dbRacing - Oulton Park Race Report 6th October 2001

Race Report - 6th October 2001

The Circuit

I class Oulton Park as a local circuit, being just over 2 hours away from home in Cheshire. Historically the circuit has hosted a number of important events, with big prize money attached, perhaps the most famous being the Gold Cup. Nowadays, its status has fallen to be pretty much like any other circuit.

There are 3 layouts, the full international circuit, with its banked Shell Oils hairpin, the slightly shorter Island circuit, and the 1.6 mile Fosters circuit. Unfortunately the Fosters circuit is being used more and more, to the detriment of the racing, and it seems to heading the way of Brands Hatch, with the prime use of their Indy Circuit. "Thankyou Octagon "! Oulton Park circuit, whichever the circuit used, does have a fair degree of character. Whether it is the most steeply banked corner in the UK at the aforementioned Shell Oils, the blind crested Clay Hill, still fast, even after the changes to Knickerbrook a few years ago, the tree surrounded double apex Druids or one of the best corners for outbraking, the 100 degree Lodge before Deer Leep and the start finish straight, they are all technically challenging and time is gained or lost from nowhere. If you guessed that I like this circuit you are right.

Practice

Testing on Friday had given me experience of driving Oulton Park both in damp and dry conditions. It had rained overnight, but there was a clear sky and sunshine so I expected that the track would be dry in time for our practice. It wasn't, to make matters worse, we were all taken from our cars while we were in the collecting area and warned about the very dangerous conditions from Druids to Lodge, due to the residues washed from the trees onto the track overnight. I was first in line, and therefore would be the first to discover just how slick the conditions were. I was on dry settings, and at Druids I had little feeling of what the car was doing. As the session progressed, the track dried a little and more traction became available, but that lack of feeling from the car cost me time and I qualified 8th, a few places lower than I would have expected based on Fridays times.

Race

The 2 x 2 grid layout at Oulton Park is well laid out. It is compact, but with sufficient space to allow overtaking at the start. I thought that after my good start here in the NSSCC two weeks ago, a repeat performance would get me past the class 2 car of Simon Harrison, who had qualified well, and allow me to set about the task of making further positions up.

The lights stayed at red for a very long time, and as they turned green, the revs were dropping and my getaway was not perfect. I managed to get level with Simon Harrison, but as we entered Old Hall I was on the outside and lost out as he regained his place and Richard Harrison (no relation) slipped ahead. I was undoubtedly quicker than both of them, but both of then defended their positions forcefully. All the while, the cars I needed to be with were edging away. I managed to pass Richard at the entry to Lodge at the end of the second lap, but by taking the inside line my speed had dropped, as had the turbocharger speed, and he was able to regain the place as we climbed Deer Leep. The operation was repeated at the end of the third lap, but by dropping to second, I was able to accelerate away and close on Simon Harrison as we dropped down Cascades. Yellow flags were being withdrawn after Tony Brown recovered from a spin, but as we climbed Clay Hill yellow flags were been frantically waved. All hell had broken out ahead! Ian White had attempted a move on Colin Broster, hit him in rear throwing himself off onto the grass before Druids. Patrick Pearce had to take avoiding action by throwing his car into the gravel and Broster was spinning between the two apexes. I slowed and weaved my way through but there was to be another casualty as Steve Winter locked up behind me and ran into White. Needless to say this brought the squared black and yellow flags out and we followed the lead car of Graham Burke for about 4 laps. At the restart I almost managed to nip down the inside at Old Hall, but lost momentum as I was forced onto the grass. I pursued Harrison for another lap and a half before finally making the decisive move and moved into 4th place. As I pulled away from the pursuing cars I tried to catch Steve Jaques, but he had managed to pull out about 5 seconds since the restart, which I was unable to close. Tony Brown had a last lap spin as he attempted to pass Burke, promoting Jaques to second and I took the chequered flag in 4th place, for my best result of the season.