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Oulton Park welcomed EnduroKA for round 5 of the 2026 season and a five-hour endurance race!
Qualifying:
MilnAir Racing #46, narrowly clinched the fastest time of the session, with Jack Wright piloting the KA to a 2:16.500. Hot on their heels, however, was the #555 SuKAru as Adam Bessell posted a 2:16.555, to end the session only 0.055 seconds off pole position! Slotting into the final podium spot was #131 Ka-Tastrophy, with Robert Thomas completing a lap just 0.865 seconds behind pole.
Qualifying ended with just 1.1 seconds separating the top five cars. With such small margins across the longer Oulton Park lap, there was little to separate the front runners, setting the stage for a highly competitive race!
Race:
With lights out, it was SuKaru who got away best from second place on the grid, pipping MilnAir to lead the opening laps. An overtake on lap seven of the race saw MilnAir take the lead before a flurry of pit stops following an early Safety Car period. Ka-Tastrophy, watching the battle for the lead unfold, sat in third, inheriting first place as the leading pair pitted on lap 10. Team Shine in the #181 KA produced a brilliant opening stint, climbing from seventeenth on the grid, to fourth, then second through the pit stops, before moving into the lead of the race as it entered the second hour.
AFK Racing, shadowing Team Shines pit strategy also benefited from a great opening stint, as the team of Nik Berg, Nick Creed, and Alex Tentori found themselves running second, only to take the lead of the race for the first time themselves on lap 21. The lead was short lived however, as Autotech Motorsport #64 was with the lead duo and climbed to the head of the field themselves on lap 24.
A Safety Car period shuffled Ka-Tastrophy back into the lead of the race, as the clock ticked into the third hour. The team of Bonham and Thomas may have been at the front of the pack, but they now found MilnAir Racing in second place. The team of Declan McDonnell, Jack and George Wright having pushed hard to move MilnAir back up the order after an early strategic pitstop. MilnAir then took a short lead as Ka-Tastrophy came in to pit on lap 63, before pitting themselves four laps later.
The #23 Kaston Martin car now found themselves out in the lead. However, with many teams making strategic stops, it was only a question of how long they could hold onto the position! Running in second was AFK Racing, with SuKaru closing in just behind.
AFK Racing lead the final stages, their strategy to wait for a late Safety Car for a double stop. MilnAir and Kaston Martin were now running second and third albeit a lap down on the leaders. On lap 87, AFK Racings strategy looked like it would pay off, as a Safety Car allowed AFK Racing to make a double stop on lap 88, and then lap 89, before rejoining the race still in the lead. However, MilnAir, SuKaru, Kaston Martin and Kahoona’s were all now on the lead lap. The race to the flag was on!
Despite a valiant effort, AFK didn’t have the late pace of the earlier front runners, and as the chequered flag fell, it was MilnAir Racing who took the win, and with it became the first team in the history of the series to win the Oulton Park 5hour race twice! Second was #555 SuKaru, who were able to hold off a hard charging #333 KaHoona Racing Team. AFK finished a strong fourth after a tactically excellent race. The fastest lap went to #333 KaHoona, setting a 2:16.983 on lap 97!
Dagenham Dustbin honours were awarded to #555 SuKaru, whose rally inspired livery impressed the Orange Army!
Congratulations to all the teams who took part this weekend!
We can’t wait to see the EnduroKA grid for one last time this year at Brands Hatch on 14-15 Nov for the Indy KA 500!
Series approved Arrive & Drive options can be found here.
Photo: Rikki Palmer / Gary Hawkins Photography