RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Race Report – Oulton Park – 3^rd SEPTEMBER 2011

Cheshire’s infamous Oulton Park circuit, with its rapidly changing gradients and blind crests leading into unforgiving corners (which a few found out the hard way), played host to the Roadsport and Supersport Championships this weekend.

Supersport – Race 1

A double victory for Reece Somerfield after dominating with outstanding driving.

Qualifying produced a few anomalies; championship leaders Jeremy Webb and Lee Wiggins started down in seventh and eighth. While Somerfield snatched pole, Carlton Brown lined up second and Ben Whibley third. Somerfield got a fantastic start and began to pull away. Ian Payne leaped into second in front of Whibley then missed a gear as they headed towards Shell Oils Hairpin which resulted in Whibley running into the pack of Payne, unfortunately ending the race for Whibley. Meanwhile Webb and Wiggins were on a mission to join the leaders; Webb made the initial progress marching through the field, eventually challenging Brown for second place by lap three.

Chaos occurred behind as the spinning car of Sean Bryne was left facing the oncoming pack, leaving Ray Gilliland and Richard Solomons nowhere to go, both collecting Bryne’s stranded car at the entrance to Knickerbrook. This called for the safety car to be released, bunching up the entire field, destroying Somerfield’s time advantage. Once the race got back underway Somerfield took command and began to rebuild his lead, leaving the hunting group of Webb, Wiggins, Brown and now Steve Day to fight it out for second place. They entered Old Hall almost four abreast and unsurprisingly they didn’t all make it through the corner in one piece. Brown spun on the exit and sadly ended his race in the barrier. Later that lap Webb also suffered bad luck after an out-of-character misjudgement of the braking point for Shell Oils ended his race in the gravel trap. With a few of the key players out of the race, Somerfield led Wiggins, who fought off constant advances from his team mate Day. Payne began setting fastest laps while fighting with Ben Gower for forth.  The pair produced an epic battle but were unable to catch the leaders. Somerfield rightfully took the win for McMillan Motorsport after a dominant race followed by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering teammates Wiggins second and Day third. Payne claimed the fastest lap, 1:58.111 but missed out on a podium finishing forth, Gower had to settle for fifth with Albert Vella surely delighted with sixth after starting from fifteenth.

Race 2

The front runners produced a nail biting race, with the first six cars ‘as one’ lap after lap. Although they were a tight bunch of cars, continually swapping position during the lap each time they crossed the line, it was in the same order; Somerfield, Payne, Wiggins, Day, Gower. They stuck together like glue, chancing late brakes and dives down the inside of each other at Old Hall, desperate to finish on the podium. Race two also suffered a safety car period, this time due to Andrew Salmon’s car rolling end over end following heavy contact with the barrier after getting the entry a little wrong at Island bend, an extremely fast part of the circuit. Luckily Salmon was able to walk away unharmed from the incident but the safety car was necessary to clear the debris and fuel which had spilt onto the circuit. The majority of the pack strung out a little after the re-start but the leaders remained tight. Somerfield did not have an easy drive but managed to hold off Payne and Wiggins for his second win of the day. Payne eventually secured second and Wiggins claimed fastest lap of the race, the new lap record 1:57.820 and third place!  Meanwhile, two championship contenders Webb and Whibley started from the back of the grid and did everything they could throughout the race to minimise damage to their championship positions and maximise point scoring. Webb made up nineteen places to finish sixth while BWR front man, Whibley overtook twenty two cars to finish seventh, an epic drive from the pair of them.

This means that Wiggins now has 196 points and leads Webb by one point in the championship. Somerfield moves up to third with 186 and Day is forth only a couple of points behind. Gower is now fifth with Whibley back in sixth.

Next Round: Anglesey International – 24/25^th September

Race Report – Oulton Park – 3^rd SEPTEMBER 2011

Wesley Fox claimed his sixth win of the season and edges ever closer to championship victory, while Mike Hart secured his first win this season proving Fox can be beaten.

Roadsport – Race 1

With one of the closest set of qualifying times yet, the first seven cars were separated by only a fraction over half a second. Fox who looked set to start sixth left it to the last lap to put in a flyer and snatch pole. Jon Mortimer started second and Aaron Head third.

The race started with a first corner incident creating pandemonium mid field, Sean Raftery spun after running wide at the exit of Old Hall, his car shot back across the track straight into the side of Matthew Whate, who was third in the championship going into this weekend but had qualified very low down. Duncan Harris tried to avoid the action but had nowhere to go and his car was airborne as he rode up the side of Whate. Raftery and Whate retired as a result.  Meanwhile the leaders where creating there own action, Fox had pulled away in the lead, but was unable to shake off Mortimer, Head, Mike Hart and Kurt Brady as all four tussled for position. Head got out of shape on the approach to Shell Oils hairpin; he ran out of track and kissed the barriers. He was able to keep going but had considerably dropped down the order. This left a four car scrap for the lead closely followed by an ultra determined 40^th birthday boy and local man, Chris Bingham who was hot on the heels of fifth place contender James Needham.

The quartet of leading cars swapped position many a time during the lap, sliding down the inside at Knickerbrook to get the advantage on the run uphill towards Druids. Brady rehearsed going around the outside of Old Hall a few times, it worked a couple of times but Fox shut the door when it was safe to do so. Brady decided to play out the move for a final time on the last lap but unfortunately running over the rough kerbs unsettled the car and caused a spin much to his frustration after remaining second for the majority of the race he was demoted back to sixth. An exceptionally close, thoroughly exciting race from start to finish was eventually won by Fox with Mortimer a very respectable second and Hart in third. Aaron Head got the fastest lap 2:00.403, but finished a very disappointing fourteenth meaning he would have his work cut out for him in race two.

