, Newsham got a perfect getaway and led the way into Redgate, as Jenson O’Neill-Going was shoved onto the grass by championship leader Max Hart on the run to the first corner.

Hart himself also took a trip across the grass in the middle of the Craner Curves after getting his Honda Civic Type-R loose while dicing with Max Hall for second place.

The Irishman’s day got worse soon after as he was handed a five-second post-race penalty for exceeding track limits later in the race.

Amid all the melee, O’Neill-Going maintained his second place at the end of the first lap, with Adam Shepherd moving up two places to run third early on.

Newsham, meanwhile, was able to skip away at the front, establishing a lead of over two seconds as the field duked it out behind.

Having dropped positions on the opening lap, Hall was on a recovery drive and eventually got the better of Brad Hutchison’s Cupra León VF TCR at McLean’s following a lively side-by-side battle.

Hall then quickly chased down and passed Hart for fourth place, with Hart subsequently dropping behind Hutchison to sixth in the final classification.

Ahead of this pair, Shepherd and O’Neill-Going remained closely matched throughout the race in the battle for second, with the former snatching the position on the inside of the chicane corner on the final lap.

O’Neill-Going tried to fight back on the approach to the final corner but Shepherd held on firm to keep the place, as Newsham completed a comfortable victory.

Behind Hart in seventh was Luke Sargeant, one place ahead of Harry Bloor, who stalled on the grid, with Barry-John McHenry and Rod McGovern rounding out the top 10.

Race two is scheduled to take place later today at 18:10 local time.