REPORT : OULTON PARK GOLD CUP
The Thompson / McClurg and Allison Chevrons in Guards
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Remarkably , 31 out of 32 starters finished the 25-minute race and the only retirement was John Shaw in his Morgan + 8 . After his started motor failed in the assembly area Shaw was having his best race to date when he had an unfortunate spin and stall which left unable to re-join . However , everyone else made it back to the finish after a fine contest .
The Classic Formula Ford 1600 pack shared their first race with the Heritage and Open cars and it was a mighty contest between Jordan Harrison and Henry Chart that made the headlines . Harrison just kept his Lola ahead of Chart ’ s Van Diemen but it was never settled . On the final lap , Rory Smith in his modern Medina came up from the second pack and split Harrison and Chart in a blanket finish . Most impressive in fourth was Jake Shortland who had the rare Lola T440 going better than ever to fend off
“ Remarkably , 31 out of 32 starters finished the 25-minute race ”
Ian Parkington in the ex-Tiff Needell Crossle , Rick Morris and
Joseph Ahrens from a fine battle .
In the second race Chart was an early retirement and that ensured a resounding win for Harrison , as Parkington came up for a great second from Shortland and Ahrens while Morris
Nic Carlton-Smith underlined his FJ title lead
The HTC pack delivered two excellent races
went out after a tangle of wheels sent his Royale bouncing up in the air at Druids .
The 70s Road Sports race went with form as Will Plant stormed to another victory despite a mid-race safety car . Jim Dean kept the Lotus Europa within reach of the Morgan , but Plant was never too seriously troubled . Unfortunately , several cars were eliminated in incidents , Charles Barter and Dave Karakas were among them , while Kevin Kivlochan ’ s Morgan went out with brake issues . Through the excitement , John Williams brought his Porsche 911SC up to third place .
Simon Garrad blitzed the opening race for the Dunlop Saloon Car Cup in his Nissan Skyline as the Sierra RS500s of Dave Coyne and David Tomlin battled for second . Unfortunately , Garrad was side-lined from the second race with a worsening misfire , so Ric Wood , running his Holden Commodore in the invitation class after his Nissan hit problems in qualifying , took over for victory from Mark Wright , now in his RS500 after Coyne raced it in the opener .