Callum Newsham will take on a third consecutive season of TCR UK, staying with JH Racing for a second successive season in a Hyundai i30 N TCR.
Having scored two overall podiums in his maiden season in TCR in 2022, Newsham scored just the one podium last year, although he sealed a best-ever result by taking second at Brands Hatch.
The 24-year-old improved his overall championship position to ninth in 2023, despite suffering from reliability issues which saw him only finish 11 of the season’s 15 races.
“I’m delighted that we are back in TCR UK for the 2024 season running with our team from last year JH Racing and our Hyundai i30 N TCR,” said Newsham.
“We believe we have got on top of our Hyundai’s performance issues from last year and we plan to hit the ground running on 13th 14th April at Brands Hatch!”
David Newsham, Callum’s father and an experienced former touring car racer, pointed to Callum’s pace in the Brands Hatch season finale, where along with a best-ever result of second he posted the fastest lap of the race in the final round, as reasons to be optimistic for 2024.
“We had a difficult, but certainly not wasted season last year,” added David. “We learned a lot about the car, fine-tuned our setup and got on top of the reliability issues.
“Callum proved his speed when the car was running well, he has mastered the i30 N TCR, proving this by breaking the race lap record for TCR at Brands Hatch last year.
“I really felt sorry for Callum last year with all the breakdowns we encountered, and I am determined to give him the tools to fight for the champion this year.
“With JH Racing and a now known history of the car, we are in very good shape!”
Team Manager James Hone acknowledged the challenges of last year and believes the forthcoming season will be more straightforward for Newsham and the team.
“Without a doubt – last season was tough,” said Hone. “We came into the 2023 season with a relatively unknown car that gave us a lot of hurdles to overcome.
“When everything was ironed out and everything came together unfortunately it was too late to challenge for the title.
“With a podium at the season finale and taking the outright race lap record for TCR UK at Brands Hatch – there is not a shadow of doubt that Callum is blisteringly quick, setting the bar pretty high for us for the forthcoming season!
“We have worked very hard behind the scenes throughout the winter on both the car and the team. We will start 2024 ready, refreshed, and eager to get going to fight at the sharp end.”