Chris Smiley and Jessica Hawkins win in TCR UK opener

Chris Smiley and Jessica Hawkins have won a race each at the opening round of TCR UK at Oulton Park, with Smiley dominating Race 1 from pole position, while Hawkins held off Max Hart under intense pressure to win the second race.

Smiley had secured pole position for the first race in his Restart Racing-run Honda Civic, outqualifying the Volkswagen Golf GTI of Isaac Smith, and the Area Motorsport-run CUPRA of Bruce Winfield.

The Northern Irishman had a good start, and got away from Smith, who wheelspinned at the start, but managed to hold on to second ahead of the fast-starting Hart.

There was a close battle near the rear of the top ten, which was also the battle for pole position for Race 2, with the Jamsport Racing Subaru WRX STi of Anthony Whorton-Eales fighting to hold back the Hyundai of his teammate Adam Shepherd, and Hawkins’ CUPRA. However, both had passed him by lap six, before he slowed and pitted with a mechanical issue.

On lap 10, Hart lined up a move on Smith to grab second and closed in on Smiley, who had a near three second lead, but there wasn’t enough time left to make a difference, with Smiley securing victory on his TCR UK debut ahead of Hart and Smith.

Winfield finished fourth, passing Lewis Kent’s Veloster on the penultimate lap, while Lewis’ brother Bradley was an early retirement from the race with a gearbox issue.

The top ten were reversed for Race 2, which placed the Area Motorsport CUPRA of Jamie Tonks on pole ahead of teammate Hawkins. The latter got ahead of Tonks at the start, with the Power Maxed Racing CUPRA of Jac Constable jumping up to second position, but the safety car was called due to a collision involving Andrew Wilmot’s Hyundai and Kieran Griffin’s Volkswagen.

The race restarted on lap four, with Hart and Isaac Smith both getting past Callum Newsham’s CUPRA to move up to third and fourth, before the safety car was out again a lap later when Steve Gales’ Audi became trapped in the gravel at Lodge corner after an incident with Wilmot.

The race restarted on lap seven, with Constable slowing with a problem, handing Hawkins a two-second lead over Hart, but as the race drew on, Hart quickly closed the gap and was right on the tail of Hawkins, but she was able to withstand the pressure over the final five laps to claim the win, with Hart second and Newsham reclaiming third from Smith on the penultimate lap.

Hart now leads the standings on 73 points, three clear of Smiley heading to the second round at Donington Park on May 28/29.

Oulton Park – Race 1
1. Chris Smiley (Restart Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 15 laps
2. Max Hart (Jamsport Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 1.526
3. Isaac Smith (Race Car Consultants, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 4.654

Oulton Park – Race 2
1. Jessica Hawkins (Area Motorsport with FASTR, CUPRA), 13 laps
2. Max Hart (Jamsport Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 0.261
3. Callum Newsham (Power Maxed Racing, CUPRA), 5.699

Championship points
1. M. Hart, 74 pts; 2. C. Smiley, 71; 3. I. Smith 62

Picture: TCR UK/Jakob Ebrey