Round Five Race Report

On August 12, the stage was set for the penultimate round of the 2023 Trackday Championship season. Oulton Park’s stunning International circuit configuration awaited competitors, who were all keen to maximise their points haul ahead of championship finale day in October.

Current championship leader Adrian Pottinger (Unique Racing #89) flew out of the blocks in the morning’s qualifying session, setting the early pace and the time for competitors to beat. The Renault Clio driver managed to improve on his personal best, but championship rival Steve Summers (Datum Motorsport #3) responded quickly after. The Elise S1 driver set consecutive fastest laps to secure pole position, with a blistering 1:56:853secs being the lap to top the timing sheet at the end of the session. Team KAR’s pairing of Roberts/Heath pipped Adrain Pottinger to join Summers on the front row, with Alan Bull (TSC Racing) lining up in fourth. Se7en Motorsport’s Stewart Donovan continued his exceptional form in Class C by securing class pole position, ahead of Wolf Motorsport’s Chris Reade and PRO-AM Racing’s Kemp/Harvey. The battle for Class D pole position was hotly-contested, particularly between the two teams who are currently at the top of the class championship standings. Ultimately, Scuderia Dave took the honours ahead of Fiesta Club Racer, lining up 13^th on the overall grid. SVG Motorsport’s Thomas Stephen Moore rounded out the top three qualifiers in Class D.

Anticipation for a gripping race was high at lights out. A tremendous launch from the grid from TSC Racing's Alan Bull capitalised on a slow starting front row to seize the race lead. Tylah Motorsport’s John Lyne gained ground on the leaders, while Team KAR’s Heath made up for initial lost ground to retake the lead of the race by the end of lap one. In Class C, polesitter Donovan managed to navigate the start well to continue to lead the class through the opening lap, but Wolf Motorsport’s Chris Reade was hot on his tail. This signaled the start of an epic battle between the two, which lasted the entire race distance. Scuderia Dave had also started well to continue to head Class D, as the Mazda MX-5 battled the higher-classed cars around them.

Having drastically dropped down the order on the opening lap, polesitter Steve Summers had the bit between his teeth. The Elise driver was recovering well too, setting strong lap times to rise back through the order. By the end of lap nine, the comeback was complete and the #3 car was again at the top of classification. Team KAR followed closely in second, with Al Bull and John Lyne following behind in that order. Stewart Donovan (Se7en Motorsports) and Connell/Wilkinson-Hughes (Scuderia Dave) remained at the head of their respective classes, with Chris Reade still hot the heels of Donovan.

All was about to change up front after the pit stops.

A small number of pit stop infringements, including one for our race leader Summers, threw the race wide open. Team KAR’s Roberts/Heath profited greatly, grasping the race lead. The team wouldn’t look back from there, expertly guiding their Honda Civic to their first Trackday Championship win of the season. Alan Bull showed his pace throughout the race and was rewarded with second on the podium, ahead of an impressive drive from Team BG’s Ben Grewcock. The Caterham driver put in a solid drive from eighth on the grid to round out the Class B podium. The battle for the top step in Class C went right down to the wire, with only 0.873secs separating eventual winner Stewart Donovan from Chris Reade. Both drivers had enjoyed brilliant races and had put on a terrific show for Cheshire spectators. Wayne Cockerill (Aindale Racing) secured the final podium spot in Class C. Scuderia Dave utilised their excellent pace to extend their championship gap at the head of the Class D standings by taking the D top step. Glover/Schlewitz came home second in class courtesy of some consistent lap times, while the Ginetta G40 of Thomas Stephen Moore secured his first class podium of the 2023 season.

Congratulations to all.