Race 2

Just as the cars drove into the assembly area the dark heavy clouds that were overhead decided to open, rain lights came on and the first wet race of the day commenced. Fox led with Hart not far behind, Mortimer chasing but playing on the side of caution with Bingham on top form in forth. Hart snuck past Fox and was able not only to make it stick put also pull away putting air between them. The top four spaced out a little while they explored the change of grip levels but the gaggle of cars behind decided that sticking close together was a far more exciting option! Brady led the chasing bunch of five cars as they darted into the first corner two abreast and line a stern. Somehow they all exited unscathed. This bravery continued resulting in a wonderful scrap for fifth place.

Starting from fourteenth Head was one to watch as he is the Schumacher of Roadsports (he excels in the wet). His rain dance before the race must have paid off and he began to pass several cars per lap. He gracefully glided his way up towards the third place duel that was taking place. Bingham was on the tail of Mortimer, determined to try and find an opportunity to pass him, unfortunately Mortimer was playing the defensive game and blocked his rival very well. Head caught the pair napping on the final lap as they were concentrating on each other he passed the pair of them, setting the fastest lap in the process and secured a podium finish. Hart took a long awaited first win of the season, Fox settled for a comfortable second and Head was delighted with a recovery drive resulting in third.

Fox remains top of the championship table with a very commanding lead and 48 points clear of main rival Brady. Hart now moves ahead of Whate to steal third.

Next Round: Anglesey International – 24/25^th September

DTM will thrill the Brands Hatch crowd this weekend

A number of big meets this weekend.

Brands Hatch – DTM – the German Touring Cars come to the UK once again

Rockingham – British F3 and British GT

Knockhill – British Touring Car Championships

There are a number of smaller events going on as well…

Oulton Park – BRSCC meeting on Saturday

Thruxton – BARC meeting, including BARC Formula Renault

Cadwell Park – BARC club meeting on Saturday, Bikes on Sunday

Croft – Toyota Sprint Series on Sunday

Anglesey – Lancashire & Cheshire Car Club & MG Car Club sprint

Castle Combe – bikes on Saturday

Snetterton – bikes

Oulton Park, 20^th August 2011

Qualifying:

Quarter past the hour of eleven am on a bright Saturday morning at the beautiful Oulton Park Fosters circuit in leafy Cheshire saw a field of thirteen Pre 90 Formula Ford cars head out on to the circuit for qualifying. Who was going to be at the sharp end of the time sheet and set themselves up for one of the goldenera-formulaford.com challenge trophies?! Certainly on his recent form at Oulton, albeit on the longer circuit configurations John Loebell was definitely favourite but would this stand alone race follow the script?

After twenty minutes we got the answer, Loebell fastest by almost a full second!  John would not start from ‘pole’ however, as a mark of respect to Peter O’Shea, who sadly died of a heart attack whilst driving a Pre 90 Formula Ford at Castle Combe the previous weekend, pole position was left absent. This meant that Loebell would start second on the grid in his beautifully prepared Medina Sport Van Diemen RF89. Stuart Kestenbaum (a stalwart of FF1600 racing) would head row two of the grid in his Reynard FF89, a car used by Joey Foster in one of his very impressive Walter Hayes trophy wins and a car that Stuart has owned on and off since 1990! Joining Stuart on row two of the grid (third fastest time) was Ian Parkington in his 1984 Reynard, a car sporting some very polished stainless components. Matt Ridge was fourth fastest in qualifying (under half a second shy of Kestenbaum) in his Van Diemen RF86, a car that was once used on trackdays and fitted with cycle wings to facilitate this!

After Ridge there was a bit of a gap back to the rest of the field, led by Colin Williams in his rare PRS RW01. A lot of drivers had their confidence knocked after about five minutes of qualifying when their handling suddenly ‘went away’. This was in fact nothing to do with the set up of their cars but was down to the pretty Merlyn Mk20 of John Murphy, whose car was leaking a rather slimy concoction of water mixed with antifreeze onto the circuit. This led to a number of ‘moments’. Young Martyn McGrillen , competing in his first race weekend in a Van Diemen RF80 (rebuilt by himself as a project) competing a rather exciting looking 360 degree spin down trough Cascades! Ian Jeary then replicated McGrillen’s spin in his Martini liveried Dulon MP15, only this time he was unable to complete the session after his car refused to start after coming to a halt at ‘Fosters’. Another driver to suffer a spin during this eventful session was Castle Combe regular Stephen Bracegirdle in his Wayne Poole Racing tended Van Dimen RF89. This was a car that was extremely successful in the hands of Matt Rivett, who was able to hustle it to the front of the very competitive Combe grid at the start of this century beating much more modern machinery.

Race:

With heavy rain having fallen in the 30 minutes prior to the race start the drivers were confronted with a wet but rapidly drying track on which to contest for the title of inaugural goldenera-formulaford.com challenge champion.

As the lights went out John Loebell made a terrible start from the front of the grid and came around for the first time of asking in fourth place. Out front and already beginning to build a nice lead was Ian Parkington. Battling over second with Stuart Kestenbaum was the very impressive Colin Williams in his elderly PRS. Matt Ridge was running nicely with the leading pack until lap three until he locked up under braking for the first corner and once on to the wet grass he could do nothing to prevent a rather solid impact with the barrier. The result of this altercation with the scenery was unfortunately a cracked chassis. Another retirement early on, in fact on the very first lap was Steve Roberts in his ex-Monoposto Van Diemen RF87, “it just cut out” was his explanation.

As the circuit began to dry so the PRS of Williams began to struggle, dropping back into an eventual battle with James Buckton (Elden Mk8), another driver who was impressively well up the field in an old chassis. This battle would entertain the spectators until the flag with Colin beating James to 4^th by a poultry 0.4 seconds! Another pair of drivers engaged a in a battle, who were also separated by four thousandths of a second at the flag were Ian Jeary and Stephen Bracegirdle, with Stephen just beating Ian to the flag for eighth.

