Oulton Park 30th August 2003

Oulton Park was again a last minute rush as our farm work is still taking priority, and we arrived at the circuit in the early hours of race day.

We ran the car with the same gears and set-up as the previous race at Brands GP, this was not ideal but we were unable to find the time to make changes.

Dave Mountain grabbed pole position in his Van Diemen, with Allen Timpany third and Nik, fourth. We were pleased to see Dave and Allen, so well placed, and the continuing development from Graham Hathaway, is making the cars more drivable.

The race was an exciting affair with Matt Manderson taking the lead and Dave Mountain in hot pursuit. Dave was all over Matt and eventually passed him. Nik ran a strong fourth, although he passed Allen and pulled out a gap. Chris Gilbert did an outstanding job in the Lola to finish third.
A red flag curtailed the race, leaving Dave the winner. All the top five cars were running in the 1.43, second, lap times, Dave Mountain taking fastest lap with a 1.43.409.

Nik was unhappy with his finishing position, but I feel once we have our US campaign finished, our busy time over on the farm, then we will be back at the front and ready to challenge for the championship next year.

In the Pinto race it was good to see Rupert Russell back in the frame. Rupert is quite capable of winning races and I am sure he has now found a better balance in the car and this was evident as he charged through the field from sixth to second. Rupert could conceivably have won the race if he had qualified better.

The Runoffs in Mid Ohio are upon us and we look forward to a good showing. Nik has won all of his qualifying races but still seems to be dismissed as a challenger for the finals. We hope this underdog will turn out to be a Bulldog!