MID SUMMER AT OULTON
Jason Tingle will be looking for his seventh GTi Mk5 race win at Oulton. Photo: Karl Bowdrey
The International Circuit is the configuration of choice for our North Western Centre meeting at Oulton Park tomorrow, which will feature ten races.
The first race to get underway is just before the lunch-break and hosts the ‘new for 2015’ Teekay Couplings Mk5 Production GTi Series, an off-shoot of the increasingly successful Mk2 Championship. The three men main to look out for are local driver Simon Hill, who is just getting to grips with his Mk5, Jason Tingles, who has dominated so far and Andy Aldridge who won at Rockingham last month.
Joining us at Oulton for a couple of rounds is the Gaz Shocks BMW Compact Cup and the good news is that that they are bringing a full grid of 38 of the 318Ti cars. Steve Roberts from Cambridgeshire leads the way so far this season with six wins but Mike Tovey still has him within his sights.
The old brother of the GTi Mk5 series will be next on-track and they are also backed by Teekay Couplings. The Mk2 Championship has seen a real growth in entries this season and 28 will be on duty on Saturday. Championship newcomer Tom Witts has had a fantastic first season so far and sits proudly on top of the points table.
The Pre 90 and Post 89 Formula Fords have one round a piece but are battling for points across two championships; the Northern and the Champion of Oulton. The locally based McArthur brothers, Tom and David, plus Taunton’s Josh Fisher dominate both the points tables in the Post 89 category. It is a similar story in the Pre 90s where Matthew Cowley leads from Calum McHale in the Northern Championship but the positions are reversed in the Champion of Oulton standings.
The HRDC are with us for the second time this season with their ‘Allstars’ and ‘Touring Greats series’, both of which field strong grids for their respective 30-minute and 45-minute races. Diversity is the by-word with ‘Allstars’. This Series emulates the popular ‘Allcomer’ races that were the mainstay of British Club racing in the 1950s and ‘60s. Richard Skinner, who won last time out at Brands Hatch, will be aiming to repeat another virtuoso win at Oulton Park in his sensational Marcos GT.
In recent seasons ’Touring Greats’ has become the ‘must do’ historic race Series. A 34-strong field will demonstrate that these cars, more often associated with a favourite Aunt’s shopping trips of the 1950s, can hammer in lap times that will shame much younger machinery! The man on the move is Matt Moore in his rapid Austin A40 but he will have to match the experience of the ‘Dynamic Duo’ of Touring Car legends Mike and Andy Jordan in their equally agile A40.
After a week of very hot weather, more moderate, but still pleasant temperatures are forecast for Oulton on Saturday. It should be dry all day with the sun making an appearance in the afternoon. You can check the full forecast at Oulton weather
The Finals, timetable and entry list can be found at Oulton Summer Raceday