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News: Oulton Park Race Report
GAZ Shocks Production BMW Championship
Rounds 10&11 Oulton Park 08/08/2009
Oulton Park was the scene for rounds 10 and 11 of the GAZ Shocks Production BMW Championship. With its spectacular variety of high and low speed corners, long straights and rise and fall sections, it tends to be a favourite with many of the drivers.
Following two qualifying sessions it was PBMW Championship leader, Rob Smith, and 2009 race winner, Liam Crilly who each secured pole position starts for the trio of races, with Smith taking two of them.
With three races scheduled for the PBMW drivers, it was time to find out how they would fare at the Cheshire venue.
Race 1
As the five red lights diminished to indicate the start of the first race of the day, Rob Smith immediately dived into the lead, heading the twenty-eight strong field into Old Hall [turn one] for the first time.
Nick Barke had a good start, from fourth on the grid, to launch him into a fight for the lead with Smith from the off. Whilst the tussle for honours began to take form, behind, Lawrie Dunster suffered a spin, dropping him to the rear of the field and with a fair amount of ground to make up.
By the second lap, the leading duo were very much involved in there own scuffle, whilst Mike Jones was forced into retirement following a spin heading into Cascades, which left him facing the wrong way.
Before too long, Robin Welsh and Mike Dugdale had latched onto the rear of Barke’s comparable BMW E30, putting pressure on the Chelmsford driver, also making it a four way tussle for the lead. Welsh soon became the man to watch, when his third place quickly became second, at the expense of Barke. All of this allowed Smith to edge away slightly, cushioning his advantage that bit more.
With the top four taken care of, for the moment, attention began to focus further afield. Nigel Olive-Jones had secured himself fifth, a position in which he was running completely alone for the ten lap duration. Behind, Neil Adams, having started in seventh, was enjoying a strong fight with Andrew MacGregor, Steven Gilbert and Brian Jones, when he experienced a spin, leaving him eleventh. Adams wasn’t down for long, however, and was soon clawing his way back through the field.
Back up at the front, the leading quartet began to pair off slightly, and a brief sideways moment from Welsh meant the gap between him and Smith was stretched somewhat.
After ten excitement filled laps, it was Smith who crossed the line in front of Welsh, taking yet another win and confirming his title charge. Dugdale seized third, inches ahead of Barke, with the former also being awarded the Fastest Lap of the race with a time of 2m08.016s.
Olive-Jones held onto his fifth place, with Simon Bassford coming through from tenth on the grid to sixth. Warren Gazzard took the honour of seventh at the flag, while Adams managed to fight his way to ninth. Gilbert completed the top ten, while Dunster, following his early race spin, crossed the line twentieth.
Mark Bate had been given a ten second penalty earlier in the race, which would be added to his time at the end of the race. The penalty was as a result of a false start.
Commenting on his first race of the day, Rob Smith said: “I worked at the beginning and then I got away. The racing is so close and enjoyable. It’s my first time here so
I love it now.”
Second place finisher Robin Welsh commented: “I’m happy with what
I’ve done.”
While third placed man, Mike Dugdale said: “The race ebbed and flowed for me.
The paddock atmosphere is fantastic in Production BMW.”
The opening race, as ever, presented us with much excitement and action,
giving us a taste of what to expect in the subsequent two races.
Race 2
Following on from the last PBMW outing, at Cadwell Park at the end of June, race two pole sitter, Liam Crilly was hoping to repeat his race winning performance here at Oulton Park. 2008 Renault Clio Cup Champion, Ben Winrow was starting alongside Crilly, with Tony Smith in third. It was set to be another thrilling race and everyone was eager for the
lights to fade.
At the off, it was Winrow who got the better of Crilly, passing the former PBMW Champion around the outside into Old Hall. Further back, Stephen Carter, from the third row of the grid, was unable to get away at the start, dropping him to twentieth place.
Despite Crilly’s best efforts he was unable to find a way back ahead of Winrow, trying at every opportunity. Engulfed in their own battle, the leading twosome were beginning to leave behind Kevin Welsh, who had made a good start from fifth to third by the
second lap.
Having briefly dropped back at the start, Tony Smith had climbed his way back to third, taking the position away from Welsh. Further adrift, following his slow getaway, Carter was making up ground, by stealing seventeenth position by lap three.
