Round 5 - Event Report

Qualifying:

Rawlings in the Paddock Performance BMW E36 snatched pole with his last lap of the session, managing to beat early pace setters Team AirSupply’s Jack Wright and George Wright and fellow championship contender Ashley Parsons in his Celica in third. James Burnham and Ben Voce recorded the fastest time in Class D in the Greenstar Ford Fiesta ST

Race:

As the race got underway, it was Rawlings with the lead into turn one, ahead of the Team AirSupply Golf, and John Lyne in the Clio, who had overtaken Parsons with a calculated move to put himself into contention for the race lead. Amongst the best starters was Class C’s Hart Racing Honda Civic, who moved up to 6th then 5th overall from 11th on the grid.

Through the opening stages, the Team AirSupply Golf fell down the order after outbreaking itself into the Esses. Swaffer now fourth, then made a decisive move on Parsons to take third overall in the BMW before the safety car came out to neutralise the race.

As the safety car released the pack, Rawlings remained in the lead with Lyne now hot on his heels. A slide into turn one for Swaffer put him back in the chasing pack as the pit lane was opened for teams to begin coming in to make their mandatory pitstops.

One battle that continued to entertain was between the two Fiestas of GreenStar Racing pair James Burnham and Ben Voce, and the Rose Motorsport car of Anna and Daniel Rose. Rose Motorsport held the advantage until a move into Turn 1 saw the GreenStar Fiesta through. It wasn’t for long however, as Rose Motorsport managed the switchback heading into Craner Curves on the same lap. The pair continued swapping positions until the pit stops.

In the closing stages, it was Michael Rawlings in the BMW who took the victory, having managed to keep Lyne’s Clio out of striking distance for second. Matt Swaffer in the #45 BMW brought the car home for a solid third, and Team AisSupply, who managed to recover from their earlier incident at the Esses recovered to fourth, while also recording the fastest lap of the race.

Ashley Parsons converted his Class pole into a Class C victory in the #83 Toyota Celica, finishing ahead of consistent front-runners Hart Racing #245 and Wayne Cockerill in the #21 Aindale Toyota Celica. In Class D, #33 Burnham / Voce took the chequered flag ahead of the #115 Rose Motorsport Fiesta second and Colin Wells in the BC Cars #6 Mazda MX-5.

Join the action and get on the grid at Oulton Park today

Photo: Rikki Palmer / Gary Hawkins Photography