Oulton Park - ClubEnduro - 750MC - 3rd June 2023

Fresh from our success at Anglesey for Round 2 of both the RoadSports Series on Saturday, then the 750MC Club Enduro on Sunday, we were off to Oulton Park for the first solo race weekend in the ClubEnduro.
Dylan was unable to attend due to work commitments, so Aaron Cooke, the 2022 MR2 Championship winner, was going to be partnering with Ryan. Brad in the RS3 was still absent and DannyDC2 was a last minute entry in a very nice E46 M3 we saw being shared with Nigel Greensall at Croft. I would be in the Golf as always.
As the TT went so well at Anglesey, Ryan decided to keep the momentum going with that and just have the TFSI as a backup. You can read about Anglesey below:

Below is the layout of Oulton Park, we would be doing the full (International) layout:

As always, the Golf would be running in Class B, which is 240bhp/tonne without the driver. Diesels have a 1.05 power multiplier, so theoretically we can only have ~228bhp/tonne.
The TT TDI has a declared weight of 1140kg, and being in class A can only have ~285bhp/ton, which works out around 325bhp on the Championship Dyno.
The TT TFSI can have a maximum of 295bhp/ton due to Petrol Forced Induction cars having a 5bhp deduction.
The 750MC uses TheResultsLive.co.uk for timing.
The Golf has had zero changes between rounds, but the TT TDI had a massive amount of upgrades, mainly around Aero and front end grip, with the monster 18"x11" ZF6 Wheels with 295/30R18 Yokohama A052 Tyres. Paul, Harry and Stylianos worked tirelessly to get the whole package ready for the weekend, including side arches, arch vents and a trick front splitter.

Full Race Day Vlog

We have a full Vlog from the weekend, with snippets of the races:

Testing

With no real issues to report for both cars from the last round, we decided to just do the afternoon test session, so set off at 9am to get there just after 11am, plenty of time to prepare for the first afternoon session at 2pm.
I had a wander down the paddock to talk to the guys at the teams we know, and it seemed the time to beat was somewhere in the region of 1:48s for Class A and 1:53 for Class B, but there was also talk that the sessions earlier in the morning, before the temperatures rose, were much quicker. I guess we would have to see!
To cement Ryan's view that testing on the Friday is a waste of time, session 1 was mainly wasted to red flags. However, we did manage a few laps and I was able to punch in a 1:53.76 with plenty on the table so I was happy. Ryan was not happy with how the TT handled, and he only produced a 1:52.80. The guys checked the alignment and found that a fair bit had settled after the major changes in the run up to the event. A quick tweak was needed then the car was ready for Aaron to drive for the first time.
He said the car gave him confidence to push immediately, and he punched in a 1:48.64, which after speaking to everyone later, was at least 0.5s quicker than anyone else had gone. I improved to a 1:53.39 which was about where I thought we needed to be for the qualifying session in the morning, so if the cooler temperatures would give us a little more laptime, it should be perfect.
Looking at Aaron's data vs the Golf, he just needed to trust that the car would stick if he carried more speed into the faster corners. With less weight, 80mm more front tyre and a lower centre of gravity, he should have been able to carry significantly more than me. However, this was only the second time he had driven a FWD car in anger (the first being a few laps in our RS3 at Donington) so the time was still impressive. Spirits were high going into Saturday!

ClubEnduro Qualifying

Oulton is always a track you need to get a banker lap in early, as you never know what is going to happen, with the barriers so close to the track, it doesn't take much of a mistake to cause a safety car or red flag. However even I could not have guessed how soon it would happen! An E46 lit it's tyres up on the pit exit, then spun into the barrier. Cue the safety car!
This didn't really cause me too much hassle as I just did my 3 laps before it was then red flagged. However it completely messed up Ryan and Aaron. They sent Aaron out to put in their safety lap, but they had to swap for Ryan to get in as it was looking tight for him getting a lap. In the end it was a good job they did, Ryan put in a few good laps, including a 1:48.35 before coming back in for Aaron to have another stab, but as he crossed the line to start his first proper flier, the chequered was waved, 5 minutes earlier than we were told.
Ryan's time had put them 5th, until Danny pipped them by 0.02s right on the last lap. My time of a 1:52.62 was the best I had ever done around here, and enough for P1 in Class B and 12th Overall. My main championship rival Chris Plaskett was just behind with a 1:52.99, an excellent time considering he'd never driven Oulton before. Joe Williams from Leominster VAG-Tech was up there in 3rd.

As you can see, it was a fair way into the session before anyone started to post decent laptimes. The Elise of Stacey was clearly still at an advantage around Oulton, so it remains to be seen if Spa, Snetterton, Donington and Silverstone turn the tables towards the heavier but more powerful cars.

I'd done a 1:53.45 early on, which I thought would be enough to be up there, but decided to go again just in case. It was a good job as Plaskett beat my time on the same lap as I improved to secure the lead. The newcomers to Class B also put in some decent laps, so would need some attention during the race. The one outlier was the Ginetta of Matthew Tidmarsh. They had made a lot of changes to the suspension since the last round with the help of Rob Boston Racing, and Rob was in the car for Quali, so it was strange to see them at the back. They must have had an issue.

Qualifying Laps

Our fastest Quali laps are below:

ClubEnduro Race

The race was not Live Streamed by the guys at AlphaLive this time for some reason, they are back for Snetterton.

