Adam Shepherd took the lead of the TCR UK series at Snetterton thanks to a victory in race one, whilst a retirement for his title rival Callum Newsham in race two dented the latter’s championship hopes.
Shepherd scored pole position in the dry on Saturday with a lap which was six tenths of a second faster than anyone else, whilst Newsham qualified tenth in his new Hyundai Elantra N, but knew he would have to start from the back of the grid for race one anyway due to the series’ engine (and thus car) change regulations.
The same car change rules also sent George Jaxon to the back of the grid, having qualified in second, after he changed to the latest CUPRA Leon VZ models.
Race One
Shepherd quickly opened up a lead at the front in Sunday’s first race, as behind him fellow front-row start Max Hall made a poor getaway from the line and dropped to fourth.
That allowed Sam and Steve Laidlaw into second and third respectively, but it was Newsham who made the most progress on the opening lap as the Scot moved up seven places into sixth by halfway around the lap.
Newsham quickly closed in on Bradley Hutchison, the last of the leading quintet, by the end of the second lap, before puncing for fourth exiting the hairpin on lap three.
He then dived inside Steve Laidlaw for third at Agostini, before being gifted third by Sam Laidlaw when he went off the road at Riches on the following lap.
Newsham followed Hall’s Lynk & Co for the next lap and a half, applying plenty of pressure, before passing on lap five on the outside line entering into The Esses for second.
Shepherd by this stage was over five seconds in front and was able to extend his lead to seven seconds by the chequered flag to claim his fourth consecutive win and his seventh of the season.
Hall, on his TCR UK début, completed the podium in third, a distant seven seconds adrift of Newsham.
Hutchison was fourth, ahead of Sam Laidlaw and his father Steve in fifth and sixth respectively.
Race Two
Ahead of the second race the heavy rain arrived, with Vannin Motorsport’s Harry Bloor lining up on the reverse-grid pole position in his CUPRA, having been forced to change both team and car following Power Maxed Racing’s devastating fire in August, with Mark Smith alongside.
Bloor stalled when the lights went out, allowing Will Beech into the lead from third on the grid. However, Jaxon was immediately into second in his new Leon, taking the lead around the outside into Agostini.
Hutchison quickly followed Jaxon into second, whilst further back Shepherd and Newsham were locked into a side-by-side battle for sixth.
Shepherd quickly made light work of passing Steve Laidlaw for fifth into Riches on the next lap, but Newsham found himself caught up in a battle with the elder Laidlaw, having dived inside at The Esses only for Sam Laidlaw to dive inside him at the bombhole, before contact between the duo saw the latter complete a full 36-degreen pirouette.
Then on lap three contact between Steve Laidlaw and Newsham at the first corner put both out of the race, with Newsham’s new Elantra going backwards into the barriers at 80 mph and suffering extensive damage.
Newsham drove his car back to the pits, but Steve Laidlaw was out of the race by the side of the track.
Hall dived inside Hutchison to take second at Williams heading onto the back straight, and the Lynk & Co driver soon pulled clear of Hutchison.
However, the positions remained unchanged to the end of the race, with Jaxon claiming his first TCR UK win on his first weekend in the new CUPRA.
Hall was given a post-race 8.010-second penalty by the stewards for the contact with Hutchison, dropping him to third, as the duo completed the podium finishers.
Shepherd was fourth, battling with Hutchison for the podium but taking no unnecessary risks, and extended his series lead to 33 points, with only the season finale left to run in early November.
Sam Laidlaw recovered to fifth in the sole Area Motorsport CUPRA which finished the race, whilst early leader Beech sun to sixth, over 37 seconds off the front.
Race one result
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 117 |  |
Adam SHEPHERD | Capture Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 11 | 21:51.268 | 1:57.460 | 1 | |
| 2 | 16 | |
Callum NEWSHAM | JH Racing | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 11 | 7.070 | 1:57.618 | 13 | |
| 3 | 93 | |
Max HALL | BSR | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 11 | 16.269 | 1:58.098 | 2 | |
| 4 | 17 | |
Bradley HUTCHISON | Bond It with MPH Racing | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 11 | 22.751 | 1:59.218 | 5 | |
| 5 | 101 | |
Sam LAIDLAW | Area Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 11 | 23.641 | 1:59.254 | 3 | |
| 6 | 100 | |
Steve LAIDLAW | Area Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 11 | 30.596 | 1:59.675 | 4 | |
| 7 | 28 | |
George JAXON | Vannin Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 11 | 30.756 | 1:58.852 | 12 | |
| 8 | 27 | |
Will BEECH | Capture Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 11 | 37.438 | 1:59.842 | 11 | |
| 9 | 77 | |
Mark SMITH | BSR with Richmond Fire Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 11 | 1:11.002 | 2:02.524 | 8 | |
| 10 | 11 | |
Harry BLOOR | Vannin Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 11 | 1:44.165 | 2:00.934 | 6 | |
| 11 | 7 | |
Alex JONES | DW Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 11 | 2:10.820 | 2:07.745 | 9 | |
| 12 | 19 | |
Jeffrey ALDEN | Matrix Motorsport | Opel Astra TCR | 9 | + 2 LAPS | 2:24.640 | 10 | |
| R | 115 | |
Luke SARGEANT | Capture Motorsport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 7 | DNF | 2:00.109 | 7 |
Race two result
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 28 | |
George JAXON | Vannin Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 9 | 20:23.786 | 2:13.665 | 4 | |
| 2 | 17 | |
Bradley HUTCHISON | Bond It with MPH Racing | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 9 | 10.105 | 2:15.054 | 7 | |
| 3 | 93 | |
Max HALL | BSR | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 9 | 10.106 | 2:13.564 | 8 | |
| 4 | 117 | |
Adam SHEPHERD | Capture Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 9 | 10.338 | 2:14.525 | 10 | |
| 5 | 101 | |
Sam LAIDLAW | Area Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 9 | 25.135 | 2:15.123 | 6 | |
| 6 | 27 | |
Will BEECH | Capture Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 9 | 37.416 | 2:18.119 | 3 | |
| 7 | 115 | |
Luke SARGEANT | Capture Motorsport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 9 | 57.905 | 2:17.681 | 13 | |
| 8 | 11 | |
Harry BLOOR | Vannin Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 9 | 1:02.949 | 2:19.195 | 1 | |
| 9 | 77 | |
Mark SMITH | BSR with Richmond Fire Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 9 | 1:26.110 | 2:22.927 | 2 | |
| 10 | 19 | |
Jeffrey ALDEN | Matrix Motorsport | Opel Astra TCR | 9 | 2:00.313 | 2:24.898 | 12 | |
| 11 | 7 | |
Alex JONES | DW Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | + 1 LAP | 2:26.686 | 11 | |
| R | 100 | |
Steve LAIDLAW | Area Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:20.054 | 5 | |
| R | 16 | |
Callum NEWSHAM | JH Racing | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 2 | DNF | 2:19.596 | 9 |