Meanwhile at the front of the race things were beginning to get interesting! John had got past Stuart for second at half distance and began to close down on Ian Parkington with Stuart tagging along. Once Loebell got into a rhythm he quickly closed in on Ian. Once there he struggled to get past, with the superior traction of the Reynard providing enough of an advantage for Ian to hang on to the lead. The traction advantage of Ian’s car was also evident in the other Reynard in the field, that of Kestenbaum, this meaning Loebell also had to keep an eye on his mirrors! Eventually John got by Ian on the penultimate lap, Stuart also got by Ian and spent the last two laps defending from Parkington. Some great driving by the two, circulating with barely a cigarette paper between them certainly had the crowd’s attention. This battling allowed John a little breathing space in the lead. The final result showing a winning margin of 0.6 of a second over Kestenbaum. Parkington had to be content with third a scant two thousandths of a second behind Stuart, although he did have the consolation of setting the fastest lap.

Bringing up the tail of the field after some exploration of Oulton Park’s pretty green bits was Ian Wood, a driver more used to his Swift SC94 but out in his Royale RP33. Martyn McGrillen completed his first competitive race weekend in tenth, showing great bravery down through cascades, something noticed my members of the Classic Formula Ford Club!

Overall this was a fine start to something that has the potential to be both exciting and interesting in equal measure. A huge thank you must go to the Classic Formula Ford Club, led admirably by Peter Hackett, a gentleman who’s enthusiasm has been instrumental in getting this race to work. Of course a gigantic thank you and congratulations must go to all the competitors who put on a great show! Here’s to next year and the growth of goldenera-formulaford.com and Pre 90 Formula Ford racing!

Mr Golden Era

The entry list for the 2011 Oulton Park Gold Cup, which takes place this August Bank Holiday weekend (28/29 August), has been released, and reveals more than 450 cars will take part over the two days. Across the 18-race programme there will impressively be an average of 28 cars per race..

This includes 35 cars entered in the two E-Type challenge races, which celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Jaguar sports car. Entries include 1989 and 1995 British Touring Car Champion John Cleland, racing legend Barrie Williams and motorsport television personality Tony Jardine. Also entered is a pristine example from Alan Minshaw that is in showroom condition, matching the original brochure car. The races complement a parade and display by E-Type owners on the Sunday.

The races for historic sports cars, single seaters and saloons will be a treat for fans of marques Lola, March, MG, Austin, Lotus and revived local favourite Chevron amongst others. A lesser known racing name is Chinook and a rare Mk2 from Canada has been entered in the Martini Trophy for sports racers.

Another highlight of the meeting will be the Derek Bell Trophy for F5000 cars, once referred to as ‘F1 for the common man’. These F1-style cars from the 1970s are powered by big 5-litre V8 engines, making an amazing sound to match their prodigious speed.

Also present at Oulton Park during this nostalgic weekend will be 1970 Le Mans winner Richard Attwood. The Sportscar legend will race in the Stirling Moss Trophy for sports racers that competed in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. He is entered in an Aston Martin DBR1, which, like Attwood, also won at Le Mans. They will face a grid containing cars from Maserati, Cooper, Ferrari and Lister.

Tickets for the Oulton Park Gold Cup are available from £17 per day, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.oultonpark.co.uk.

The Oulton Park Gold Cup is the north west’s premier historic racing event and the annual meeting is set to be another classic in 2011. Held on August Bank Holiday weekend (28-29 August), the history of the Gold Cup stretches back to the 1950s, when it formed one of a number of highly regarded non-championship F1 races.

The event, organised by the Historic Sports Car Club, will feature racing from some of the top single seater racing classes, including Formula 2 and Formula 5000 – F1-style cars with monster 5-litre V8 engines that make a glorious sound! They are joined by Formula 3, Formula Junior and Formula Ford, categories that brought names including Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Nigel Mansell to the Formula One world’s attention.

There’s saloon car fun with the Historic Touring Cars series, where family favourites from Ford, Vauxhall, Austin and Jaguar compete in incredibly close and entertaining races. These encounters are every bit as hard fought as today’s British Touring Car Championship rounds!

Sports car action comes courtesy of the Stirling Moss, Woodcote and Guards Trophies for sports racers and GTs, plus the Historic Road Sports 70s series, which will see legendary marques including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lotus in action. The Jaguar connection continues with the E-Type challenge, a series commissioned for 2011 to mark the car’s 50th anniversary.

The E-Type celebrations continue with a cavalcade of cars that Enzo Ferrari once described as “the most beautiful in the world”. The convoy will leave Manchester Airport on the morning of Sunday 28 August and arrive at Oulton Park, where they will complete a lap of the circuit before parking in a special display area for all to see. Anyone wishing to join the cavalcade should contact Christena on 07714 855694 or email: bogladyte@btinternet.com

Also honoured this year will be the spectacular Group B Rally cars of the 1980s, which were banned for being too fast! Fire-breathing specials from this era include the Audi Quattro, Ford RS200, Peugeot 205 T16, Metro 6R4 and Lancia 037. Demonstrations of these incredible machines are sure to be a highlight of a superb weekend.

Tickets for the Oulton Park Gold Cup are available from £17, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.oultonpark.co.uk

Not many got a glimpse of the lead Ferrari apart from when it lapped them

Rob Barff and Leon Price proved to be the men to beat, and the Ferrari 458 to be the car to beat around the Oulton Park circuit in the GT Trophy double header at the picturesque Cheshire circuit.

The 2 hour race was split into two 1 hour sessions – first seen at Snetteron back in May. It features an hour break in the middle where the teams could work on their cars, but are not permitted to change tyres. This can give teams a chance to fix damage or problems sustained in the first part which would otherwise force them to retire in an otherwise normal straight 2 hour endurance race.

Before the race even got underway, there were 2 casulties from the earlier qualifying session, depleting the small grid even further. The Marcos which qualified in 3rd place despite Chris Beighton putting into the wall at Cascades was a non-starter due to the car being unrepairable in time. While the car that red flagged the qualifying session, the #9 Ferrari failed to make the start.

The final resting place of the Marcos in Qualifying

The first race saw Rob Barff leap away at the start following his lonely front row start, followed by the #49 car of Alex Martin, who was clear of the 3rd place car, the #8 Ferrari of Ian Hartley within a few laps.

