AXIAMETRICS LIGHT UP THE OULTON TWILIGHT AT BRSCC NW FINALS DAY

The BRSCC’s North Western Centre staged their final meeting of 2020 at Oulton Park on 17th October with a varied mixture of saloons, Superkarts and Fun Cup.

The Fun Cup team known as “Uvio Hofmann’s Lotus” needed to win this final 4-hour round to take the Championship and were up to second within the first 20 minutes although a slight coming together half an hour later pushed them down to fifth. They then lost further ground when a stop-go penalty for track limit infringements had to be taken… but 4 hours is a long time, especially in Fun Cup, and with 90 minutes remaining their Number 1 car was out in front… but 5 minutes later they had been passed by Track Focussed, Team Viking and EDF Motorsport before colliding with a car that had spun at Druids! Having pinged up and down the lap charts all afternoon, they eventually finished in eighth.

This meant the destiny of the 2020 Fun Cup Championship was a straight fight between Team 7 WASPP and Axiametrics who were running together in the middle of the Top Ten at the start of the last hour. A stalled engine at the final pit-stop for Axiametrics enabled Team 7 WASPP to get ahead although their positions were reversed at Cascades with 30 minutes remaining.

From then onwards Riley Phillips, driving the Axiametrics car in the final stint, lit up the circuit as the autumnal gloom of twilight descended on Oulton Park. He charged up the order to pass Make Happen Racing for the lead as he claimed the championship for his team in the best possible fashion. Team 7 WASPP completed the podium in third.

With his Hyperdrive ST-XR Challenge title rival, Mark Robinson, kept at home in North Wales by Covid restrictions, the path was clear for Will Heslop to retain the crown that he claimed in 2019. He did so with aplomb by taking a brace of victories. The first of these was the easiest of the two as Michael Blackburn and Chris Grimes battled between themselves – this was somewhat academic as Grimes had a 10 secs penalty due to a jumped start. Such was the pace of the front 3, Grimes held on to third place at the finish despite the penalty. In race 2, Grimes and Blackburn remained on the tail of Heslop throughout with the trio taking the flag separated by less than 0.6 secs.

The first Teekay Couplings Production Gti encounter saw Martyn Walsh take the spoils from Simon Hill as Henry Riley just held off Simon Vercoe. When the Golfs returned to the tarmac, Hill made the best start and led throughout despite understeering wide at Knickerbrook on lap 6. Walsh’s car hesitated going up Clay Hill on the penultimate circuit handing second to Vercoe.

It was fabulous to have the Superkarting UK Championship guesting on our programme. Liam Morley took the first set of laurels having got a good run out of Old Hall on lap 6 to pass the early leader, Lee Harpham, down The Avenue. Later in the day, Morley did the double as Harpham lost power exiting Old Hall and pulled off at Cascades although he managed to get his kart restarted. Carl Hulme took third in the earlier contest having started from the back of the grid. This time around he passed Kirk Cattermole to finish as runner-up.

Due to the nature of the World in 2020 the North Western Centre has not staged as many race meetings as we would have wished however the BRSCC thanks all marshals and officials for their support and assistance during the course of the season – particularly with regards to all the additional COVID-related procedures that have had to be adhered to. Full results can be viewed here: Oulton Park Results

Dave Williams