Oulton Park Race Report
Dodd Doubles Up at Oulton Park Touring Car Party
James Dodd continued his perfect run at Oulton Park as he stormed to an impressive double victory at the British Touring Car Championship's visit to the Cheshire circuit.
The Honda driver had to start from second on the grid, though, as Round 1 winner John Cleland made the most of the changing conditions in qualifying to park his Vauxhall Vectra firmly in pole position, much to the delight of the BTCC fans who had braved the elements for Saturday's action.
Cleland was lucky that his first lap was as fast as it was as on his second flying lap the Scotsman found himself limping back to the pits with a broken wishbone mount. As if the damage was bad enough, the only spare part in the world belonged to Alex Schooledge of Outpace Racing in Milton Keynes, resulting in a mad dash down the M6 for Cleland as he arranged a meeting place in Coventry to collect the spare. In one of the best stories in the championship's short history, Cleland made it back in time to fix the car and take his place at the front of the grid for the first race of the weekend.
There were also issues in qualifying for two potential front runners, with Paul Smith's BMW suffering engine troubles, dropping oil on the track which, when mixed with a shower late in the session, helped Cleland hold on to his pole position despite being stuck in the pits. Stewart Whyte also found himself with mechanical gremlins, a broken driveshaft meaning his Honda Accord would start from the back of the grid for the first race.
A sudden localised downpour at Druids and Lodge before the race began added to the drama, with the majority of the track requiring slicks before hitting the final two wet corners. Some stellar driving from the entire field saw everyone make it through perfectly fine, with some exuberant driving reported from fans at the side of the track. “It looked like a rally stage, with opposite lock and bouncing off the limiter,” said one spectator at the inside of Lodge.
Despite keeping the charging Dodd behind for a couple of laps, Cleland eventually succumbed to the greater speed of the Honda, opening the Vauxhall up for an assault from Dodd's father Graeme in a Nissan Primera. Unfortunately there appeared to be some mechanical issues for the Primera as it started slipping backwards through the field, allowing Simon Garrad to get up in to the final podium position after a mistake from Dodd at Cascades. Dodd then engaged in a battle with fellow Primera driver, Keith Butcher, eventually handing fourth to Butcher after a mistake at Old Hall.
Meanwhile, Whyte had charged from the back of the grid to park himself at the tail end of the points in sixth, gaining 18 positions in 20 minutes and setting the fastest lap of the race. Mark Wright completed the podium with victory in the GA category with his Ford Escort RS1800.
The weather played a part in the second race of the weekend, originally scheduled to be held before the final BTCC race of the weekend. Unfortunately as the cars began their pace laps a huge rain cloud burst over the Oulton Park tarmac, bringing out the red flag and forcing everyone to pit for rain tyres.
The delay to the schedule meant that the race was pushed back to the end of the day, where the conditions were much more favourable and many drivers option to run slicks.
James Dodd led from the start, never looking back despite some early challenges from Cleland. Cleland never fully dropped away from Dodd, ending the race within three seconds of the Honda as the pair finished in the same places as they did in Saturday's race.
The bulk of the action came from those hunting the final podium position, with Garrad unable to hold on to his third in race one as Neil Smith found some serious pace in the Alfa Romeo 156. Smith started the race from eighth but by the end of lap two found himself holding third ahead of Patrick Watts' Peugeot 406 and Whyte's Honda Accord.
The trio ran nose-to-tail for a number of laps before a mistake from Watts allowed Whyte to have a shot at Smith's podium position, dropping the Peugeot out of the hunt in the process. It didn't take long for Whyte to seize his opportunity as he passed Smith for third the first time the pair came through Old Hall together.
Mark Wright once again came through to take the GA Class win, joining Dodd in visiting the Oulton Park podium to receive a winner's trophy for a second time.
Meanwhile further down the field the pairings of Graeme Dodd and Simon Garrad and Keith Butcher and Derek Palmer enjoyed their own private battles and provided some entertainment to the hardy fans trackside that had stuck with the delays to see the Super Tourers out on track.
The next round of the HSCC Super Touring Championship takes place at the Brands Hatch Superprix on the 12th and 13th July, before heading to the Silverstone Classic and back to Cheshire for the Oulton Park Gold Cup.
