MG CAR CLUB REPORT FROM OULTON PARK
A fine defensive drive from Ross Makar in the MG Trophy was rewarded with victory at Oulton Park. Polesitter Makar was never headed but Graham Ross, Colin Robertson and Doug Cole made him work for it.
When Ross lined up a cutback on Makar at Lodge, Robertson took advantage to dive underneath his fellow Scot with Cole following him through. Ross returned to second after Cole missed a gear on Clay Hill and with a move inside Robertson at Old Hall, as barely a second covered all four cars throughout.
Row two starter Jason Burgess cursed his luck after suffering driveshaft failure on the opening lap. Earlier, he had passed Ross and Makar around the outside at Old Hall to lead the first race, only for it to be red-flagged and subsequently abandoned for a violent accident in which Gianni Picone and Adrian Wray rolled.
Russell Mccarthy and James Wheeler disputed an entertaining first BCV8 race, which was missing polesitter Neil Fowler following a crash in qualifying. Mccarthy got a run on Wheeler and passed him through the Avenue, leading until the final bend when he ran wide on oil. Wheeler slid on the slick too and the pair made contact, Wheeler prevailing in the scramble to the finish.
Ian Prior picked up the pieces and won when Wheeler suspected a halfshaft failure in race two and retired. An ill-handling car contributed to Mccarthy spinning but he recovered to second, with Ollie Neaves third.
Mark Mcaleer took a step closer to the Porsche Club title with a win and a second behind Mark Sumpter. Mcaleer and Craig Wilkins, who retired from race two with engine failure, benefited from Sumpter’s similar 996 getting stuck in third gear in the opener. Sumpter dropped from pole to third in the second race, but picked off Peter Morris and then pounced around the outside of Mcaleer at Old Hall to claim the win.
The first MG Cup race brought a maiden win for Matt Simpson in his Rover 220 Tomcat. A storming recovery from Alan Brooke in his Rover Metro GTI – which was tagged into a half-spin at Old Hall – lifted him from 11th to the race lead, only for him to retire when he dropped a wheel onto the grass and almost rolled at Cascades.
The MG ZS of Peter Burchill pressured Simpson throughout but had to settle for second ahead of Iain Dowler (MG ZR) and Dave Nixon. The latter pair then contested victory in race two, Dowler just holding off Nixon’s Tomcat, which was transformed by improved damper settings. Burchill snatched third from Simpson on the final lap.
A sublime opening half-lap lifted Jack Ashton from third to first in the Metro Cup race. He dived inside brother Andrew for the lead at Shell Oils, and then pulled clear. The elder Ashton brother held off Lee Connell for second, who was recovering after contact with Mike Williams sent him on a wild ride on the grass up Lakeside.
Tom Smith overhauled Wilf Penrose’s TVR Grantura in the pitstops to win the Equipe GTS race in his MGB. Mark Ashworth (Grantura) held off Simon Cripps’s MGB for third.
Late-entry Phil Standish took Cockshoot Cup victory in his MG TLF. Peter Bramble overcame Mike Peters for second, while Ashley Woodward mounted a recovery to fourth from 12th on the grid after mismatched tyres hampered his qualifying.