Callum Newsham wins wet Thruxton opener to close in on points lead

Callum Newsham gained on the points lead after winning the first TCR UK race of the weekend at Thruxton, a race held in wet conditions.

The Hyundai driver started from pole position and had Cupra driver Adam Shepherd close behind during the opening laps.

Newsham came close to losing the lead as he braked too late heading into the chicane, only just being able to fend off an attack from Shepherd heading into Turn 1.

But Newsham was able to pull away as disaster struck Area Motorsport driver Shepherd on lap four. The Cupra driver suddenly slowed down from second place and pitted due to what seemed to be a fuel pressure issue.

This handed second place to Steve Laidlaw ahead of reigning champion Carl Boardley.

Boardley managed to briefly get ahead with two minutes left of the race as the rain increased, only for Steve Laidlaw to retake the position a corner later.

There was hard three-car battle for fourth place between Brad Hutchison, Darron Lewis and Sam Laidlaw.

Hyundai driver Lewis managed to snatch fourth place in the closing stages, but just as in the fight for second place, it was only briefly as Hutchison could retake the position a corner later.

Newsham won the race by more than five seconds from Steve Laidlaw, with Boardley close behind in third.

Hutchison survived the attacks from Lewis and Sam Laidlaw, with the trio rounding off the top six.

Boardley heads the standings, but only with a margin of four points from Newsham when taking the dropped scores into account.

The second race of the weekend at Thruxton starts at 15:10 BST/16:10 CEST on Sunday.