New for the 2023 season of TCR Competition is the TCR World Ranking, where drivers score points via a dedicated system, which at the end of the year, will see the top 45 drivers in the TCR World Ranking, join the top 15 drivers who have competed in the TCR World Tour.
All 60 drivers will then compete in the TCR World Ranking Final at a location to be confirmed early next year to crown the TCR World Champion Driver, Team and Manufacturer.
Let’s take a look at how the TCR UK Touring Car Championship drivers have progressed after rounds seven, eight and nine took place at Knockhill in Fife last weekend.
Carl Boardley and Jenson Brickley charging fast
Carl Boardley took two wins at Knockhill in his CUPRA Leon, while CUPRA rival Jenson Brickley also had a very strong weekend with two second-place finishes, and that’s rewarded both drivers in the ranking – both climbing 92 and 95 places respectively to 108th and 134th positions, despite only having nine TCR results on record.
Alex Ley and Jac Constable into the top 30
Race 2 winner Alex Ley, and Race 1 podium finisher have both made it into the top 30 of the ranking after a strong weekend north of the border.
Constable’s rise of 11 places puts him 26th in the ranking, just two spots ahead of Ley who moves up 15 to 28th.
Bruce Winfield’s mixed weekend sees him stay 21st, which means there are now three other TCR UK drivers within seven places of him in the ranking, with Winfield’s Area Motorsport team-mate Adam Shepherd closing to two places of him in the ranking after another good weekend in his venerable i30 N TCR.
Chris Smiley’s Knockhill disaster sees him drop to 45th
Reigning champion Chris Smiley’s double DNF in Scotland has hurt his ranking position this week, with a 17-place fall to 45th overall, but he’s still within the qualifying positions for the TCR World Ranking Final as it stands.
Crucial was Smiley’s retirement from the lead of Race 2, which if he’d been able to convert it to victory, would have seen him stay in the top 35.
Series stalwart Darelle Wilson, who after a very strong round last time out at Oulton Park also had a weekend to forget in Knockhill, slipping 12 places this week to 231st.
TCR UK Drivers movements in the TCR World Rankings
Next time – Silverstone National!
The 2023 TCR UK Touring Car Championship is back in action in 4 weeks time, on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th of August, where rounds 10 & 11 will take place at the home of British Motorsport, Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
The National layout will be used for this event, last used by TCR UK back in 2020.
You can purchase tickets for this event at the following link: https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/2023-calendar/