The front 3 could be running light as there is an option to refuel in the stops, but seeing as Barff took pole by over 4 seconds, this seemed unlikely, and as it turned out – no team fuelled their cars in either part of the race.

A little further back, the action was spicing up between the Ginetta of Mowle/Murrells who had leapfrogged the Porsche of Brosters/Rothwell at the start, only to lose the position on lap 2. With George Murrells at the wheel of the Ginetta spending the next 20 or so minutes behind the very experienced Colin Broster at the hands of the Porsche. It seemed the cars were equally matched out on track, and it looked like Murrells was waiting for the pit stops for a chance to get ahead of the Porsche.

The Ginetta was in the midst of battles, usually with a Porsche

Meanwhile, David Back in the #9 Ferrari, minus the rear end of the car, joined in 9th and last after missing the start of the race thanks to the efforts of the MTECH team, albeit 5 laps down on the leader, which stayed the same through to the end of the first part.

The Ginetta was the first to stop out of the battle for 4th with the Porsche following not long afterwards. Status quo was resumed though as the Ginetta was once again behind the Porsche. Other pit stops included Gary Eastwood replacing Hartley in the #8 Ferrari closely behind with race leaders Barff/Price one of the last to pit.

The second drivers of Lee Mowle (Ginetta) and Dave Rothwell (Porsche) resuming the battle untill the Porsche was given a drive through penalty for a too shorter pitstop. More problems hit the Porsche late on, as the front splitter worked its way loose which forced him into the pits, all this allowing the Ginetta back through to take a comfortable 3rd place.

The Porsche dropped back in the last couple of laps due to the splitter coming loose again, leaving the Lamborghini of James/Aktinson to take 4th place in the last moments of the first half.

The #8 Ferrari of Eastwood/Hartley took 2nd place, over a lap down on run away half way leaders Price/Barff (despite a stall in the pit lane after the driver change and a grassy moment for Leon Price late on in the race) in the Ferrari 458 but well clear of the rest of the field.

Rupert Martin, who had been running strongly in the #49 Ferrari after taking over from Alex Martin failed to finish due to an accident. They did not make it out in part 2.

Rob Barff extremely pleased with his team mates performance in the first half, with Price himself mentioning that during the first half he was able to put in a consistent performance to maintain the leading margin.

The race claimed another victim on the first lap of Part 2 with the #27 Lamborghini trying a move on the outside of Old Hall, getting on the grass and ending up parking backwards into the tyre wall on the inside of the circuit. The Safety Car was called for the first time which prompted the #15 Porsche of Colin Broster and Dave Rothwell to make an early pit stop under the Safety Car to gain an advantage while the rest of the field were at a slower pace. Unfortunatly, this plan backfired as the car was handed with a drive through penalty later on the race for a pit stop window infringement. Broster duly taking this drive through with about 10 minutes of the race to go.

Leon Price, chased by the #9 Ferrari, couldn’t match his driving in the first race, but was still holding onto the lead and pulling away from the rest of the field.

The Ginetta, this time with Lee Mowle at the wheel, was once again embroiled in a battle on track, chasing the battling pair of the #35 Porsche and #8 Ferrari. The pit stops would play a part, but once again the battle was decided out on track.

The Ginetta pitted first, with George Murrels taking over the reigns, giving him a clear track to get his head down and try and beat the other 2 cars out the pits.

The #8 Ferrari, with Eastwood taking over driving duties, came out ahead of the Ginetta, but car problems, presumably a missing gear or 2, caused him to slow, allowing the Ginetta through around the Shell Oils loop, out of site. Eastwood, though, continued and drove around the problems to get to the finish and gain experience and who knows what could happen in a long race. To finish first, first you have to finish.

The #35 Porsche was the last to pit, with Chris Bentley (the perhaps more cautious of the driver pairing) heading out on track, with seconds to spare over the closing Ginetta.

With Bentley getting upto speed, Murrells made light work of the Porsche, taking 2nd place overall. Attention then turned to the #8 Ferrari of Eastwood who was, despite his problems, closing in on the Porsche.

Eastwood caught the Porsche quite quickly, and wasted very little time. Despite Bentley’s best efforts to keep the Ferrari behind, Eastwood pulled off a great move around the outside of Old Hall to take the remaining spot on the podium overall.

However, the day seemingly belonged to Rob Barff (who set the fastest lap of the race with 7 minutes to go just to rub salt into the wounds of all the other competitors), his co-driver Leon Price and the FF Corse team that runs the Ferrari 458. They ran at an astonishing pace all day, with the same set of tyres for qualifying and both races. Price was delighted with the team effort and thanked them for all their hard work.

The next round of the GT Trophy is at Brands Hatch on the 16th/17th July on the Indy circuit which always produces close and competitive racing.

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

Oulton Park
MSVR Blast in the Park club meeting. Featuring the GT Trophy Endurance Race, Monoposto single seaters, Production BMW and Project 8 Racing Saloons, VAG Trophy

Brands Hatch
HSCC Superprix. Held on the GP circuit, the HSCC Superprix has a number of top class races including older F1 cars, classic F3 and Group C legends.

Rockingham
BARC Dunlop meeting

Donington Park
750MC Club meeting

Goodwood Festival of Speed
The GFOS is back again, featuring a selection of world class cars, both modern and historic, on the famous hillclimb and rally course.

Snetterton & Cadwell Park
Bikes

Pembrey
BRSCC Club meeting - Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship, BRSCC Euro Saloons & Sports Car Championship, BRSCC OSS Championship, Welsh Saloons & Sports Car Club

Anglesey
BARC club meeting

Harewood
Car hill climb

Spectacular GT cars will roar around Oulton Park this Saturday 2 July when the GT Trophy Endurance Series headlines MSVR’s Blast in the Park event.

A host of highly powerful Porsches, Ferraris and BMWs will be on show as they battle around the Cheshire circuit in a two part endurance race.

