Chris Smiley got his 2022 TCR UK campaign off to a perfect start, by taking his Restart Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR FK7 from pole position to victory in the Championship’s opening round at Oulton Park on Easter Monday (18th April 2022), the former BTCC front-runner making a seamless transition to the TCR UK grid.
The second of the day’s two races witnessed history in the making, when Jessica Hawkins became the first British woman to take overall victory in a touring car race, the Area Motorsport by FastR driver taking her CUPRA TCR from second on the grid to an emphatic win ahead of the 24-car field.
The first meeting for the TCR UK Championship was always going to be a spectacular affair, with the biggest entry since the series began in 2018 set to make 2022 the most exciting and highest profile season yet for the UK edition of the competition for global specification touring cars.
Taking place over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at an event hosted by the Intelligent Money British GT Championship and utilising Oulton Park’s International configuration circuit, the TCR UK programme featured a 30-minute Qualifying session on Saturday, with two 25-minute races on Monday.
DRIVER QUOTES
Round 1 winner – Chris Smiley
“With the deal to compete in this year’s TCR Championship only coming together during the past few days, I’m delighted to have been able to make such a strong start to the season and the win in race one is a perfect way to kick things off. Because the top 10 grid positions are reversed for race two, it was always going to be important to stay out of trouble, so I’m pleased to have done that and finished fifth. I have to thank the team for their all their hard work this past few days. All of us can take away a lot of positives from this weekend.”
Round 2 winner – Jessica Hawkins
“I’m not sure how happy I am, as it’s not sunk in yet. In fact, I’m only just coming to terms with being on the grid for a full season in TCR UK!
“The race went perfectly. I was able to take the lead from the start and then hold onto it. I had a strategy just in case there was a safety car. But being out in front that changed and I was pleased the new plan worked really well. I could see Max (Hart) catching me towards the end of the race but I knew I was quicker in sectors two and three, so I just had to make sure he didn’t get too close in sector one. I really must thank FastR, Area Motorsport and all my sponsors who have given me such a fantastic opportunity this year.”
TCR UK rounds three and four take place at Donington Park over the weekend of 28 & 29th May, when once again the championship will share the weekend’s programme with the Intelligent Money British GT Championship.
TCR UK is supported by Goodyear, Maximum Networks, Liqui Moly, Corbeau, MaxiCloud Hosted Telephony, Co-ordSport, Berkshire Turbo, Joyce Design, Shepherd Compello Motorsport Insurance, Maximum Performance, Sunoco and SEO agency Woya Digital. The Championship is administered by Club Time Attack.
For further championship details visit: www.tcr-uk.co.uk
ENDS
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