Callum Newsham dominates Donington Park finale

Callum Newsham ended Adam Shepherd’s run of success in the TCR UK opener at Donington Park with a dominant victory in the final race of the weekend.

Newsham made the best start when the lights went out to move ahead of Sam Laidlaw on the run to turn one and then made a move on Shepherd for the lead of the race on the run down to the Old Hairpin for the first time.

That gave the Hyundai man the lead but as Shepherd attempted to retake the lead on the run up to McLeans, the Cupra went off and into the gravel.

That left Newsham leading from Sam Laidlaw, before the Cupra man looped his car on the exit of the final corner and came to rest on the edge of the circuit having nosed into the barriers – promoting father Steve into second and Alistair Camp into third.

As Shepherd rejoined well off the back of the field and returned to the pits, the safety car was deployed to recover Sam Laidlaw’s car only for the red flag to be thrown when Camp struck the tyre stacks at the final chicane.

That left the tyre stack in the middle of the circuit and Camp’s car stranded on the circuit, with no option but to halt the action so the Hyundai could be recovered.

Under the red flag, Steve Laidlaw brought his Cupra into the pits to have damage repaired, with the race being shortened to 15 minutes.

The grid was reformed with Newsham at the front ahead of Finn Leslie and Brad Hutchison – with the latter bidding to rescue his weekend after disappointment in both race one and race two.

Shepherd meanwhile lined up at pit exit for the start alongside the two Laidlaws, putting three quick cars at the back of the pack.

As Newsham led the field through on the green flag lap, Cedric Bloch suffered a spin off into the wall on cold tyres heading through Schwantz Curve, leading to a delayed start as he was helped from his Audi.

Ahead of the third attempt at the start, Shepherd and the Laidlaws were able to complete a green flag lap before returning to the pits for the start, with Newsham leading the field into turn one with Hutchison taking second from Leslie on the run to turn one.

Newsham established a slender lead in the opening lap, with the focus further down the order being on the trio who had started from the pits, with Shepherd climbing into the top two within two laps before passing Gen1 pairing Jeff Alden and George Jaxon.

His quest to come through the pack was helped by Mark Smith and Stewart Lines both being hit with time penalties for false starts – although the double win passed Lines’ Lynk & Co on track before overhauling Harry Bloor to hit the top six by the end of lap five.

At the front, Newsham was able to maximise the fact he was running in clear air to ease away from Hutchison, who had a slender gap over Leslie in third.

Smith was still running fourth on the road ahead of Rod McGovern and Shepherd, but Shepherd overhauled the pair in consecutive corners to move into the top four – albeit with a hap of more than ten seconds to the podium ahead.

Hutchison was dropping away from Newsham before his Cupra suddenly slowed on the ninth lap, moving Leslie up into second and Shepherd into third – with a three-way fight for four behind involving McGovern and the two Laidlaw Cupras.

Steve Laidlaw made a move on the exit of the Old Hairpin on lap ten and it opened the door for his son to follow through to leave the three pitlane starters running in third, fourth and fifth.

Out front however, Newsham was in a class of his own at the front as he powered his way to a first victory of the season, coming home more than 14 seconds clear of Leslie, with Shepherd taking third spot having closed to within four seconds of second place by the finish.

Steve Laidlaw beat his son to fourth, with Bloor taking sixth thanks to a late track limits penalty for McGovern.

Gregory Saunders and Will Beech followed behind, with the top ten completed by Smith once his ten second penalty had been applied.

Just outside the top ten, Alden beat Jaxon to the Gen1 Cup win, with Lines and Hutchison rounding out the finishers after trips to the pits.

Shepherd heads the standings by 30 points over Leslie.

TCR UK continues at Donington Park on April 5-6 on the Grand Prix layout.