RACE REPORT: MINI Challenge Rd5 - Oulton Park

MINI Challenge racing at the MINI Festival
Oulton Park 8th August 2015

All words and photos David Young & MINI Challenge

The long trip up North has become the yearly crusade to Oulton Park - a fabulous circuit in the Cheshire Country side. It may take five hours each way, but it is well worth it.  Unfortunately, only a one day meeting due to restrictions on how many full weekends MSV are allowed by the local council planners to run.

Great weather was the order of the day, with Friday practice and Saturday racing taking place in glorious sunshine. Plenty of sunscreen required.


Coopers

Max Bladon leading Ricky Page, Henry Neal, Mark Wakefield Nathan Harrison & Simon Walton out of Old Hall

Nathan Harrison and Simon Walton had a brilliant day's racing. Ricky Page, the leader going into the second half of the Championship, had an awful day, one he will wish to forget as it may well have cost him the championship and not just the lead.  Simon Walton had his Rob Simms Cooper back to its usual performance by taking pole, a second place in the first race and a third place as well as fastest lap in their last race.  

Nathan Harrison in his Coastal run Cooper had a second in qualifying, a win, with fastest lap and a third in the two races. Ricky had a third in qualifying, struggling with his setup, a third in the first race after a 5 second penalty and an exclusion in the last race after another infringement - all this after some really tough close racing. The race stewards are taking a very tough stance; hopefully to control some of the wild driving, (just saying!). Mark Wakefield also had a great set of results with a third and win to give him such much needed points in the Championship.

Simon Walton leading Henry Neal, Mark
Wakefield, Ricky Page, Adam Davey & Max Blandon
into Hislops

Both of the races were brilliant to watch with the race for lead constantly changing among the top six and other battles further down being equally exciting. One other driver stands out as having a great day and that is Henry Neal in his Team Dynamics Cooper (Britax Cooper lookalike). Fourth in practice, sixth in the first race and second in the last race, his first visit to the podium. What a shame his dad was not there to share in his glory, he was in is his Works Honda at Snetterton.

Going into Donington for the penultimate races on 19th September, Nathan Harrison is in the lead on 682 points with Ricky Page on 622 points. So it is all to play for with six races still to take place and a dropped score still to taken into account.

Gen3/JCW

The start of the 1st Race, William Phillips in front with Charlie
Butler- Henderson behind, Sam Osborne and David Grady either side

Charlie Butler Henderson
leading the pack in Race 1

After lots of testing on Friday the Gen 3 cars were looking great out on track. The JCWs also have a very exciting race within a race, with the quickest drivers being right behind any Gen 3 car that is not making great times. 

The teams have at last began to make the Gen 3 cars work better with ongoing development in the cars by Total Track and setup changes by the teams. Both Chris Osborne and Luke Reade changed teams coming into Oulton Park. Guest drivers were Chris James of ES Racing, Henry Gilbert, ex-MINI Challenge Champion, and Calum and Steve King run by ES Racing and Scott Adam run by LD Racing.

Charlie Butler-Henderson was back racing after missing three races at Brands due to work commitments. Fastest in qualifying, a win in the first race and a second in the last race. William Phillips was bang on form, with a second in qualifying, a second in the first race, but an unfortunate set of circumstances saw him only make ninth in the last race. Rob Smith had an awful day with 10th in qualifying and two DNFs!

Neil Newstead in the JCW class was quickest in qualifying - no change there - a second in the first race and a win in the last race. Hamish Brandon kept him honest with a second in qualifying, a win in the first race and a second in the last race. Kevin O’Connor having a third in qualifying, a third in the first race and a second in the last race also had a great day with his rebuilt engine after a water leak at Brands.
 

Hamish Brandon being pushed by
Neil Newstead in Race 1

Qualifying was great to watch with some drivers waiting for clear air to put in some quick laps and then return to the pits to save the tyres for the race, with some just practicing quick laps and returning to the pits for changes to be made. The Gen 3 cars sound and look amazing with their sequential gearboxes and exhausts flaming - a bit like the BTCC!

The Lunchtime Grid Walk

The six Gen 3 drivers lined up for the Lunchtime Bike Sprint!

