Oulton Park Race Report

Excitement for the penultimate round of the 2023 EnduroKA season couldn’t have been higher. With a large number of Mk1 Ford KAs expected to assemble on Oulton Park’s fabulous International circuit, anticipation for an epic five hour race was high.

In Saturday’s morning qualifying session, an early battle developed between PRO-AM Racing’s Will Hillyard and MilnAir Racing’s George Wright to top the timing sheet. Both of these teams have recorded a victory apiece so far this season and were looking to secure pole position to maximise their chances of a second race win. However, GloriKA’s Teddy Wilson had other ideas, setting a strong 2:18:835secs to steal provisional pole position for the #126 KA. Wilson’s benchmark remained the time to beat for over a third of the session, before two blistering laps from Adam Bonham looked to secure the front of the grid for KA Tastrophy. MilnAir Racing, who were victorious at the 12 Heures Du Norfolk last time out, continued to gain confidence and speed on circuit and this resulted in Jack Wright bettering Bonham’s time to change the provisional polesitter once more. Ultimately, MilnAir Racing would have to settle for second though, as Enduro Motorsport’s Marcus Clutton posted a phenomenal time of 2:18:021 to secure pole position for the #69 KA by less than 0.200secs. KA Tastrophy would line up in third, in front of: Autotech Motorsport, PRO-AM Racing and Burton Power Racing.

As the scheduled race start time drew nearer, the weather took a sharp turn for the worse. Heavy downpour called for a safety car start. After a very brief stint, it was time to go racing! MilnAir Racing have become synonymous with strong getaways and this was again the case at Oulton Park as the #46 KA headed the field through the opening exchanges. Autotech Motorsport had likewise enjoyed a brilliant race start, rising to second overall. The #65 KA’s pace was blatantly apparent, snatching the lead from MilnAir Racing by the end of lap four. Another team to catch the eye was Wolf Motorsport, who were flying through the field from eleventh on the grid. A plethora of exceptional overtakes from Chris Reade saw the #5 KA charge into the lead by the end of lap seven, before the first significant round of pit stops occurred to shake up the order once more.

At the one hour classification, Jack Wright had retaken the lead for MilnAir Racing with the #1 KA of Burton Power Racing closely following less than a second behind. TCS Motorsport and RACELOGIC were enjoying strong opening stints in third and fourth respectively, keeping within three seconds of the lead car. AFK Racing were pushing hard in fifth, while Enduro Motorsport had bounced back from a very early pit stop to reach the hour point in seventh. Close jostling from the chasing pack ensued around the picturesque circuit, with seemingly no ease in the tricky conditions. Drivers needed to be at their best to navigate the situation and a great number of teams were putting in exceptional performances. Team LARR Motorsport have enjoyed a very strong debut EnduroKA season and this was seemingly the case once more, with their #747 KA consistently running in the top three through the second and third hour. KaHoona’s Race Team were similarly enjoying an excellent debut for the #333 KA, rising to fifth at the three hour classification. Meanwhile, out front, polesitters Enduro Motorsport found themselves back in the lead, clearly capitalising on their earlier qualifying pace.

However, as the race progressed and neared the final stages an epic two-horse battle broke out. Having hunted down rivals GloriKA, PRO-AM Racing’s Nicole Drought managed to make a decisive overtake on the #126 KA for the race lead. What followed was a gripping battle, with Nicole expertly maneuvering to defend her first place. For the last half hour of the race, less than one second split PRO-AM Racing and GloriKA over the line in a fantastic display from both drivers. Ultimately, Nicole Drought and her team mates Will Hillyard and Justin Roberts had done enough to secure a brilliant victory – making PRO-AM Racing the first repeat winners of 2023! A huge congratulations to the team. Following a technical infringement, GloriKA were excluded from the results meaning it was KA Tastrophy’s Bonham duo of Simon and Adam who secured the second step of the podium. The pair displayed excellent racecraft throughout the five hour race and deserved their silverware. The final step of the podium belonged to Alex Tentori and Ben Smith of KAsh Strapped Racing. KAsh Strapped Racing have gone from strength to strength in their debut season of EnduroKA and the pair of drivers should be proud of their efforts! AxiaMetrics missed out on the podium by just 0.595secs in a nail-biting finish, while Shine Automotive recovered from a tough opening lap exceptionally well to finish in fifth. North Motorsport #148, KaHoona’s Race Team, Windgat Racing, MilnAir Racing and Autotech Motorsport rounded out the top ten. A huge congratulations to all!

The latest Dagenham Dustbin was awarded to Tango & Crash for the second time this season, while Marcus Clutton of Enduro Motorsport earned the accolade of fastest lap with a time of 2:29:573secs. Congratulations to both!

There’s less than a month until the much coveted Brands Hatch Indy KA 500 and EnduroKA HQ couldn’t be more excited. Race entries can be made here: https://entries.msv.com/enduroka-2023