The GT Trophy Endurance Series will be joined by the Production BMW Championships, Project Eight Racing Saloons, MK2 Golf GTI Championship and single seaters from the Monoposto Championship.

The GT Trophy Endurance Series features two 1 hour races which are combined to contrive an overall result. Teams are required to make a 90 second pit stop in each race. The last round of the GT Trophy Endurance Series saw the Ferrari 458 GT3 of Leon Price and Rob Barff win the two hour race, adding to their triumph in the opening round of the season at Donington Park. There will be several drivers hoping to add their names to the winners list on Saturday.

Single seaters will be represented in the Monoposto Championship with a mixture of Formula Renaults, Dallaras and Van Diemens set for some thrilling on track action. The series is split into Mono 2000, 1800, 1600, 1400 and 1000 classes, depending on engine size.

Close tin top racing will be provided by the MK2 Golf GTI Championship, Production BMW Championship and the Project Eight Racing Saloon.

James Bark will hope to continue his impressive form after a double win at Cadwell Park, as he bids to reel in MK2 Golf GTI Championship leader Guy Stevens. Only three points separate the pair heading into the next instalment on Saturday.

Bumper grids will be expected in the Production BMW Championship and Project Eight Racing Saloons for their only visit to Oulton Park this season. Ben Winrow dominated the last round in tricky wet conditions at Brands Hatch, but Tim Wilson remains the series leader, as the championship heads towards the business end of the season.

Meanwhile a selection of BMW, Ford, Volvo and Renault saloons will populate the grid for round six of the season. Adam Sharpe is the man to beat after winning eight of the nine races so far, but he will face a stern challenge to continue his charge.

Pic: Vince Pettit Photography

Team ES Racing experienced a frustrating weekend at Oulton Park as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship headed north. A weekend that showed promise ended with two non-finishes and a non-start due to accident damage.

Saturday would be a trying time for the team, after completing practice Chris James was confident of a good performance, but unfortunately it would end with James describing the day as “Annoying, frustrating and disappointing.”

“We had a couple of setup issues” explained James. “In free practice we were running on a race setup. In the first session we scrubbed tyres like we always do and in the second we went on to carry over tyres from Donington just to get a feel for things. So I was confident we were going to have a good time in qualifying.”

This wasn’t to be after setup changes left the Chevrolet Lacetti handling badly. “We changed the setup and it was horrible. We were lucky with the red flag in qualifying as a bolt had sheared off the exhaust. We came in and repaired it but the session wasn’t resumed.”

“We were hoping for a lot better and I really thought we could break in to the top 16. So to be down in 23rd after running in 21st in free practice on old tyres was disappointing.”

As race day dawned gone was the sunshine of the previous days replaced with rain, leaving the team with the tough decision of what tyres to start on.

“I didn’t get a brilliant start, at that point you’re starting uphill and you’re on the biting point. On the top of the hill it was slippery and I went out on full wets, but I was pleased with the progress and we made our way up to 14th position. The tyres were going off by the end of the race; they were getting far too hot and turning to jelly.”

Aside from the weather and tyres James was caught up in drama on the first lap, “We had unavoidable contact on the first lap with Tony Hughes when I got a nudge in my side, I don’t know who it was from but then that pushed me in to the Toyota’s back rear quarter which spun him around right in front of me. That caused some damage to the front of the car which didn’t help.”

“Towards the end I was under no pressure to be overtaken and I don’t think I could have caught the car in front but it was frustrating that the fuel problem developed and put us out of the race.”

Despite the weather looking like it would clear up before the second race, the rain closed in again for the start. “Race 2 we started in 20th position and we had a better start, making up a few places. I was really pleased at passing Tom Onslow-Cole before the safety car. We went with a great choice of tyres with slicks on the front and wets on the rear. It was getting wetter and wetter and the slicks were becoming useless but it would have got us to the end.”

A safety car period would close the field up and present James with the opportunity to build on his pace. “After the safety car I got a great restart and dropped Tom Onlsow-Cole by 6-8 car lengths. I knew there were only 2 laps to go and the weather was getting progressively worse so I said to myself ‘alright, I’ll brake 10 yards earlier and nurse the car home’ but we had a mechanical lock up going in to Old Hall bend.”

“In what was probably only 1-2 seconds seemed like a lifetime, everything goes in slow motion. I remember dabbing the brakes, trying to change gear and trying everything to get it stopped but it just wasn’t having it. So I went straight on in to the wall head-on at 80mph, I remember thinking ‘Christ this is going to hurt’.”

The damage caused by the accident would ultimately put James out of the race but not before he would try to get back on track. “I was surprised I got the car restarted after the impact and I could have limped around to finish the race, but the radiator was broken in the accident so we had to cut everything after nearly making a whole lap.”

“The damage from the accident was so bad – the chassis leg was bent the steering rack was bent, the wishbone was bent, the bonnet, wing and bumper all wrecked so it was just too much damage of which I was massively gutted. The team put in a fantastic effort to try to fix the car but there just wasn’t enough time so that was the end of the weekend which was so frustrating.”

James was left ruing what could have been after not finishing two races and failing to start the third. He reflected, “Mat Jackson and Lea Wood won most improved driver as they both made up 14 places over the weekend. If I’d have finished in the 2 races I would have made up 15 places.”

“I was delighted with my pace, I like the wet, and it was my first ever wet race in a touring car.” ended James.

Iranian driver Khani shines at Oulton Park to take Maiden win.

The 2011 season has already underway; Oulton Park was the next destination for Khani, who last month had double podium finishes in both BARC Formula Renault as well as a guest appearance in the Monoposto 2000 where he shined in a Formula Renault against faster F3 cars and finishing in 2nd place.

Kourosh Khani was the undoubted star of round six, taking his maiden category victory and entering the record books as the first Iranian in history to win in Formula Renault. Having taken his first BARC Formula Renault podium in round four at Brands Hatch, the 21-year-old’s win today put his Scorpio Motorsport team back on top of the podium for the first time since 2009.

