TCR UK Championship 2022
It was an exciting weekend of racing again in the TCR UK, this time out it was the turn of Donington Park and the GP circuit to experience the action.
Chris Smiley came into the weekend with weigth in the car and sitting 2nd in the Championship just behind Max Hart who had a great weekend at Oulton last time out.
Donington Park GP – Qualifying – 28th May 2022
Qualifying was tight with narrow margins separating the top drivers despite a long lap here at Donington. After an excellent qualifying from Chris with another pole and a time of 1:35:067 we went into Sundays racing 1st in the Championship standings.
| Driver | Entry | Time |
| Chris Smiley | Honda Civic Type R FK7 – Restart Racing | 1:35.067 |
| Hugo Cook | Audi RS3 LMS TCR – Privateer | 1:35.088 |
| Adam Shepherd | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing With Shepherd | 1:35.352 |
| Max Hart | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing | 1:35.385 |
Donington Park GP – Round 3 – 29th May 2022
Watch the full race on the TCR UK Channel – https://youtu.be/lep9nR8H4gw
Photo Credit – Mike Kitchen
With Chris on pole we were hoping for a good getaway as there are several cars behind with less weight on board who were quick in qualifying. The start and first lap was good however coming into McLeans for the second time saw Chris hit from behind and onto the grass where the radiator collected a fair amount of grass, just enough to block the radiator and affect the cooling which meant a pit stop was needed and effectively ended any chance of a top finish.
The second race is a reverse grid and we effectively had little chance of that, Chris needed to get as high as possible to get the best starting position for Round 4, with a superb drive he managed to get back to 14th position. Both Chris and Max Hart drove extremely well with Max going onto win with his first of two wins for the weekend and Chris giving a fighting chance of some decent points for Round 4.
| Position | Driver | Entry | Best Lap |
| 1 | Max Hart | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing | 1:35.170 |
| 2 | Bradley Kent | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Essex & Kent Motorsport | 1:35.602 |
| 3 | Isaac Smith | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – Race Car Consultants | 1:36.421 |
| 14 | Chris Smiley | Honda Civic Type R FK7 – Restart Racing | 1:35.579 |
Donington Park GP – Round 4 – 29th May 2022
Watch the full race on the TCR UK Channel – https://youtu.be/FUer8fMXTuk
Starting from 14th was always going to be tough, a great start would really help and Chris did exactly that making up several places in the first couple of corners. Chris made it 9th by McLeans and was up to 6th by the start of lap 2.
Chris made great progress and through to 4th at the halfway stage and as we approach the last 10 minutes Chris was up to 3rd with Whorton-Eales in 2nd and Hart in 1st.
Chris took 2nd place with 9 minutes to go and stretched out a gap to the pack but couldn’t catch Max Hart who went on to win his 2nd race of the weekend and complete the double.
| Position | Driver | Entry | Best Lap |
| 1 | Max Hart | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing | 1:35.920 |
| 2 | Chris Smiley | Honda Civic Type R FK7 – Restart Racing | 1:36.324 |
| 3 | Bruce Winfield | Cupra TCR – Area Motorsport | 1:36.414 |
Check out our Donington Gallery
TCR UK – Championship Standings after Round 4
| Position | Driver | No | Entry | Points |
| 1 | Max HART | 101 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing | 159 |
| 2 | Chris SMILEY | 22 | Honda Civic Type R FK7 – Restart Racing | 115 |
| 3 | Isaac SMITH | 123 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – Race Car Consultants | 112 |
| 4 | Lewis KENT | 1 | Hyundai Veloster N TCR – Essex & Kent Motorsport | 90 |
| 5 | Jamie TONKS | 74 | Cupra TCR DSG – Area Motorsport With FASTR | 67 |
| 6 | Jessica HAWKINS | 21 | Cupra TCR – Area Motorsport With FASTR | 64 |
| 7 | Bruce WINFIELD | 37 | Cupra TCR – Area Motorsport | 62 |
| 8 | Bradley HUTCHINSON | 17 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR – BOND-IT With MPHR | 55 |
| 9 | Jac CONSTABLE | 257 | Cupra TCR – Power Maxed Racing | 49 |
| 10 | Callum NEWSHAM | 16 | Cupra TCR – Power Maxed Racing | 48 |
| 11 | Bradley KENT | 5 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Essex & Kent Motorsport | 35 |
| 12 | Jack DEPPER | 33 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – Capture Motorsport | 33 |
| 13 | Matthew WILSON | 31 | Cupra Leon Competicion – JWB Motorsport | 33 |
| 14 | Russell JOYCE | 72 | Cupra TCR – Power Maxed Racing With Joyce Design | 28 |
| 15 | Adam SHEPHERD | 117 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing With Shepherd M | 27 |
| 16 | Alex LEY | 76 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Daniel James Motorsport | 21 |
| 17 | Scott SUMPTON | 27 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Essex & Kent Motorsport | 21 |
| 18 | Anthony WHORTON-EALES | 11 | Subaru WRX STI TCR – Jamsport Racing | 18 |
| 19 | Andrew WILMOT | 210 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Jamsport Racing | 18 |
| 20 | Neil TROTTER | 12 | Cupra TCR – Chameleon Motorsport | 7 |
| 21 | Steve GALES | 35 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR – Playerlands | 5 |
| 22 | Darelle WILSON | 50 | Vauxhall Astra TCR – DW Racing | 5 |
| 23 | Hugo COOK | 29 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR – Privateer | 5 |
| 24 | Chris WALLIS | 52 | Hyundai i30 N TCR – Power Maxed Racing | 4 |
| 25 | Mark SMITH | 77 | Cupra TCR – Richmond Fire Motorsport | 1 |
| 26 | Simon TOMLINSON | 40 | Cupra TCR – Jamsport Racing | 0 |
| 27 | Kieran GRIFFIN | 47 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – JWB Motorsport | 0 |
| 28 | Rob BUTLER | 94 | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – JWB Motorsport With Maxi | 0 |
What a great weekend of racing, close and competitive with some great drives throughout the field. We look forward to Brands Hatch on 18th and 19th June where we will be racing around the Indy circuit.
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