For round three of the VBTCR championship we headed to Oulton Park in Cheshire, where the drivers were running on the tight, technical 2.69 mile (4.33 km) International circuit. Oulton Park played host to the first round of the TCR UK championship in 2022 and throughout the remainder of the year will feature the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Bennetts British Superbike Championship and the ever-popular British F3/GT event.
Set in a former country estate, Oulton Park’s sweeping contours, picturesque setting and challenging layout are a few reasons as to why this is one of England’s most popular race tracks. The first race was organised for Formula 3 cars and motorcycles in August 1953 where the circuit was a hit from the start, attracting tens of thousands of fans to events right from it’s first year of operation. This success has continued right up to the present day, now with thanks to the superb views of the circuit from the extensive spectator banking that allows crowds of up to 35,000 to regularly visit the circuit for the annual round of the BTCC.
qualifying
The drivers seem to all be getting the hang of the VBTCR 15 minute open qualifying session now. Even with the narrow corners of Oulton Park, drivers were able to create space for their hot laps and allow others to pass when necessary. It was great to see all of the competitors driving with respect for each other and once again having a super clean qualifying session.
The Mad4Mini – Heusinkveld team was back out in full force today with the return of Roman Paerschke but it was his team mate, Ryan Elliott who put his Hyundai Veloster on pole position with Roman earning the team their second front row lock out of the season.
Ignium Motorsport driver Chris Young put in a superb lap in his Hyundai Elantra to earn third place on the grid, which is the highest an Elantra has qualified this season. Michael Gray and John Bayliffe rounded out the top five in their Civic Type R’s.
Rikki Edwards was the highest qualifying rookie driver this week, starting up in 18th position put him in a perfect spot to earn some solid points and try to move up the rookie standings.
race One
Ryan Elliott has struggled to get his Veloster off of the line all season and unfortunately, race one at Oulton was no exception as he found himself down from first to fourth by the time the drivers exited the first corner. Roman Paerschke relished the opportunity that Ryan presented him and jumped straight into the lead. All 30 drivers got away from the line cleanly and there were immediately battles taking place throughout the entire grid which was great to see as a spectator and exciting to be part of as a driver.
It didn’t take long for the bumps and undulations of Oulton Park to start catching a few drivers out, with a few spins off onto the grass occurring in the opening laps giving some drivers more work to do than they would’ve originally planned. VBTCR newcomer Johannes Leppitt had a superb start to the race, becoming the lead rookie driver by the end of the first lap but his success was unfortunately short lived when contact with Jacob Money into turn one sent Johannes into the tyre barriers and forced him to reset back to the pits for repairs.
An incredible battle for second took place throughout almost the entirety of race one, with drivers including Michael Gray, Chris Young, Ryan Elliott, Jon Bayliffe and Martyn Pearson all switching positions from second through to seventh in what was a thoroughly entertaining duel. However it was Goldwing Motorsport driver Sam Vanolst that managed to earn that hard fought second place, with Ryan Elliott in third. Meanwhile all of the battling going on behind allowed Roman Paerschke to open up a big ten second lead where he could comfortably bring his car home for the win, to become the first driver to win more than one VBTCR race in season two.
The battle for the rookie podium was another close one, but it was TR powered by Geekz Energy driver Scott Morris who came out on top, finishing 15th overall. Paul Clist drove a great race to earn second in the rookies category and after an early spin, Rikki Edwards could be happy with an excellent recovery drive to finish as the third placed rookie driver.
race two - reverse grid race
The full reverse grid put Jack Mace on pole for race two with Johannes Leppitt joining him on the front row where both drivers would be keen to make up for their not so successful race one.
Insignia Racing driver Fraser Geraghty had a lightning fast start and drove his way up into second place before entering turn one. A few cars got caught up in an incident towards the rear of the field however, almost all of the cars managed to navigate the opening lap unscathed or with minimal time lost.
Race two usually presents us with a highly entertaining race with drivers battling through the field and this week was no exception, with the regular VBTCR front runners making their way back up the grid but this week it was the battle up front that we couldn’t keep our eyes off. Jack Mace was being hunted down by the likes of Fraser Geraghty, Ryan Smith and Thomas Dandridge from the very first corner right up until the chequered flag but Jack was determined no to give up the chance for his first ever VBTCR win. We witnessed a defensive masterclass from Jack and some superb, clean racing from all of the other drivers involved in the battle. It was excellent to watch and a race that I’m sure all the drivers will remember for a long time.
I’m sure everyone will agree that Jack deserved his first win after that race. Fraser earnt his highest ever VBTCR finish and although he couldn’t quite take the top spot away from Jack, he will be more than happy with that result and so will his team for the large amount of points earned. Rounding out the podium in race two was Thomas Dandridge and with a top ten finish in race one, I’m sure Oulton Park will be a round that the Verve Team Racing driver is more than pleased with.
After the unfortunate race one incident, Johannes Leppitt finished 9th overall and came over the line as the top placed rookie driver. An excellent result for his first ever VBTCR round. Race two saw another solid finish for Rikki Edwards in second, with Duncan Steele rounding out the rookie podium
summary
We’re now over halfway through the season already and six races in we have had five different winners from five different teams. The Hyundai Elantra is still the only car that hasn’t been able to hit the top spot but with Chris Young showing in qualifying that it definitely has the pace to battle up the front, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will take the victories at the next round.
Oulton Park gave us some of the best, most exciting battles of the season so far and it was great to see all of the drivers out there racing cleanly and with lots of respect for each other. Something we are definitely hoping will continue into the remaining two rounds.
Ryan Elliott has walked away from Oulton as the driver at the top of the championship standings, however Thomas Dandridge is only one point behind and looking to reclaim his place as the highest scoring driver. Marytn Pearson had a solid points scoring round and has moved up to third in the championship with Jon Bayliffe and Ryan Smith just a few points behind it’s all very much to play for still.
Paul Clist had his highest points scoring round at Oulton and because of this has found himself now sat at the top of the Rookie’s standings, equal on points with Rikki Edwards. William Martin has had three consistent scoring rounds and now finds him self sat in third.
The teams championship is looking just as tight with Mad4Mini – Heusinkveld now sitting in the top spot but Pulsus eSports are still more than in contention, trailing by just eight points. Sapphire Simsport are third with Goldwing Motorsport just six points behind them in fourth.
Make sure to give the race broadcast a watch over on our YouTube channel to see exactly how it all went down at Oulton Park!
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