Oulton Park Race Report

August 12 marked a return to Oulton Park for eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy, following a one-year absence from the Cheshire circuit. The race also marked the penultimate race of the 2023 season and there was an understandable hunger from competitors to win silverware on one of their last opportunities to do so with the series this year.

Despite how incredibly competitive the field has been all year, only two teams would spend time at the top of the timing sheet in qualifying. Team KAR’s Roberts/Heath duo were the first to light up the timing screens, before the Caterham of Team BG’s Ben Grewcock bettered the time set by Roberts/Heath. Team KAR’s Civic responded with a personal best on their seventh lap, before a stunning 1:55:648secs from Grewcock secured the driver’s first ever eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy pole position! Team KAR would have to settle for second, ahead of Apple Car Centre’s Jordan Honeybone and Paddock Performance Racing’s Rawlings/Cresswell. Chris Reade (Wolf Motorsport) demonstrated an excellent turn of pace right from the off in Class C qualifying, setting the classes’s fastest lap time on just his third circulation of Oulton Park. GS Racing’s Gareth Sockett would line up in second and Hobson Racing’s Sarah Hobson third. BC Cars Motorsport Alister Esam enjoyed an excellent qualifying session in Class D, setting a number of personal bests on his way to claiming class pole. Martyn and Rob Adams (Boreham Motorsport Midlands) would line up second in class, with AWH Yeah Racing’s Wilkinson-Hughes/Connell pairing third.

The pressure of a first pole position in the series didn’t prevent Team BG’s Ben Grewcock from an exceptional getaway from the grid, however second-placed Team KAR were also enjoying a strong start and the Civic immediately began reeling in the Caterham in front. By the end of the first lap, Team KAR’s Heath had surpassed Grewcock for the lead, with a decisive overtake. Apple Car Centre’s Honeybone followed in third, with Chris Reade paving the way in Class C, fourth overall. Class D polesitter Alister Esam continued to lead his class through the opening exchanges, albeit with rival Mazda MX-5s in close proximity.

As the progressed, some truly brilliant racing unfolded throughout the grid. The gap between the lead pair was incredibly tight, with less than a second splitting the two for the opening eight laps. In Class C, Wolf Motorsport’s Chris Reade was having to fend of a multitude of challenges, while almost nothing could separate the leading three cars in Class D! Superb overtakes and firm-but-fair defending aplenty, there was a load of entertainment being provided for the Cheshire crowd.

Following the all-important pit window, Team KAR had resumed their lead at the front – now with Justin Roberts at the helm. An unfortunate mechanical failure caused retirement for the pursuing Ben Grewcock, promoting a surging Rawlings/Cresswell (Paddock Performance Racing) to second overall. The BMW 328i had suffered from a poor opening lap, but the drivers expertly put that behind them to storm back through the field. Despite the team’s apparent pace, they would have to settle for second as nothing could stop Team KAR from taking their first eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy of the year! A strong showing from Apple Car Centre’s Jordan Honeybone was rewarded with third on the Class B podium, while Chris Reade came home in fourth to claim an excellent Class C victory. GS Racing’s Gareth Sockett gave it his all to finish in front of Sarah Hobson (Hobson Racing), but ultimately couldn’t dislodge the Toyota Celica driver from a hard-earned second in class. It had been an enthralling battle in Class C all race and each driver had done fantastically well to seal their podium finishes. Just as competitive was the race for the podium places in Class D. Ultimately, the AWH Yeah Racing duo of Alex Wilkinson-Hughes/Connell delivered an exceptional performance to take top step honours, ahead of SVG Motorsport’s Thomas Stephen Moore and Alister Esam. Each putting in a race to be proud of their efforts!

Congratulations to all of our podium finishers!