GT & Sports Car Cup Race Report: Oulton Park Equipe Classic Racing
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RACE WINNERS
Chris Chiles & Chris Chiles Jr
AC Cobra
CHILES PLAY AS COBRA OUTRUNS JAGUAR
Chris Chiles and Chris Chiles Junior scooped gold as the GT & Sports Car Cup joined Equipe Classic Racing’s throng for the first time and made a successful debut at the historic Oulton Park circuit on May 21. Senior blasted their AC Cobra ahead at the start and relayed his son who double-stinted to the end of the 90-minute race. Their Gary Spencer-prepared machine did not miss a beat as they growled clear of Scots John Clark and Gordon Mutch - in the former’s semi-lightweight Jaguar E-type roadster - and Bristolians David Smithies/Chris Clarkson in the former’s splendidly thuggish Cobra Daytona Coupe.
Behind the top trio, the battle for GT3 honours was exceptional. While pro Calum Lockie demonstrated the pace to put Simon Orebi Gann’s Triumph-powered Morgan +4 SLR in the mix, rear brake issues left them unable to live with the three rapid and well-matched Austin-Healey 3000s. Locally-based Crispin Harris earned top honours by just 21 seconds from Doug Muirhead/Jeremy Welch, who were caught on the line after a long chase by James Haxton/Jack Rawles. TVR Granturas finished 1-2 in GT2, Malcolm Paul/Rick Bourne beating Joe Ward/Chris Conoley by a lap, with the gallant Lotus Elite of Marc Gordon/Nick Finburgh 10 seconds adrift in third at the chequered flag. Sixteen of the 18 starters finished.
The event, a new venture with Equipe - which we rejoin for the huge MG Live event on Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit on June 12 - was made by the atmosphere and facilities at Oulton. Particularly the wonderful hospitality, sponsored by Automobiles Histroriques, which circuit owners MotorSport Vision put on in the Fogarty Moss Centre, which offers majestic views over the circuit and the verdant Cheshire countryside beyond. Competitors and guests rated the food outstanding, the off-track camaraderie as ever as important a part of the GTSCC family experience as the racing. Hopefully, with your support, we will return in future seasons.
QUALIFING
Nineteen teams turned out for qualifying on Saturday morning, disappointingly without the Austin-Healey 3000 of Paul and George Ingram - old friends of the Chiles family - sidelined by gearbox failure in testing the previous day. Pleasingly, former Historic F1 Shadow racer Paul stayed for race day.
Equipe Chiles set the pace in the half-hour session, Chris Jr’s fine 1m57.767s shot averaging 82.29mph for the challenging 2.692-mile circuit which closely follows the original layout of the 1950s. This was 1.744s better than young Lockerbie rising star Mutch’s 1:59.511 in Clark’s iridescent blue E-type, poignantly at the scene of the early production models’ victorious competition debut in April 1961, with Graham Hill aboard.
Lockie put Orebi Gann’s sleek Morgan coupe third with a GT3-leading 2:03.037 (78.76mph), ahead of the big Healeys of Cheshire-domiciled Harris [soloing as Crispy Moth Racing team mate James Wilmoth was attending a wedding] on 2:03.367 and Haxton/Rawles on 2:03.492. Stablemates Muirhead/Welch - in Doug’s TON 792 (aka ‘The Chairman’s Car,’ the factory demonstrator run by BMC boss Sir George Harriman) - were in the 2:04s with Smithies/Clarkson’s Cobra coupe, an homage to André Simon and Maurice Dupeyron’s ’64 Tour de France contender, carrying the original’s #186.
Bristolian Mark Williams, another combatant with Historic F1 racing experience, was a late addition to the field, not with his Cobra which traditionally flies on home soil at Castle Combe, but with a Lotus twin-cam engine Ginetta G4R previously raced by French veteran Laurent Dutoya. Having taken delivery a week before the event, the car was shaken down on the Friday, Mark finding its suspension set-up for Magny-Cours' flat modern layout far from ideal for scenic Oulton Park’s undulating contours. That he coaxed the unknown quantity round in 2:05.837, good enough for P8, was testament to his skill, but expectations were not high.
The contrasting Blackpool-originated TVR Grantura Mk IIIs of Paul/Bourne (red) and Ward/Conoley (blue), with their 1800cc BMC ‘B’ Series engines, ruled the GT2 roost, sharing row five on 2:06.449 (76.64mph) and 2:08.801 respectively. Gordon/Finburgh’s 1216cc Coventry-Climax FWE powered Elite was eight tenths shy of Ward’s time, clear of long-time Triumph racer Colin Sharp in his TR4.
Mike Thorne/Sarah Bennett-Baggs were next up, their gunmetal Austin-Healey 100M fourth in GT2, half a second quicker than fellow husband and wife team Brian and Barbara Lambert in the swiftest MG B having narrowly outpaced the Jaguar E-type low-drag coupe of Canadian Read Gomm and preparer Andy Keith-Lucas. Destined not to start due to clutch issues, Mark Pangborn/Harvey Woods’ troubled Healey 3000 qualified 16th, ahead of welcome GTSCC newcomers Mark Hope/James Bilsland’s pale blue MG B.
