NO STOPPING GIBBINS IN SPORTS 2000 AT OULTON
Michael Gibbins won both Sports 2000 races at Oulton Park last weekend from lights to flag, but had to work hard for his second success.
The track was still damp but Gibbins’s MCR made a flying start in race one, with Joshua Law holding second through Old Hall after Tom Stoten’s Gunn bogged down.
Stoten’s hopes of rechallenging were thwarted when he spun at Brittens on the second lap, bringing Dominic Lesniewski’s MCR into the final podium place. “I was all fired up after a bad start and could see them getting away, then spun, made places back and spun again,” Stoten explained.
Peter Williams’ MCR and Peter Brouwer’s Lola Fox completed the early top five which soon became spread out, until Stoten mounted a recovery only to spin again at Lodge after climbing to 10th.
“I was in a little world of my own,” said Gibbins after taking the flag over 15 seconds clear of Law. Lesniewski held onto third, but Stoten’s second recovery brought him back to fourth, after ousting Williams on lap 10 of 13. Williams held onto fifth, with Chris Yarwood a close sixth.
Although Gibbins got away again at the start of the second race, Stoten was soon attacking Lesniewski for second, and squeezed between his rival and the pitwall to snatch second into Old Hall as they started lap two.
The lead soon started to reduce and, with four laps to go, Stoten was only 0.564s down on Gibbins and was poised to challenge.
It remained close right to the flag, but Gibbins’s defence held and he took win number two by 0.244s from Stoten.
Law had a fairly solitary race in third, while David Houghton’s MCR took fourth from Lesniewski with three laps remaining. Nick Bacon’s Gunn rounded off the top six, after taking Yarwood on the last lap.
The Jack Fairman Cup which combined Jaguar
XKS, with the Mike Hawthorn and Innes Ireland Cups, gave Darren Mcwhirter’s Jaguar Mk1 a dominant win by well over 30s, from poleman
Marc Gordon’s XK150.
Glenn Pearson’s Jaguar Mk1 was third until he pitted after six of the 13 laps, which then left Nigel Webb’s Mk1 in the clear. Chris Keithlucas’ XK150 was fourth with David Reed’s Aston Martin DB2 winning a racelong duel with Rick Wilmott’s XK150 for fifth and sixth.
Intermarque was combined with the Aston Martin GT4 and GT Challenges, but quickly turned into a duel between the Ginetta G55s of Tom/ Nick Cresswell and James Guess/james Hilliard.
Tom led initially for the Cresswells, until Guess shot ahead into Brittens before the opening lap was completed.
Ryan Hooker’s Porsche 964 vacated an early third to Tim Bates’ 911SC after losing grip with fuel leaking onto a rear tyre but, with Bates’s car smoking excessively, he pitted which moved Gavin Dunn’s BMW E36 into third.
Hilliard kept Cresswell Sr at bay for the win, with
Dunn retaining third, from Bates and the Aston Martins of David Tinn and Robin Marriott.
Only six cars turned out in the Pre-war Team Challenge but, with one lap to go, it suddenly sprung to life. Christopher Scottmackirdy’s Aston Martin Le Mans had a 0.692s lead to defend over the final lap, as John Briggs’ Aston Martin Ulster closed in.
His defence only held until Knickerbrook, however, as Briggs claimed the win by 4.5s. David Ozanne’s Aston Martin Speed managed to hold onto third, but had Jo Blakeney-edwards’ Frazer Nash Supersport closing in at the flag.