Words by James Charman of TouringCarTimes.com
The Honda driver had to start from second on the grid, though, as Round 1 winner John Cleland made the most of the changing conditions in qualifying to park his Vauxhall Vectra firmly in pole position, much to the delight of the BTCC fans who had braved the elements for Saturday's action.
Cleland was lucky that his first lap was as fast as it was as on his second flying lap the Scotsman found himself limping back to the pits with a broken wishbone mount. As if the damage was bad enough, the only spare part in the world belonged to Alex Schooledge of Outpace Racing in Milton Keynes, resulting in a mad dash down the M6 for Cleland as he arranged a meeting place in Coventry to collect the spare. In one of the best stories in the championship's short history, Cleland made it back in time to fix the car and take his place at the front of the grid for the first race of the weekend.
There were also issues in qualifying for two potential front runners, with Paul Smith's BMW suffering engine troubles, dropping oil on the track which, when mixed with a shower late in the session, helped Cleland hold on to his pole position despite being stuck in the pits. Stewart Whyte also found himself with mechanical gremlins, a broken driveshaft meaning his Honda Accord would start from the back of the grid for the first race.
A sudden localised downpour at Druids and Lodge before the race began added to the drama, with the majority of the track requiring slicks before hitting the final two wet corners. Some stellar driving from the entire field saw everyone make it through perfectly fine, with some exuberant driving reported from fans at the side of the track. “It looked like a rally stage, with opposite lock and bouncing off the limiter,” said one spectator at the inside of Lodge.
Despite keeping the charging Dodd behind for a couple of laps, Cleland eventually succumbed to the greater speed of the Honda, opening the Vauxhall up for an assault from Dodd's father Graeme in a Nissan Primera. Unfortunately there appeared to be some mechanical issues for the Primera as it started slipping backwards through the field, allowing Simon Garrad to get up in to the final podium position after a mistake from Dodd at Cascades. Dodd then engaged in a battle with fellow Primera driver, Keith Butcher, eventually handing fourth to Butcher after a mistake at Old Hall.
Meanwhile, Whyte had charged from the back of the grid to park himself at the tail end of the points in sixth, gaining 18 positions in 20 minutes and setting the fastest lap of the race. Mark Wright completed the podium with victory in the GA category with his Ford Escort RS1800.
The weather played a part in the second race of the weekend, originally scheduled to be held before the final BTCC race of the weekend. Unfortunately as the cars began their pace laps a huge rain cloud burst over the Oulton Park tarmac, bringing out the red flag and forcing everyone to pit for rain tyres.
The delay to the schedule meant that the race was pushed back to the end of the day, where the conditions were much more favourable and many drivers option to run slicks.
James Dodd led from the start, never looking back despite some early challenges from Cleland. Cleland never fully dropped away from Dodd, ending the race within three seconds of the Honda as the pair finished in the same places as they did in Saturday's race.
The bulk of the action came from those hunting the final podium position, with Garrad unable to hold on to his third in race one as Neil Smith found some serious pace in the Alfa Romeo 156. Smith started the race from eighth but by the end of lap two found himself holding third ahead of Patrick Watts' Peugeot 406 and Whyte's Honda Accord.
The trio ran nose-to-tail for a number of laps before a mistake from Watts allowed Whyte to have a shot at Smith's podium position, dropping the Peugeot out of the hunt in the process. It didn't take long for Whyte to seize his opportunity as he passed Smith for third the first time the pair came through Old Hall together.
Mark Wright once again came through to take the GA Class win, joining Dodd in visiting the Oulton Park podium to receive a winner's trophy for a second time.
Meanwhile further down the field the pairings of Graeme Dodd and Simon Garrad and Keith Butcher and Derek Palmer enjoyed their own private battles and provided some entertainment to the hardy fans trackside that had stuck with the delays to see the Super Tourers out on track.
The next round of the HSCC Super Touring Championship takes place at the Brands Hatch Superprix on the 12th and 13th July, before heading to the Silverstone Classic and back to Cheshire for the Oulton Park Gold Cup.
Words by James Charman of TouringCarTimes.com
The Super Touring cars were watched by over 44,000 people.