Round 5

Going into qualifying, Khani was in buoyant mood, but a red flag caused by Dino Zamperelli’s car breaking down meant as the session restarted it was a mad dash to set a good lap time. On his last lap Khani was up on his previous best time and on course to improve, but traffic ensured he could not better his time. Khani ended up securing fourth place behind Championship leader James Thorp, Josh Webster and a great effort by Zamperelli to put the car on pole with a lap time of 1min 22.041s. Unusually as there was only one qualifying for both races, the drivers’ second fastest lap would determine start positions for the second race. This gave Khani a fourth place start position for both races.

On a race that started in damp conditions with many opting for slicks in hope of the track drying out, Khani immediately got the jump on his rivals in front and was into second behind Webster. The top two began to race hard, but in tricky conditions several cars mid field tangled and ended up crashing out.

With the safety car deployed, the pack lined up behind while the marshals cleared the stricken cars from the track. The rain now coming down hard a decision was taken to red flag the race. After a short pause, the cars lined up on the grid to take the restart.

At the start Webster made a clean getaway leading into Old Hall hotly pursued by Khani, Hamilton and Vernon. Vernon wasted no time in getting past Hamilton and then Khani in to the Island hairpin demoting Khani into third. The following lap Khani pounced upon by Hamilton at the same place the pair had a slight touch pushing Khani wide which allowed Hamilton to dive through into third.

An incident between Howard Fuller and Khani’s team mate Hector Hurst meant the race was prematurely stopped giving Webster a win, followed by Vernon and Hamilton to give Fortec top three places. Khani continued his strong run of results with a fourth place finish but was somewhat frustrated at missing out on the podium. His sights were firmly set on making amends in the next race.

“I had hoped to do better in the race, but with so many red flags and not enough racing laps, it made it impossible, but the positive is that I had the pace and we still have another race left. I will be pushing for a win”

Round 6

It was another blinding start by Khani to move into second place followed by Webster, while pole sitter Dino made a poor getaway and was down to sixth. As the first few laps unfolded, the order was Webster followed by Khani who was pushing very hard in hanging on to Webster, with Zamperelli working his way up into fourth place. Incidents at the back of the field between Ivan Taranov, Sean Walkingshaw and Raoul Owens ensured the appearance of the red flags and resulted in the race to be stopped.

At the restart, in the positions they were holding prior to the red flag saw Webster start from pole, but Khani now becoming something of a starting expert, blasted past into the lead for the first time in his Formula Renault career. A six lap battle at the front was very past paced, with Hamilton and Zamperelli fighting hard for third place until the former got awarded with a drive through penalty for jumping the start. Meanwhile at the front Khani began to open up a small gap from Webster, and was posting a series of fast laps, clearly he was going for the fastest race lap as well.

Khani crossed the line to record a well deserved maiden win to the much delight of his team who were equally excited with the result. Webster finished second just about holding off a charging Zamperelli to finish in third.

“It was an exciting battle; I made a great start at the restart and was able to get by Josh. I was also pushing for the fastest lap too but on my last lap, I pushed a little too hard and missed out by 2 tenths. I am now looking forward to the next race at croft, I am very optimistic of another strong result. Overall I am extremely happy with how this season is going with big thanks going to Scorpio motorsport and my driver coach Kieran Clark. For the first time in my career I have a car that is on the pace and the level of professionalism and commitment from my team is second to none”

Words: Demitri Ianou
Pictures: Jakob Ebrey

James Nash equalled his best-ever touring car result and took two out of three Independent wins in his turbocharged Vauxhall for Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors at Oulton Park in the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Unfortunately, a finish out of the points in the third and final race meant that Nash drops to 4th in the overall standings, though the team does still lead the way in the Independent’s award.

The highlight of the day was probably Nash’s 4th place finish in the damp opening race after a gamble to run slick tyres on the front axle only paid dividends. Nash had fought his way through from 9th on the starting grid. In race two Nash took a podium with 2nd place after Rob Collard who finished in the position on the road in his BMW was demoted a place by the Stewards for a driving infringement. A slip on a kerb and a clash with Collard in race three led to Nash spinning to the back of the field from which he was unable to recover.

Meanwhile Nash’s team-mate Tony Gilham had a difficult day after spinning out of contention in race one and then crashing in race two. However, the team were able to rebuild his car for the 3rd race and Gilham rewarded his crew’s hard work with a charging drive from the back of the grid to finish just out of the points in 12th place.

James Nash ♯14: “We can’t really complain. We overcame a few problems and got a few trophies. I went off in race three because I was pushing for a place so no complaint there. It was a shame things ended up in race three the way they did but we’ve got to take the positives.”

Tony Gilham ♯34: “Today has bit of a disappointment really. Race one was my first time in the wet and I made a mistake when I went off. I’d been holding fastest lap for much of the race so to finish only 14th was very disappointing.

In race two under the Safety Car I hit another car – he slowed and I couldn’t stop while race three sort of makes up for things (12th place from P23). We couldn’t set the car up properly for the final race so we did the best we could from the rear of the grid. All told though, a frustrating weekend.”

Ian Harrison, Chairman Triple Eight: “It’s not been too bad I suppose, a bit up and down to be honest. James had good opening races but then had an incident in race three which put him out of contention. Thereafter all he could do really was drive round to finish the race.”

“Tony drove really well in race three from a very low grid position, and his lap times were good too.

“The Championship isn’t over ‘till October and to do well you’ve got to play the long game which is I guess what this weekend ultimately has been about.”

