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Oulton Park welcomed Trackday Trophy for a milestone day of racing on Saturday 9 August, as the series took to the track for the 100th time.
Paddock Performance Racing’s Michael Rawlings and Jason Holyhead were the drivers who would etch their names into the Trackday Trophy history books as overall winners of the landmark race, while David Zakrzewski (Dubshack Motorsport) and Alister Esam (BC Cars Motorsport) will be delighted to have finished first in Class B and D respectively.
Qualifying
A two-way battle for pole position between Another Level’s Jonathan Mee and Apple Car Centre’s Jordan Honeybone headlined the morning’s qualifying session. Honeybone looked to have the early pace, but a few improvements by Mee meant it was the #29 driver who would start the 100th race from pole position, courtesy of a storming lap of 1m54.762s.
Zakrzewski would join Mee on the front row, while Rawlings/Holyhead’s time of 1m55.598s ensured the #34 BMW would qualify third overall and fastest in Class C. GS Racing’s Gareth Sockett would end the session second fastest in C, with MCS Racing’s Nathan Mcphail third.
A trio of Mk3 Mazda MX-5 made up the fastest Class D qualifiers, with Esam leading the way ahead of Chris Stone (Boreham Motorsport) and the father and son duo of Martyn and Rob Adams (Boreham Motorsport Midlands).
Race
A swift launch ensured Mee remained in front of the pack at the start of the race, while a lightning getaway from the Team Air Supply Porsche 944 fired drivers Wright/Allatt into the battle for the early race lead.
Rawlings/Holyhead were enjoying a strong start of their own and were immediately pressing Mee in front, while also having to defend from Wright/Allatt behind. Honeybone and the Wolf Motorsport Reade/Reade MINI were in close proximity, while a strong opening lap kept Esam at the front of a competitive Class D.
As the race progressed, Mcphail, Wayne Cockerill (Aindale Racing) and Tommy Valentine (Burton Power Racing) were enjoying a tremendous battle for the Class C podium places. Mee maintained a small buffer to Rawlings/Holyhead and Wright/Allatt behind, but the chasing two cars were quickly applying the pressure.
Once the pit window had shut and each team had completed their stops, the order had shifted. Rawlings/Holyhead were now leading the way, with a pacey Honeybone Clio hot on the leaders heels. Adams/Adams and Stone were still running in the top 3 of Class D and trying to reel in Esam ahead, while also trying to stay in front of the likes of Ethan Lundy (Hills Motorsport) and George Wright (Team Air Supply).
A one-lap penalty being applied to Honeybone for a pit-stop infringement eased the pressure on Rawlings/Holyhead, who were continuing to lap strongly. However, Zakrzewski was on a charge of his own, looking to hunt down the leaders before the checkered flag fell.
Ultimately, Zakrzewski would come up 7.372s short as Paddock Performance Racing crossed the finish line first to win the 100th Trackday Trophy race! A huge congratulations goes to the team, as well as both drivers - Michael Rawlings and Jason Holyhead.
Zakrzewski’s efforts were rewarded with the Class B win, while Luke and Chris Reade claimed the second spot on the B podium after a strong and consistent drive. The final step of the B podium belonged to Wright/Allatt, in a repeat of their Donington Park achievement. Honeybone’s pace was clear, still finishing fourth-in-class despite the penalty.
Mcphail enjoyed a tremendous race, consistently battling higher-classed cars to come home second in Class C, while the battle for the final spot on the class podium went right down to the wire. Sarah Hobson (Hobson Racing) had been brilliant in the second half of the race, managing to pass Valentine on the final lap to take the third-place trophy by just 0.251s!
There was an equally exhilarating finish in Class D for second and third place. An epic three-way battle between the MX-5s of Adams/Adams, Stone and Lundy would eventually culminate with less than one second separating the three over the finish line. Adams/Adams would claim second, narrowly ahead of Stone and Lundy in third and fourth respectively. The Class D win was earned by Esam, who put in a sensational drive to top the class and finish an impressive P9 overall.
Congratulations to all of our class podium finishers.
Trackday Trophy next takes to the circuit at Cadwell Park on Saturday 6 September, as part of the Cult Classics event!
Entries can be made here.
Photo: Gary Hawkins