Report: Oulton Race – A Walk In The Park For Malone and Rainford

It was a clear lights-to-flag win for Dom Malone and Charles Rainford in the Amspeed Porsche 991 Cup in the 90-minute race, though they had to work their strategy around two Safety Car periods that were barely a lap apart.

Malone took the lead from pole as the red lights went out for the rolling start, and began to pull out a gap of around three seconds per lap over the rest of the field, who were squabbling for positions; Chris Bingham initially led the pack from his front-row start in the Raceworks Ginetta G55, but Martin Addison’s Aston Martin took the place at the start of the second lap , down the inside at Old Hall, while Noah Cosby’s Team BRIT McLaren was harrying Harry Barton’s BMW E46, and young Archie Buttle had split the Team BRIT McLarens, getting his Ginetta ahead of Aaron Morgan. An ambitious move by Cosby on Barton at Old Hall saw the BMW take to the grass and lose position, while further down the field there was an impatient trio comprising Chris Murphy’s BMW E36, Richard Avery’s Cupra TCR, and Lee Goldsmith’s BMW M2 (three wide around the Shell hairpin at one point), all anxious behind Asha Silva’s Team BRIT BMW 240i, though this little group was broken up eight laps in, when Malone, now with a 30-second lead, came up to put a lap on them , releasing Murphy and Goldsmith, while Avery now slowed due to a fuel pump issue that would be a race-long concern.

Cutting through the pack from a back row start was Jack Layton in the Amspeed BMW E46 GTR, putting pressure on returnee Peter Moulsdale’s Geoff Steel-run BMW M2, while Maurizio Sciglio led the Ginetta class and Jamie Hayes headed the Cup class in the JLC Group Seat. Dave May, lying second in the Ginetta class in the 118 Rescue G56, was the first to pit once the window opened, handing over to Mark Skeats, and Richard Avery, after a few slow laps, pitted the RACE Cupra, taking on fuel – the first of several fuel stops to compensate for the faulty fuel pump – and handing driving duties to Nick Hull. Shortly into the pit window, the Safety Car was deployed, to enable the recovery of the Team BRIT McLaren of Noah Cosby, which had spun into the barrier at Druids, causing most of the runners to take advantage of a less costly pit stop under caution. Immediately the field went green, there was fraught action – Michael Lyons, now in the Raceworks Ginetta, anxious to get back in touch with Addison’s Aston Martin, and the BMWs of Barton and Layton eager to clear some slower cars, but it was short lived, as Paul Fullick, in the remaining Team Brit McLaren, was in the gravel at Lodge.

There were some more pit stops during the caution – Fullick drove the McLaren back to the pits for a check-over, and he team incurred a 60-second penalty for refuelling under the S/C, as did the JWA Ginetta, while Martin Addison realised the error of his ways and drove through without stopping, completing another lap until the caution was lifted, initiating a flurry of stops for fuel-starved runners before the imminent closure of the pit window. Charles Rainford, double-stinting in the Amspeed Porsche, led the field into the final quarter of an hour of the race, with the amazing Trophy class Woodrow BMW of Calum in second overall, and Peter Moulsdale’s BMW M2 in third, so with the class positions more or less settled by that point, the flag fell after 47 laps.

 

The win for Malone and Rainford was unfettered by close opposition; their Challenge-class team mate Jack Layton started the Suitsme-sponsored BMW GTR from the back row and finished fifth on the road, but drove the whole race due to am-driver Matt Sanders being unwell, so collected a not unexpected disqualification. Calum Bates curbed his usual exuberance towards the end of the race, safe in an amazing second overall and taking the Trophy class honours, while Woodrow team mate Chris Murphy worked a little harder than usual in the early stages to free his BMW from a stagnant group, then settled into a rhythm that moved him up to sixth overall and third in class, with Bates awarding the plaudits to the Woodrow team for their expert strategising. Lee Goldsmith, driving alone, worked hard for his third place in Trophy, starting from the back row and incurring a penalty later on in the Geoff Steel-run BMW M2 , and similarly incurring a penalty was fourth-placed Archie Buttle, the youngster having shown his potential by qualifying well and running sixth in the first part of the race in the Vortice Ginetta, while sadly the Ginetta of James and Steve Harrison suffered a drive shaft failure on the out lap, and despite a valiant effort by the High Row team, didn’t make the race.

Peter Moulsdale, returning to Britcar after a long break racing elsewhere, was back straight on form, claiming third overall – and the Rowe Driver of the Day – and topping the GT class in his Geoff Steel-run BMW M2, ahead of Harry Barton’s M3 from the same team, but both being Invitation entries, the top points went to Chris Bingham and Michael Lyons in the Raceworks GT4-spec Ginetta, which got the jump late-on over Martin Addison’s Aston Martin – the lone driver had been particularly feisty during the race, but the self-imposed drive-through before refuelling possibly squandered his chances of an overall podium and the top class points, though his performance in the early stages earned him the Sunoco Driver of the Day prize. The #68 Team BRIT McLaren returned to the race for a few laps, keeping the third place in the GT Class despite having their 60-second refuelling penalty awarded post-race, but it was better news for the team’s BMW 240i, with Bobby Trundley doing what Bobby Trundley does, after Asha Silva’s early determination, taking the Cup class win over the JLC Group Seat of brothers Jamie and Christopher Hayes, which had led the class in the opening part of the race, and we welcomed back Ulstermen Dennis Storey and Allan McCullough, who had a solid race to third in the smart SVG-run BMW 130.

The Ginetta class win went to Dave May and Mark Skeats in the 118 Rescue G55, who got ahead of the early-leading Datum machine of Maurizio Sciglio and Marco Anastasi, which was hindered by needing a push-start to fire up after the first pit stop. The JWA team, making their debut in Britcar, featured alleged pro-driver Andy Cummings and relative novice Dave Ward; no dramas on track, and despite a penalty for a pit-stop infringement, they took their place on the bottom step of the class podium. Richard Avery and Nick Hull persevered for just over an hour in the TCR Cupra with the recalcitrant fuel pump, taking five pit stops to replenish the tank to keep the pressure workable, even relinquishing their place at the head of the Safety Car crocodile, electing to take a drive-through as they couldn’t have accelerated quickly enough as the field were let loose. Nevertheless, they had done enough to collect the class winner’s trophies.

 

 

The Championship now heads to Brands Hatch for the season finale on 8th November, with the overall title still to be decided.

Text: Steve Wood; photos: Paul Cherry, Steve Jackman and Stevie Borowik.