Tim Wilson had started fourth, however having been mugged at the start he had gradually slipped back to sixth, after eighth place starter, Jack Gabriel launched through the field. Determined to regain his place, Wilson was soon on the charge, taking the fight to those in front of him. Inches behind, Ravi Ramyead and Miles Howard were involved in a fierce scuffle for seventh and eighth, squeezing one another across the line for the start of lap four. This was an intense battle that would see Howard getting the better of the Leeds-based driver at the chequered flag.
After suffering a penalty in the opening race, Mark Bate was eager to make amends. Starting twenty-fourth out of twenty-seven cars gave him some work to do, but he relished the challenge. By lap five he had made his way up to sixteenth, following an overtaking manoeuvre on Nigel Brittain.
Back at the front, Winrow, still in control of the race, was fighting off the pressure from Crilly, who was still determined to find a way past. Smith had pulled away from the pursuing pack, running in a lonely third. But behind was where the real action was, with Welsh, Gabriel, Wilson and Howard each eager to take the others position away from him.
With six laps of the race already done and dusted, the Safety Car was issued on standby, leaving everyone wondering if the remainder of the race would be where all of the action was headed.
Welsh soon lost out in the battle for fourth, as teammate Gabriel and Wilson forced their way through. Wilson, on the charge, was soon on the trail of Gabriel, before long moving up to fourth ahead of the Bracknell driver.
As the leaders entered their final lap Crilly was still piling the pressure onto the rear of Winrow’s E30; however a red flag put paid to Crilly’s last lap plans, relieving Winrow of the pressure and crowning him as race two winner.
Tony Smith finished third, having secured it earlier on, while Wilson got the better of Gabriel and Welsh for fourth. Howard crossed the line seventh, while Lawrie Dunster took eighth on the back of a difficult first race. Ramyead dropped to ninth with Jamie Smith completing the top ten.
Commenting on his race two triumph, and his season, Ben said: “It was great fun, and that’s what it’s all about; people forget championships like this are here. This year we’ve had really tight budget constraints so this championship is ideal.”
Third placed Tony said: “It was a lonely race. I enjoyed watching these two [Winrow and Crilly] for the first few laps, then I realised I couldn’t make much of an impression.”
The action was on top form as ever for the PBMW Championship, and there was still one more race to go.
Race 3
With the end of the day drawing near the final race was upon us. Rob Smith once again started from Pole position, with Liam Crilly alongside, Mike Dugdale third and Ben
Winrow back in fourth.
As the twenty-seven cars rounded Old Hall [turn one] for the first of ten laps, Smith just managed to hold onto the lead, with Crilly slotting into second behind him. During the opening laps, a soaring Winrow was able to transfer his fourth place start into third,
and soon set about chasing down the leaders.
Neil Adams, having started thirteenth, had progressed to tenth as the early laps developed, putting him in the thick of the action once again.
As the leaders renewed their own private battle, this enabled Winrow to close in on them, as they began to hold one another up. Not too far behind, Dugdale had the potential to make it a four-way tussle for honours, while up ahead Crilly really began to pile the pressure onto the back of Smith’s
comparable BMW.
Further afield, a number of battles for position developed. Nigel Olive-Jones was right on the tail of Tim Wilson, eager to steal sixth place away from the Wraxall-based driver, while towards the mid-field, Warren Gazzard was determined to find a way past Andrew MacGregor.
With ten laps of the final Production BMW race of the day completed, it was Rob Smith who was first to receive the chequered flag, just 1.5 seconds ahead of Crilly. Despite catching the duo in the early stages of the race, Winrow dropped back significantly towards the end; having seemingly suffered a problem, the Clio Cup expert pulled off at the pit-lane exit on the slowing down lap, with his BMW refusing to go any further.
Dugdale secured a fourth place finish, with Tony Smith fifth and Wilson holding onto sixth, ahead of Olive-Jones. Robin Welsh and Mike Jones crossed the line eighth and ninth, with Neil Adams completing the top ten with another impressive top ten finish.
Commenting on yet another race win, 2009 Production BMW Championship Champion, Rob Smith, said: “When Liam’s anywhere near we need to work hard. I’m delighted to take another win.” With regards his 2010 racing plans, he added: “I’m staying in the series next year, and I’ll be competing with something very different.”
Race Report by Leanne Fahy (leannefahy@hotmail.com)
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