Result Race 1 15 laps @ 24m 45.103s

1st Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics Honda

2nd Jason Plato RML Chevrolet

3rd Alex McDowall RML Chevrolet

4th James Nash Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

14th Tony Gilham Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

Result Race 2 18 laps @ 31m 12.569s

1st Jason Plato RML Chevrolet

2nd James Nash Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

3rd Rob Collard WSR BMW

2nd James Nash Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

dnf Tony Gilham Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

Result Race 3 17 laps @ 26m 21.782s

1st Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing Ford

2nd Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics Honda

3rd Andrew Jordan Pirtek Racing Vauxhall

13th James Nash Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

12th Tony Gilham Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors Vauxhall

Championship standings after round 12 (of 30) Points

Drivers overall

1st Matt Neal Team Dynamics 103

2nd Gordon Shedden Team Dynamics 101

3rd Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 96

Manufacturer’s

1st Honda Team Dynamics 243

2nd Chevrolet RML 216

3rd Ford Arena Motorsport 164

Independent – Drivers

1st James Nash Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors 125

2nd Mat Jackson Airwaves Racing 120

3rd Andrew Jordan Pirtek Racing 115

Independent – Teams

1st Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors 129

2nd Airwaves Racing 124

3rd Pirtek Racing 124

Declan Jones put in a brilliant performance at Oulton Park last weekend in rounds seven and eight of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship, running as high as fifth in the second race and eventually finishing ninth, despite a puncture.

Declan, who has moved up to the Ginetta Junior Championship for 14-17 year-olds this season, went into the event again gunning for a top-ten to match what he had managed last time out at Thruxton, and the 15-year-old duly delivered – and in some style too.

Indeed despite a tough start to his home event, with the Chicago-Soft-backed youngster slowed by a differential issue in unofficial practice on Friday, he bounced back the next day and with a new diff fitted he was almost two seconds a lap quicker and a solid 13^th in practice.

His mechanical woes however were not over and in qualifying brake problems meant he was unable to set a representative time in his family-run Kelvin Jones Motorsport Ginetta G40J, leaving him only 17^th on the grid.

Declan put his head down though, and in the first race hauled his car up the order to twelfth, less than six seconds off the top-ten.

The following day saw the weather take a turn for the worse, but in drying and gloomy conditions, the Liverpudlian immediately made headway in the second race, which was screened live on UK TV on ITV4, and he was ninth by the end of the first lap.

He then got up as high as fifth and was fast closing on fourth, until slowed by a puncture, a result of getting caught up in a clash between his former team-mate, Paddy McClughan and Niall Murray on lap 3.

“My old team-mate spun in front of me through Lodge and I clipped him. It ripped off part of the front left of the car and then something started rubbing on the tyre,” Declan explained.

Despite being hindered by the puncture though, which later went flat, the Ginetta Junior rookie hung on and still got a top-ten, eventually crossing the line in ninth, to equal his best result thus far in the championship.

“We had a really difficult start to the weekend with the diff going,” Declan continued. “But as soon as we changed that we found something like 1.7 seconds. Obviously that was a big boost. But then the brake pedal went long in qualifying and I really struggled.

“Race 1 was okay but we got the set-up really good for today’s race. On lap 3 I was the quickest on the track and by lap 5 was fifth and catching fourth and third. But then the puncture came in and it was hard towards the end as it had gone completely flat. It wouldn’t go around right-handers properly and I just had to try and keep people behind me and collect as many points as possible.”

Declan eventually added another 21 points to his tally in total – his best haul thus far – and he will now go to Croft in North Yorkshire in two weeks time (June 18-19), for rounds nine and ten of the MSA British Touring Car Championship-support series, with 59 points on the board.

“I obviously want to try and improve at Croft,” he continued. “I know I can do it now and know I can be fast there and right up with the quick boys. A top-ten is definitely the target again.

“This weekend has been eventful and a bit bittersweet. There have been lots of ups and downs. But some points have been really good and that is what I want to remember.”

Declan’s dad and boss of Kelvin Jones Motorsport, Kelvin Jones meanwhile labelled his son’s latest performance in the second race ‘brilliant’, adding it was just what the youngster needed as he continues to learn in what is only his first season post-karting.

“What a drive!” Kelvin added. “That was unbelievable! We knew once it was wet he was going to be good today and he got right up to fifth. He was fastest on the track on lap 3 and nearly a second faster than Seb [Morris]. I thought he was on his way to the podium, he was that fast. But then obviously the tyre went flat and he had to battle his way to ninth.

“It is still a great to finish the weekend though, especially after what happened on Friday and Saturday.

“On Friday the car just got worse and worse as the day went on and it then started to labour out of Knickerbrook and up Clay Hill. Ginetta loaned me another diff for the Saturday and we put it in and went about two seconds quicker. Then in qualifying the pedal went long and as Declan braked it just locked the front. We knew then his qualifying was over.

“In Saturday’s race, again he did well. We finished twelfth. That was a bit of a s*** fight, but there was a lot to do having started right from the back.

“Returning to today’s race though, I thought Dec put in a great performance. It is a good confidence lift for him. He realises now he can race these guys. We have made steps forward with the car too. The team is getting to know it a lot more now. But the main improvement is just Declan and his confidence and even though he was only ninth, I thought it was one of the best drives I have seen him do. It was a brilliant performance.

“Now it is on to Croft in two weeks time and that will be mega. It will be a new track for us. We haven’t tested there. We will be going for more top-ten finishes. Let’s pray for rain too!”

Pics:Jakob Ebrey

On a day when track conditions were some of the toughest possible, Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing were back on the podium at Oulton Park (5 June) during the fourth meeting of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  The three races, run in front of one of the biggest crowds ever seen at the Cheshire track, left Andrew in the top six overall drivers and a close third in the Independents’ Trophy.

Qualifying on Saturday ran in warm and dry conditions and Andrew was well in contention in fifth place while team mate Jeff Smith was 11th fastest in the 24-car field. But overnight, the weather changed and race day was hit by persistent light rain. That made tyre choice difficult, but Andrew opted for slicks on the front and wet tyres on back for race one. “It was the right call,” he said. Unfortunately, an early spin at the Hairpin cost him a lot of time. “It was my mistake,” said Andrew. “I out-braked myself into the Hairpin. I was heading for the wall forwards and I got onto the handbrake and spun it in backwards to avoid damage to the front of the car. I knew if I went in forwards I’d probably not be able to get going again.”