Well the first race was red flagged after the opening lap due to a collision by three Gen3 cars of Henry Gilbert, Chris Boon and Chris James. They all thought they could fit into Cascades together - wrong!  The race being restated and shortened after a clear up that lasted a long 15 minutes.  

The restart saw a much better start from Charlie Butler-Henderson who stormed into the front and stayed there. William Phillips tucked in behind him and stayed put with Lee Pattison grabbing third in his rebuilt car and broken wrist! 

JCWs had Hamish Brandon getting the better of Neil Newstead in his Oakfield Motorsport car after bogging down on the restart. Neil had a great race, what was left of it, in defending from Kevin O’Connor while trying to catch Hamish Brandon. Not enough laps were left! 12 minutes racing and 7 laps.

Charlie Butler Henderson winning the first Gen 3 race

Race 2 was the last race of the day.  The Gen3 cars being the headline races of the weekend. This race was reduced to seven minutes racing this time with the Safety car being deployed after William Phillips spun his car on the opening lap after a tap from behind. This saw him collide with five other cars; those of Chris James again, Henry Gilbert again, Rob Smith all in Gen 3 cars and the two JCWs of Jason Jefferys and Calum King. The rest of the pack missing him on what is the narrowest part of the circuit at Old Hall (where I normally stand!). Well round and round they went while the cars were recovered and track cleaned, the time getting nearer and neared to the curfew imposed at Oulton Park.

Luke Reade leading Bence Balogh and Chris Osbourne
around Lodge Corner into Deer Leap.

Seven minutes left and the last race became a 3 lap sprint with Lee Pattison coming out on top followed by Charlie Butler-Henderson and David Grady. 

The JCWs saw Neil Newstead with some superb racing move up from fourth on the grid to first, battling Kevin O’Connor and Hamish Brandon to the flag.  A disappointing amount of actual racing, possibly due to having large grids and cars of very equal performance on a narrow track. But hey that’s racing!

After leaving Oulton Park the overall Championship leader is David Grady with Lawrence Davey in second and Ryan Rhode in third. Charlie Butler-Henderson is down in fourth place after missing the three rounds at Brands.

David Grady celebrating with Charlie Butler-Henderson

Oulton Park Results
Coopers	Qualifying	Race 1	Race 2
1	Simon Walton	Nathan Harrison	Mark Wakefield
2	Nathan Harrison	Simon Walton	Henry Neal
3	Ricky Page	Mark Wakefield	Natan Harrison
Gen 3
1	Charlie Butler-Henderson	Charlie Butler-Henderson	Lee Pattison
2	William Phillips	William Phillips	Charlie Butler-Henderson
3	Lee Pattison	Lee Pattison	David Grady
JCW
1	Neil Newstead	Hamish Brandon	Neil Newstead
2	Hamish Brandon	Neil Newstead	Kevin O'Connor
3	Kevin O'Connor	Kevin O'Connor	Hamish Brandon

The Gen 3 F56 Cars post qualifying scrutineering

OVERALL POINTS as at 8th August 2015

POSITION	No.#	DRIVER	POINTS
GEN 3
1	#61	David Grady	562
2	#19	Lawrence Davey	533
3	#71	Ryan Rhode	510
4	#15	Charlie Butler-Henderson	477
5	#17	William Phillips	468
6	#24	Lee Pattison	456
7	#37	Rob Smith	439
8	#16	Harry Vaulkhard	417
9	#13	Bence Balogh	365
10	#46	Sam Osborne	282
JCW
1	#77	Neil Newstead	729
2	#8	Hamish Brandon	596
3	#32	Alan Taylor	490
4	#66	Steve Ruxton-Cocker	389
5	#99	Kevin O'Connor	381
6	#73	Erkka Lindstedt	332
7	#5	Jason Jefferys	250
8	#105	Clayton Kingman	144
9	#7	Craig Freeman	103
Coopers
1	#27	Nathan Harrison	682
2	#3	Ricky Page	622
3	#18	Mark Wakefield	525
4	#9	Simon Walton	466
5	#11	Max Bladon	365
6	#42	Henry Neal	349
7	#98	Darren Chatt	347
8	#76	Jo Polley	344
9	#21	Adam Davey	315
10	#88	Jon Attard	305

                            Drivers will be allowed to drop a score at end of the season

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