The next round of the TCR UK series is upon us – we head to Snetterton, a place Ryan Bensley will be hoping brings some eastern promise. The driver from Kings Lynn revels on his home circuit whether it be the 200 or 300 layout used this weekend. He made his BTCC debut earlier this year as a last minute replacement for Michael Crees, while just a fortnight ago as part of the WRC Developments squad won the C1 24 Hour race at Snetterton. Racing against the clock – Bensley hopes to line-up in a TCR car this weekend. We check in with the Norfolk-based driver as we build-up to a massive BARC weekend at his home track.

TCR UK is where you now reside, but can we wind the clock back – you have a pretty cool childhood claim to fame, right?

“I started when I was eight years old in karting – I actually raced against Lewis Hamilton. All the meetings he talks about, I was at the same meetings. I am 40 now and have been racing for a long time. We have just taken different paths,” grins the tin-top racer. “I went through the karting ranks and in my early twenties did Stock Hatch and won that championship in 2008 which seems like like a long time ago.I had a few years out between 2011-2016 – I did a little bit of C1 racing with Josh Cook and came back into the Civic Cup which is a really, really tough series – that was really hard.The next natural progression seemed to be the TCR championship. I always wanted to race a touring car style car – never been interested in single-seaters and when a chance came I had to look at it seriously.”

It all happened only last year with the big Chinese Lynk & Co saloon becoming available. Not a car we see on the UK roads but a formidable race car used on the World stage (WTCR).

“The car became available, the previous team I was with bought one and said do you want to buy this car from Viktor Anderson who had it for sale. I bought it from Viktor – long story short brought it to Motion. We spent a lot of money on the car as it was an older car to bring it up to spec and they have brought it back to a brand new, fresh car almost.”

“We took it to Silverstone at the back end of last year and were fifth and had pace to be third, which surprised us. We have struggled a little bit this year because of the BOP, so we are playing to the strengths of our car which is on the brakes and traction. We are always going to struggle against the Gen 3 cars.”

Was there any reason for the Lynk & Co choice? We love unique cars and their stories…

“I chose it because it was available. I actually didn’t know much about the car and did some digging and saw Cyan Racing had done well with them on the world stage – so thought it is a good car, but it is currently under developed in the UK so its tricky to bring it up to speed – especially as it is the only one, there is no data to share. We have tested at Snetteron and feel happy with the car – it would be great at Thruxton with the aero but sadly we aren’t going there this year.”

What is it like to drive – for those of us that haven’t driven a TCR car?

“They are quite forgiving to drive at 95% – even when they start to slide it’s nice and progressive – compared to a Civic Cup car which moves around a lot and is always on the edge. It’s getting that extra 5% where the car transforms and can either be on a knife edge or if in that operating window – it is so nice to drive. It is a big steep leaning curve as there is so much to adjust from a technical side. They are designed to do everything well and from a drivers perspective they are so nice to drive compared to anything else I have driven. Those last few tenths are always the hardest to find!”

And you have some good people in your camp. We saw Josh Cook and Jade Edwards with you at Silverstone. Is that a one off or a longer term thing?

“Jade does some coaching and Josh is here to pick up some tips, and I can’t shake him off,” laughs Ryan. “I have known Josh for a long time since the Stock Hatch days and when I came back to racing – his career progression was great to see and to have someone like that around is really helpful.”

We last saw you at Silverstone. What’s next for you?

“We are doing a few rounds this year. I missed Croft and Oulton Park, but hope to be on the grid for my home race at Snetterton – it’s my local as I am only 40 minutes away. I am hoping to do a full year in 2026, but it all comes down to budget and how we get on with the car.”

We have to ask you. Not only do you have a unique car, you have quite a unique race suit. For those who haven’t seen it – can you tell us about it?

“Well it’s a proper suit for a race suit. My day job is a mortgage broker – I have a brokerage firm – ironically I don’t wear a suit at work – just a shirt, but having seen some NASCAR drivers wear these kind of designs, I just thought I had to do one myself. I thought it would be something different and is a quirky thing. Some people love it, some people think I am mad, I forget I have it on sometimes as people give me funny looks and second takes. I just like something different I suppose.”

The TCR UK championship battles its way into Snetterton for the gigantic meeting of the summer – as the tin-top series joins up with the powerful Britcar Endurance teams and the monstrous British Truck Racing Championship. You don’t want to miss a thing!