Oulton Park
Oulton Park (Island Circuit) in Cheshire - 3.616 Km (2.260 miles) 7 turns. Best viewing position Old Hall.
Round 7 - Oulton Park 21st June
Many drivers consider the annual visit to this famous circuit in rural Cheshire countryside to be a highlight of the racing season. Races at Oulton Park are always held on a Saturday but the thought of a tedious journey up the M6 on a Friday night is softened by the prospect of race on the superb 2.26 mile Island circuit.
A meagre entry of just 32 cars were entered for the races but, with the season already at the halfway stage, all the leading drivers were present. The weather forecast wasn't good with heavy rain likely for most of the day.
Class B/Z
The ZR160s, Maestro's and a lone Montego Estate went out to practice the track on a very wet track. Pole position was taken by Gary Smith with Simon Byrne alongside him on the front row just ahead of Trevor Dixon and Stratton Mackay who was the highest placed Class B car. The next row saw the Maestro's of Lee Sullivan and Ben Short ahead of the remaining ZRs of James Barnett and Nick Golhar.
As the red lights went out to start a shortened 7 lap race, Byrne got better traction and lead the field into Old Hall corner just ahead of Smith who was a length ahead of Mackay who was leading Class B from Sullivan, Short, Dixon., Golhar and Barnett
The whole face of the race changed on lap 2 when Byrne lost control of his ZR in the fast double apex Druids corner and spun off before hitting the barriers hard. Byrne was unhurt but it allowed Smith to open up a 15 second advantage over Dixon who was the next Class Z car. From that position, the experienced Summit MG driver was clearly heading for a comfortable win.
The real action was in Class B where Sullivan took the Class B lead at Cascades on lap 2 and pulled away as Mackay became embroiled in a frantic battle with Short. With Sullivan well in control, all eyes were on the battle for 2nd place in Class B where Mackay and Short were driving at the absolute limit of adhesion on the wet track. As the race progressed, Mackay was getting increasingly sideways at Old Hall allowing Short to close in and he eventually nipped past to take 2nd place on the penultimate lap.
Smith went on to take his fifth win of the season by 3.4 secs with Sullivan taking a remarkable 2nd place overall and winning Class B. Short held on to 2nd place in Class B finishing 100 metres ahead of Mackay with Scott, Haylett, Perkins, Halsall and Miller completing the Class B finishers.
Golhar and Dixon continued their race long battle for 2nd place in Class Z right to the flag where Dixon took the place by the length of a bonnet after exiting the final corner quicker than a defending Golhar.
Class A / F
The MGFs, MGBs and Midgets were scheduled to be last race of the day and, after a number of earlier sessions were red flagged, didn't start their qualifying session until 12.30pm. On a still wet track, pole position was taken Stuart Plotnek by a tiny margin from Paul Savage with Martin Wills, Ian Deaves, Ian Evans and Peter Higton filling the top three rows of the grid.
The highest placed Class A car was the blue MGBGT of Malcolm Hill who took Class A pole by a healthy margin from the Midget of Will Sharpe. Phil Waterman was next, just ahead of Jim Baynam. Novice driver Brendan Murphy drove well in very difficult conditions to qualify 5th in Class A in only his third ever race.
By the time the cars lined up on the grid at 5.45pm, the rain had stopped and the track was dry. Pole position man Plotnek made a perfect start to take an early lead from Wills who had moved ahead of Savage, Deaves and Evans. For the first 3 laps, Plotnek had his mirrors full of the blue MGF of Wills before the Maidenhead driver made a mistake on lap 4 allowing Plotnek to open up a 200 metre lead. Wills then found himself in a battle with Savage before being forced to retire with a mechanical problem leaving Savage in a clear 2nd place.
A full 10 seconds further back Deaves and Evans were having their own private battle for 3rd place
with the reigning Class F Champion getting past Deaves to take the place on lap 6.
Plotnek cruised to a comfortable win in Class F with Savage and Evans taking the podium places ahead of Walker and Baker.
Hill made the best start and, at the end of opening lap, lead Class A from Baynam, Sharpe, Eales and Waterman. The leading three cars were fighting hard for position and Baynam had a fast exit from Druids and took the lead from Hill under braking for Lodge Corner on lap 3. It was extremely close at the front but, with Hill defending his position against a charging Sharpe, Baynam looked in control at the front. The positions changed dramatically on lap 8 when Baynam closed in on a very slow MGF on the run into Knickerbrook Chicane, the slower car didn't make space for the leaders and Baynam spun off leaving Hill with a 30 metre lead. Hill then made a slight mistake on the penultimate lap allowing Sharpe to close in and the Midget took the lead at the start of the last lap. It was Hill’s turn to fight back but he spun off at Cascades elevating Baynam up into 2nd place. After 10 laps of frantic action, Sharpe took the win from Baynam with Hill in 3rd place ahead of Eales, Waterman, Kimber, Flooks, Murphy and Witherington.
Next Race: 2/3rd August - Thruxton
Points after round 7 of 14
Class A Class B Class F Class Z
Will Sharpe 123 Lee Sullivan 139 Stuart Plotnek 136 Gary Smith 120
Jim Baynam 76 Stratton Mackay 111 Ian Evans 107 Dave Mellor 94
Phil Waterman 72 Ben Short 103 Martin Wills 91 Simon Byrne 81
Paul Eales 67 Mark Halsall 80 Ian Deaves 83 Trevor Dixon 67
John Kimber 66 Paul Haylett 80 Paul Savage 83 Nick Golhar 62