The curtain falls on the inaugural TCR UK Touring Car Championship at Donington Park this weekend, with Daniel Lloyd and Ollie Taylor locked in a straight fight to be crowned the series’ maiden Champion.
Lloyd – who took an unchallenged six straight victories at Silverstone, Knockhill and Brands Hatch – arrives at the 1.95 mile East Midlands circuit with a 31-point advantage over Taylor.
The Pyro Motorsport racer, who switched from an older FK2 model to the latest Honda Civic Type R FK7 before Brands Hatch, broke that winning streak at Castle Combe, and a further victory last time out at Croft alongside 7 further podiums have left him as the only man capable of stopping his WestCoast Racing rival.
A 10-point swing in Lloyd’s favour after the opening race in Leicestershire will prove enough to see him crowned Champion.
The focus isn’t just on the title fight, however, with several sub-plots also set to reach a conclusion at the weekend.
Andreas Bäckman sits in a commanding third position, but sister Jessica has only 6 points in hand on the Hyundai i30 N TCR of Lewis Kent, with a maximum of 91 available from the double header as both chase fourth overall.
Similarly either of Stewart Lines’ CUPRA or Finlay Crocker’s FK7 could be sixth, with the theme extending to the fight for eighth between the returning Carl Swift and DW Racing’s Darelle Wilson.
Both could, however, be usurped by a strong comeback showing from ex-BTCC racer Josh Price, who scored a brace of podiums on his TCR debut in Scotland and returns to the fold keen to end 2018 on a high note.
Sean Walkinshaw re-takes the reigns of the SWR-run FK2 for the finale, and the Vukovic Motorsport Renault Megane of Alex Morgan returns as the team continue their development on the car.
The latter will also field a second car, with the driver yet to be confirmed.
As usual, Saturday will play host to the Warm-Up, Free Practice and all-important Qualifying sessions, with the two races scheduled for 13:15 and 16:10 the following day.
Live streaming is available as usual on the TCR UK Facebook page and YouTube platform.