Shepherd denied TCR UK hat-trick by disqualification at Croft

Pre-weekend TCR UK championship leader Adam Shepherd won all three races on the road at Croft, but was disqualified from race two for avoidable contact.

Shepherd’s Cupra Leon VZ, debuted at Silverstone last time out, led Callum Newsham’s Hyundai from the start of race one. Steve Laidlaw’s Cupra vacated third on the second lap with a wild spin at the Jim Clark Esses, before making contact with Brad Hutchison’s similar car after he rejoined.

While Shepherd and Newsham eased well clear, Hutchison managed to hold off Finn Leslie’s Hyundai and Sam Laidlaw’s Cupra for third, after his rivals swapped on the last lap.

Steve Laidlaw led race two for five of 15 laps, until Newsham and Shepherd closed in. Shepherd was into second at the hairpin on lap three and soon challenging for the lead. It was two more laps before the lead changed however, when two made contact after Tower and Laidlaw was off. Shepherd went clear again, but was later disqualified, handing the win to Newsham, from Leslie and Sam Laidlaw.

The final race had to be red flagged after Steve Laidlaw vacated the lead with a heavy off into the tyre wall at Barcroft. Despite a safety car intervention, it was a comfortable win for Shepherd, with Newsham and Sam Laidlaw completing the podium.

There was plenty of action from a well- supported Civic Cup too. Liam McGill had to surrender his early race one lead to Lewis Kent, after going straight on at the chicane on the opening lap. He was back in front at Tower a lap later, with a brave move around the outside, pulling well clear to seal the win.

Kent just held onto second after dueling to the flag with Jake Hewlett, while Alistair Camp narrowly held onto fourth from Harvey Caton.

Camp and Josh Bromley’s duel in race two came to the fore from half-distance, but it took until the penultimate lap for them to make a break. McGill snatched a late third from Hewlett.

It was dominant lights to flag win for McGill in the third race, with Camp initially looking secure in second. Hewlett then reeled him in and pounced into the hairpin, when his rival ran wide at the Complex. Dave Marshall was a distant fourth.

McGill’s pace could not be matched as he took two Civic Cup wins

Photo by: JEP

Oliver Kerr and Wilf Butler went through Clervaux side by side at the start of the first of the Junior Saloons races. But with Butler going straight through the chicane, Kerr and Josh Selvadorai both went by with Butler rejoining third. As the leaders held station, Butler’s charge dropped him to sixth, before reclaiming third from Max Scharfegger through Barcroft two laps from home.

In race two Kerr and Butler ran nose to tail for the entire race, with Selvadorai a solitary third. Scharfegger managed to fend off Lewis Stannard and Ollie Smith for fourth.

Butler finally got his reward with a dominant race three victory, after Kerr lost second place to Selvadorai on the opening lap. The recovering Kerr found Scharfegger’s defence hard to breach, but he made it back into third at the Complex on lap three and was close to snatching second from Selvadorai at the flag.

David Rooke won all three Caterham Graduates Sigma 135 races after numerous exchanges. The Sigma 150s were just as close with Jamie Ellwood performing a similar feat.

Shaun Govard’s Citroen AX kept Paul Roddison’s Skoda Octavia at bay as the first of the Track Action races ended behind the safety car. It was the same result in race two, but they went full distance, while Shaun Deacon’s Peugeot 106 bagged a pair of third places.

Newsham leaves Croft with TCR UK points lead

Photo by: JEP