Round 5 of MGOC Race Championship

Round 5 – Oulton Park

Eighteen entrants from class A and twenty four from classes B and F made the trek to Oulton Park in Cheshire for round 5 of the P&O Portsmouth MGOC Championship. Oulton is a wide circuit, with long sweeping curves, a rare mixture of gradients and some picturesque scenery. The Island circuit includes the Island hairpin and the Knickerbrook chicane, notoriously treacherous in the wet. The TV weather reports showed heavy rain, and hazardous motorway driving conditions – not a good omen!

Qualifying – class A

Heavy overnight rain had left the circuit very damp, and fine drizzle and mist early in the morning prevented any chance of the track drying out. Long queues for signing-on and scrutineering left many competitors scrambling to get ready for the early qualifying session, Eric Hammond securing help from other competitors to make last minute adjustments for his first outing but eventually all competitors made it to the track. The slippery conditions resulted in plenty of spins and slides, making an uninterrupted lap difficult. Some competitors had elected to go out on the older Firestone tyres, instead of the new Yokohamas, gambling – incorrectly, as it turned out – that the deeper tread patterns on the Firestones would cope with the wet conditions better than the semi-slick Yokohamas. The grid results showed the front row occupied for the third time in succession by the 1275 Midget of Gary Smith and the 1500 Midget of Chris Pollard. The second row was occupied by Harry Sinclair in his MGB GT, proving to be something of a wet weather specialist and Kelly Mercer after a well-controlled drive. Finishing off the top six were Dave Amphlett in fifth, and Pembrey-winner Paul Naish in sixth. An impressive MGOC debut from Ben Black saw him in tenth place in his Midget with Eric Hammond in his first circuit race qualifying without incident.

Qualifying – class B/class F

Conditions were similar for the class B/F qualifying, with the overcast and drizzle persisting. The track was varied and difficult, with apparently dry lines being very greasy, but surprising grip levels in some of the wetter parts. In conditions such as these, there was no correct tyre choice; no heat could be put into the Yokohamas, and the Firestones seemed to perform no better than in the class A session. It was a case of floundering around as far as possible, searching for the grip and trying to get a clean lap. The front row was again dominated by the MGFs of Mick Weidner and Darryl Davies, with Andy Campbell’s Maestro in third and Nick Evans’ MGF in fourth. The top six was rounded off by Martin Lovell and Doug Cole in their Maestros.

Race class A

The rain began again in earnest as the cars formed up in the assembly area. There was no green-flag lap, so the competitors were faced with the first full lap being in the race itself. Gary Smith suffered wheelspin on the start and then spun, and Pollard took advantage, taking the lead at the first corner. However, standing water on the apex caught him out, allowing Paul Naish, who had made an impressive start, to overhaul Pollard on the run down to Island. Harry Sinclair was also on a charge, and caught and passed Pollard at the end of the first lap, whilst Naish steadily built a substantial lead. The spray made overtaking very difficult, and the conditions remained extremely slippery. Smith spun again trying to regain position, but within a few laps was on the back of the leading group. Mercer held onto a solid fourth place, maintaining the gap to Pollard. Amphlett, meanwhile, was maintaining that most difficult balancing act – fending off the attentions of Smith, whilst keeping pressure on Mercer, and these positions were maintained until the flag. Naish took an impressive win, his second in succession, whilst Sinclair survived several excursions to take a well-deserved and gymnastic second, and impressive fastest lap. Pollard managed to fend off the pressure from the following pack for a tactical third, whilst Mercer, Amphlett and Smith crossed the line in close formation to complete the top six. The championship is still wide open with only one point separating the top three drivers.

Class B/class F race

Conditions had eased somewhat for the B and F class race, and pole sitter Mick Weidner led away from the start. Darryl Davies kept pressure on Weidner, but never seriously threatened the lead. The B class race saw a spirited battle between championship leader Jamie Perry and Andy Campbell, Perry recovering well from a poor qualifying as a result of a wrong tyre choice. The slippery conditions led to various minor contacts, but a spin at Old Hall led to a major coming-together between Steve Gray and Andy Firth, with both cars – but fortunately neither driver – suffering severe damage. Paul Naish, fresh from his class A win, was pushed onto the grass early in the race, and rejoined close to the back of the pack, but recovered well to drive up through the field to finish 6th in class. Nick Golhar was signalled that his car was damaged, and subsequently black flagged. The race was eventually red flagged as Martin Lovell had spun, stalled and become stranded on the apex of the hairpin. The result was duly declared at the end of the previous lap (lap 7) with Weidner taking the overall and class F win, with Davies second and Nick Evans third in the F class. Class B honours went to Andy Campbell, with Jamie Perry in second and Nick Arden in third place across the line. Doug Cole finished a solid fourth in class in his new car, following his horrific accident at Pembrey, and Martin Lovell finished close behind in fifth. Post race, however, Perry was amongst four competitors penalised by ten seconds for shortcutting the Knickerbrook chicane, dropping him to third and promoting Arden to second in class.

Chris Pollard

Photography by Kelvin Fagan Click for a larger version

Chris Pollard leads Harry Sinclair and Paul Smith through standing water at Old Hall

Michael Weidner lead the Class B/F race from the start to take overall and class win

Paul Naish winner Class A race