While Andrew recovered to tenth, Smith had even more problems when he spun backwards into the side of another car and did major damage to the back of his car. A mammoth team effort got his car out for the second race, but a first lap spin left Jeff in a gravel trap.

Meanwhile, Andrew raced to an excellent fourth place. “The new dampers we were using are designed not to work the tyres too hard in the dry, which is important,” said Andrew. “But in those conditions on slicks you need the front tyres to be working hard to get temperature into them. I struggled a bit, so to eventually get fourth was okay.”

Conditions were still difficult for race three, but Andrew drove a storming race to fend off championship leader Matt Neal to secure another podium, his sixth in 12 races. “The third race was really good,” he reported. “The car felt good, but the pace just wasn’t there to go with the front two. Matt romped up to me pretty quickly and I was surprised I could hold him off as long as I did. We had some good side-by-side racing, so it shows that you can race cleanly without banging into each other. To get a podium was a good end to the day with a lot of hard work from the team.”

Meanwhile, Smith ended a tough day with a good race to tenth place to reward a massive effort from the team to rebuild his car after the accident in the opening race.

A sensational feat from the Special Tuning Racing team ensured new team-mates Tom Boardman and Dave Newsham were at the centre of three action-packed races, as wet conditions played their part in the fourth meeting of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park last weekend.

With the weather having taken a turn for the worse, the circuit was damp at the start of race one. Gambling on the track drying out though, both Tom and Dave elected to start the race on slicks, having qualified twelfth and sixteenth respectively.

As the race got underway, progress was initially hampered as it began to drizzle. Both drivers dropped further down the order, with those starting on wet tyres sprinting by.

But, by lap eight a dry line began to appear on the track and the full slicks came into play. Both Tom and Dave began charging through the field, and by lap 14, Tom was up to twelfth. With just three laps to go, Tom and Dave were lapping around five seconds a lap quicker than the rest and trading fastest laps.

Up to eighth, a potential a sixth place beckoned for Tom. But turning into the hairpin, he was suddenly side-swiped at speed by Pirtek Racing’s Jeff Smith. Having clashed with Team Aon’s Andy Neate, Smith spun and rejoined the circuit in reverse, shunting Tom and causing terminal damage to the car.

Carving his way through the pack, Dave ended the race in twelfth and posted the fastest lap of the race – no mean feat considering contact with a kerb in the final lap had broken his steering.

Speaking afterwards, Dave said: “First of all, I had absolutely no grip on the wet circuit and I lost a lot of time going straight on at the hairpin. Everyone began to clear off and I wondered what was going on! I realised then that everyone was on wets. But then as it began to dry I was the fastest guy on the circuit, a bit too late though unfortunately.”

Tom added: “When I pulled up to the line at the start, I thought, oh dear, it’s going to be a slow race! Knowing those with wets would get past, I sat it out and waited for the track to dry, but it seemed to take ages! Going round Cascades I could see the cars in front going through the chicane and I was thinking this is going to be impossible!

“But by the fifth lap though a dry line appeared and it started to come good around lap ten. Within half a lap I was on the group of cars ahead. I couldn’t believe how quick I came up on them! I’d passed all those cars and just got alongside Matt Neal into the hairpin. I turned in and then bam, I’d been hit. I didn’t know who it was though until I got back to the garage. Another case of wrong place, wrong time though!” he continued.

With minutes to go before race two, both STR garage doors were still firmly shut. Inside, the team were working flat out on both cars. Given the all clear though, Dave headed out to the grid, while Tom could only look on as the repairs to his car continued.

With the drizzle returning, Dave opted for a wet/slick combination and got off to a flying start. Before the safety car was deployed for an incident at the end of the first lap, he’d moved up 3 places to ninth. At that moment, the second STR garage door opened and Tom made his way to the circuit, albeit two laps down, joining the queue behind the safety car – a fantastic achievement by the team!

At the restart, Dave immediately made more progress through the field, moving into seventh. But bad luck was to strike the team again. This time it was Dave, when a front-left puncture forced him back to the pits.

Switching to wets, he returned a lap down, but as the drizzle turned to rain, the switch gave him the advantage, and he made up a position finishing 17th.

Putting thoughts of the first two races out of their minds, both Tom and Dave got off to flyers in the third race. The safety car was called out before the end of the first lap, but having started from 16th, Dave had already gained seven places to ninth, with Tom climbing 8 places from 19th to eleventh.

With the race restarting on lap four, both picked up where they left off, Dave passing the Audi of Rob Austin and Tom swooping through too, putting him right up behind his team-mate.

When mechanical problems forced Silverline Chevrolet driver Alex MacDowall into the pits, both picked up a further place. Quick thinking from both drivers saw them take evasive action as Plato and Collard tangled at Lodge Corner on lap ten. Taking the inside line, Tom gained the advantage though, moving past his team-mate into sixth. But Dave, who went out wide, also lost out to both Team Aon drivers, dropping him to ninth.

Tom then began to haul in WSR’s Nick Foster. Crawling all over the BMW for the next five laps, Tom was unable to get past as Foster defended rigorously. But on the penultimate lap, an error by Foster allowed both Tom and Dave through, securing fifth place for Tom and eighth for Dave. The result was a great reward for Tom and the STR team after the disastrously unlucky race one incident. And it was a fantastic point-scoring finish in his debut weekend in the SEAT Leon for Dave.

Speaking after the third race, Dave said: “I’m happy with that considering. It was a difficult debut, but points in the bag and a top-ten finish that’ll do nicely.

Tom said: “A lot went on in that race. Starting where I was with Matt Neal in front, I thought he’s got a fast car so if I can just get away with him I should have a chance. He was making the gaps and I was able to get through too. Luckily, with the incident between Collard and Plato, I was able to see everything going on. Dave went to the outside and I went on the inside and got through. Then I had the BMW of Foster in front, but I homed in and eventually he made a little mistake at Druids and I got down the inside. Even with everything that went on today, apart from the Hondas, we were on the pace this weekend which was a real positive.”

The next round of the Championship is at Croft, North Yorkshire, on 19 June.