The family-orientated field was completed by fathers and daughters Richard and Alice Locke and Jeremy and Arabella Welch in MG Bs. While understandably apprehensive, having driven the car with younger sister Emily at Castle Combe’s media day in March, Arabella settled in well to the longer and more challenging circuit, enjoying her red-letter day increasingly as expert guidance quelled her nerves.
RACE
The 18 fit cars came under starter’s orders at 15.04, the twin lines’ pace controlled by Chiles Sr as they bobbed over the brow of Deer Leap and accelerated towards the deceptive right-handed Old Hall corner as the red lights went out on a warm, dry, afternoon. Down through Cascades, then left onto Lakeside Chiles’ rorty Cobra powered away from Clark’s E-type as Harris, Smithies unleashing his V8 grunt, Haxton, Muirhead and Williams passed Orebi Gann’s ‘Moggie’ which had batted way above its weight in the grid-setting preliminaries.
Ward jostled past Paul in the opening exchanges, then set about chasing down Orebi Gann. Williams’ Ginetta slowed towards the end of lap 2 and trickled back to the pits and retirement, but out-front Clark and Smithies kept Chiles on his toes. Chris’ tactic, to drive a short way then relay his lad into a double-stint, panned out perfectly. The dark blue car rumbled in to the pits after six laps, promoting Clark and Smithies, then rejoined with increasing vigour. Clark built a 2.6 second advantage over Smithies before putting Mutch in at 10 laps, by which time Muirhead - the first big Healey to pit - Harris and Haxton were in the chase ahead of Chiles Jr, Ward, Gomm and Orebi Gann.
The only other car to fall was Sharp’s TR4 at just over one-third distance. Its gearbox grenaded in Cascades, leaving a trail of oil which traced a path to its resting place on the Fosters link - occasionally used as a short circuit - which rejoins the traditional layout before the right-left Hislops chicane. This deviation was installed 30 years ago, slowing cars [and motorcycles] before the previously ultra-fast Knickerbrook corner leading to the ascent of Clay Hill and the run through to double-apex Druids and Lodge. Lockie took over Orebi Gann’s Morgan at this point and immediately began to make ground up on GT3 rival Healeys. Haxton/Rawles and Harris stopped a lap apart.
Chiles, on a mission, wasted no time in hounding down Smithies, who completed 17 laps before installing his old pal Clarkson. Harris ran second before Mutch howled past in pursuit of the leading Cobra, while Welch tackled Clarkson, with Harris and Lockie charging along behind and Bourne leading Conoley post-stops in their TVR tussle. While Chiles finished the race a lap ahead of Clark/Mutch, having lapped the Jag at three-quarters’ distance and set best lap of 1:57.535 (82.45mph), the Daytona Cobra was secure in third, Smithies less than 20 seconds adrift (and three seconds quicker than in qualifying).
The scrap for fourth and GT3 gold was epic though. Harris drove impeccably to land it from Muirhead/Welch and Haxton/Rawles, Jack having set the class best lap of 2:03.192 (78.66mph), inside their Q-time. GT2 victors Paul and Bourne worked very hard for seventh overall, Rick’s 2:06.906 (76.36mph) lap a second better than runners-up Ward/Conoley recorded in netting ninth, with Gordon/Finburgh keeping them on their toes.
Between the TVRs was Orebi Gann’s Morgan SLR. When Simon leapt back in after Lockie’s contribution, he experienced brake severe dramas. Part of the mechanism at the rear had disintegrated, causing the linings to catch fire. He soldiered on to eighth, but by the end his overworked front pads were worn out. Experiencing the opposite problem were the Lamberts who with a mis-adjusted brake balance bar had no front anchors. The amount of black dust colouring the rear wheels made them the same colour as their MG’s bodywork, but Brian and Barbara plugged away to finish 12th, best of the B quartet, albeit with Hope/Bilsland filling their mirrors having lost more than 30 seconds around their second stop phase.
Driving the oldest car in the race skilfully to 11th overall and fourth in GT2, Thorne/Bennett-Baggs were delighted to be awarded the Royal Automobile Club family award, having finished a minute ahead of the Lamberts. The Lockes were the first dad and lass combo home, split from the Welchs - whose MGB’s radiator drank copious amounts of water at both stops - by the Gomm/Keith-Lucas Jag which showed its mettle mid-race.
Join us at Silverstone on 12th June for a 2-Hour endurance race on the fabled Grand Prix Circuit.
Report by Marcus Pye
GT & Sports Car Cup
Forthcoming UK Round
2-Hour Endurance Race
Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit
12th June
GTSCC WINNERS
Chris Chiles & Chris Chiles Jr
GTSCC CLASS WINNERS
GT2 - Malcom Paul & Rick Bourne - TVR Grantura MK III
GT3 - Crispin Harris - Austin Healey 3000
GT4 - Chris Chiles & Chris Chiles Jr - AC Cobra 289
GTSCC 'Driver of the Day' - Simon Orebi Gann & Calum Lockie - Morgan Plus 4 SLR
Royal Automobile Club ‘Family Award’ - Mike Thorne & Sarah Bennett-Baggs - Austin Healey 100 M
GTSCC Oulton Park Results HERE
E-Mail - cars@automobileshistoriques.com for entries