OULTON PARK MINI Festival Cooper Pro/Am Class

Qualifying Saturday AM Weather: Cloudy/Dry Duration: 15 minutes

The circuit configuration used for the MINI Festival was the Fosters Circuit. A first time for many. No fast left turn from Cascades entry into Lakeside but an adverse camber right hand turn into Fosters followed by a sweeping right hand turn into Knickerook. This caused quite a few moments on the damp track seeing a number of visits to the mowed grass side on the outside of Fosters.

Most drivers managed 12 laps in the allotted 15 minutes. The top 3 all put in their quickest lap on the last lap. The drying track clearly contributed to this.

Pro Class Results:
P1: Matt Hammond 1:13.401
P2: Martin Poole 1:13.601
P3: Jessica Hawkins 1:13.659

Am Class Results
P1: Chris Middleton 1:16.59
P2: Stuart McLaren 1:17.145
P3: Gary Papworth 1:17.923

Race 1 Saturday PM Weather: Rain/Wet Duration: 5 minutes

Poor visibility, spray, torrential rain and experience all played a part in the race.
The start of the race was interesting, 3 cars always struggle to fit around Old Hall. Normally a visit to the track side after the turn is a handy run off. Unfortunately, this time a run onto the grass would cause zero grip and a spin or visit to the barrier. The eagerness of the quick drivers to get in front and clear of the spray was evident. Martin Poole went from P1 to P4 to P10 over the first 3 laps. Matt Hammond on P1 fended off all challenges from Jesica Hawkins and Fulvio Mussi( guesting in Simon Walton Car) until the 4th lap when Fulvio pushed past Matt for the lead. Sam Weller pulled into the pits and Jessica stayed in touch behind Matt until the 7th lap when Matt had a visit to the trackside and ended up in 4th place with Richard Newman grabbing P2 from Jesica. With only nine laps completed in the pouring rain, the chequered flag was a welcome sight. In the Am class, they started after a short delay behind the Pro Class. This was actually useful as it let the spray die down. Stuart McLaren led the class with comfort, stayed out of trouble, had a good race with Andy Godfrey in P2. Adrian Norman ran well and he too stayed out of trouble and finished in P3. The rest of the field was lapped and they managed either 7 or 8 laps with the leader managing 9 laps.

Pro Class Results:
P1: Fulvio Mussi
P2: Richard Newman
P3: Jessica Hawkins

Am Class Results
P1: Stuart McLaren
P2: Andy Godfrey
P3: Adrian Norman

Race 2 Saturday PM Weather: Cloudy/Drying Duration: 15 minutes

A late start as the cars waited for the various previous race incidents to be cleared away. The race was shortened to 5 minutes with an incident and red flag after 3 cars collided in the first lap of the original start. James Goodall, Martin Poole, Matt Hammond and Richard Newman were all involved and were not classified as finishers. Fulvio Mussi won from the from the restart and was followed by Jessica Hawkins, Sam Weller and Owen Walton. In Am class, Stuart McLaren had it all his own way and led the class all the way home followed by Chris Middleton and Adrian Norman.

Pro Class Results:
P1: Fulvio Mussi
P2: Jessica Hawkins
P3: Sam Weller

Am Class Results
P1: Stuart McLaren
P2: Andy Godfrey
P3: Adrian Norman