No tags yet.
Oulton Park 2014: Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup
As expected, the first rounds of the 2014 Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup were both exciting and extremely competitive, as well as packed with a number of incidents.The weather forecast had initially stated rain for qualifying and race 1, but fortunately this changed and we ended up with a very warm, sunny day, with track temperatures reaching 28˚C.
THM Racing had a good weekend overall, meeting all our own targets, although we are
disappointed with the both races being red-flagged, as well as our limited running time initially due to a sensor issue.
Overall, it was a solid start to the 2014 Championship and we are eager to get to Rockingham in two weeks’ time.
Qualifying Report: qualifying is limited to 20 minutes and with 33 cars on track, getting a clear track for your “hot” lap is always a challenge.
After completing the out lap, we had to bring the car into the pits immediately as we had throttle issues, which required a very speedy temporary repair. Being in the pits for 2 minutes, as well as the slower in lap and out lap, it left us with time for only two “flying” laps. Crossing the line for his last lap, #98 Matt Hamilton was on it! Qualifying in P5 for the first race, with the throttle senor issues was a great job by all the team!
Oulton Park ROUND 1: Qualified 5th
Race 1 Report: with a 3 hour gap between qualifying and race 1, the team set about fixing the throttle sensor issue.We had a good start, but a couple of other drivers around us got away slightly better. Behind us a quite dramatic crash happened, at full speed, over the start/finish line stopping the race, resulting with a red flag shown. Most seriously damaged was the Golf of Howard Fuller, which spun across the track and took several hits from pursuing cars. After stabilisation at the circuit medical centre following extrication from his car, Fuller was airlifted to hospital for precautionary scans.
Due to less than two laps having been completed, the stewards and clerk of the course declared the race nun and void.
Race 2 Report: with the first race being red flagged and not re-started, the timetable was amended for the remaining races of the day, so the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup second race would move to the earlier time of a 5pm start. The grid was announced as per the original qualifying, therefore, we started P5.The start was good, but again we had a couple others get an even better get away, getting past us off the line. For a few laps there was some exciting close racing at the front, but with so many cars bunched together so closely, we did suffer with excessive heat and a lack of clear cold air for much of each lap, as with some of the other cars. We had dropped to 10th, but some exhilarating overtaking by Matt Hamilton pushed us back to 8th, only for yet again, a crash.
Driver Kieran Gallagher hit the barriers at Shell Oils corner and the damage to the barriers brought out the red flags again. The race was declared at this stage, but unfortunately due to the red flag, the positions of each car on the lap preceding the flag are taken as the final results – a 10th place finish for us!
TV Viewing Times are featured below for you to switch on and see the action. Featured on both Channel 4 and also Motors TV UK, there is a mixture of coverage and this also includes all the other race action from this event for the other racing series.
Channel 4: Saturday 3rd May 2014 at 07:00* and repeated Wednesday 7th May 2014* (*times tbc)(Please check www.channel4.com/tv-listings to check for further time updates)
Motors TV UK: Sunday 27th April at 21:00
Keep up to Date with our latest news and images all the time at:
www.thmracing.co.uk & www.facebook.com/thmracingltd / www.twitter.com/thmracing1