I was on Row 6 again, just ahead of Plaskett in the Mk7 Golf and Joe Williams in the Mk6. This seems to be about the furthest I can get to against the Class A machines.
Ryan wanted to start from Row 3, and Aaron was happy with this so it worked perfectly. Ryan just needed to maintain the gap to the leaders, save the tyres and hand over to Aaron to push through towards the end.

I had a great start, and could see all my rivals battling it out behind. By lap 9 I had pulled an 11s gap to Plaskett and the rest of Class B, with clear air in front of me. Ryan had started well also, latching on to the back of Oswick in the M4, maintaining 5th position. On lap 3, Stacey's Lotus decided to pop out it's core plug and pour it's coolant all over the last corner which caught out everyone behind him. He attempted to do another lap but had to retire the car. This promoted Ryan to 4th and DannyDC2 in the M3 to the lead, with the Livesley Ginetta just behind.
As I rolled around Shell Oils for the 10th time, I heard the familiar sound of a boost pipe popping off and was immediately on the radio to the guys to get ready to sort it. Plaskett and Schlewitz in the Mk7s passed me at Hislops. What I needed now was a safety car, as the pit window was another 10 minutes off. There was a car broken down near the track, so as I came around the final corner, I said I might gamble for a safety car and stay out until the pit window. I chickened out and came in, just as the SC boards were shown. Gutted.
The guys did a great job getting it sorted, but I had lost a lap to my rivals, it was going to take a miracle for me to pull it back now. I came out at the back of the train with Plaskett and Packer just in front of me. I wanted to battle them to get back ahead, but I was given a 6 second Stop Go Penalty for speeding the in the pitlane (I had not scrubbed enough speed off before the line) so elected to take the hit right after the restart and give myself clear air to push. On Lap 18, the grey Ginetta had an issue and pulled off. The hot exhaust set fire to the dry grass underneath and the car was engulfed in flames. I was certain a safety car would be called, and with the pit window open, I dove in to make my mandatory stop (3 minutes plus 20 seconds for my 2nd position at Anglesey).
With Ryan in 3rd and the safety car coming out every 5 minutes it seemed, he decided to just keep touch without hurting the car or tyres. The M4 was on Direzzas so would need more time to warm them up at the restarts.
For some reason, the race director decided to hold off on deploying the safety car until after I had done my stop, so I was now 2 laps behind the guys in Class B, and they were just in my mirrors looking to lap me a 3rd time. I couldn't let that happen!
The laptimes would suggest that by this point, Ryan should have been in the lead, but at two of the safety car periods, the Capture TCR of Grice and Beech had been waved around, allowing them to catch the back of the pack and save going a lap down.

As the Safety Car peeled in to the pits, I had the Porsche directly behind me and several Class C Civics in front, I left as big a gap as I dared for the final corner, then went for a run to the line. They slowed down so much I had to back out of it, then I was shoved onto the grass by the Civic reacting to the Cayman coming fast down the other side. Luckily I got it back on the track and also kept ahead of the Cayman.
Ryan pitted around the halfway mark, just after another safety car and handed over to Aaron. He was immediately on pace, setting a 1:48.67 before ANOTHER safety car halted his progress. When that was cleared up he managed a 1:48.44 before what sounded like a small boost leak developed further and was costing him 3 - 4s a lap.
Plaskett had a braking issue whilst battling with the Cayman and unfortunately took them both out at the Chicane. This promoted Kevin Glover in the Jabba Mk7 to first in Class B, with Packer and Joe Williams a bit further back.
By this point I could see the Class B Elise in P4, but had the Ginetta with Boston behind the wheel right behind me. I could also see Packer and Williams in the distance, so decided to let Rob through and hope we could both pick off a few places. Unfortunately I ran out of laps, as did Rob. He was 0.06s from the Podium, I was 7s behind. He needed one more lap, I needed another two or three!

So a disappointing end considering both cars were pretty dominant in their class. With the Lotus and Ginetta retired, it was the TTs race to shine. All the safety cars meant Aaron was unable to show his true potential.
The boost leak on the TT cost it 2nd place, dropping down to 4th in the latter stages.

The lap times for the TT were mega when it had clear air, but we still think it had a 1:47 in it. Whether it could have gone sub 1:46 seems a stretch, so beating DannyDC2's fastest lap of the race would have been hard work for sure.

The only car that was quicker than me at the end was the Ginetta, and at the start I was a decent amount quicker than all the other Class B cars. If I had not had two unscheduled trips to the pitlane, it would have been a comfortable win I am sure.

Fastest Laps

Our fastest laps from the race are below:

So whilst the result was not great, my main rival at the moment in the Championship, Chis Plaskett, had a brake issue that put him and the Cayman out of the race. This means I am still at the top of Class B and joint top overall. However, with 2 dropped scores over the season, it is still anyone's championship.
The TT is currently sitting in 6th. If it has a few more decent results, it could finish pretty well. Fingers crossed!

The next ClubEnduro round is 2 x 100 minute races at Spa in July, however we have the RoadSports Race at Brands Hatch on the GP Circuit the weekend before. Dylan is back for both rounds but we are unsure on who is going to drive which car for the RoadSports, as we want to give us the best chance at Spa the weekend after. The current plan is for Dylan to drive the RS3 Solo, then myself and Ryan to drive both TTs in the same race, swapping in the pitstop. We have tried it before and it was a disaster, what is the definition of insanity?