Scotland’s Oly Mortimer and Ireland’s Jenny Ryan were the headline makers in the Mini Challenge as the Great & British Dunlop Motorsport Festival made its inaugural appearance at Oulton Park.
Cooper S driver Mortimer won both races at the Cheshire circuit to make it five wins out of five for the season while Ryan became the first woman to stand on top of a Mini Challenge podium after taking the Club class spoils in the first race of the day. She followed that performance by driving to second place in the second race of the day, which was won by Gary Kounnis from Essex.
Meanwhile road going Mini owners took part in a special parade lap of Oulton Park; also on the bill was a special designated showground where the UK’s finest collection of race and road Minis were be on display, all part of a special celebration of the iconic car.
Back on the race track and Ipswich’s Richard Ince and Austin Kinsella were the toast of the Dunlop Radical Enduro championship as they powered their SR8 sports car to victory to claim a second victory of the weekend having taken the spoils in Saturday’s race. In the SR3 category the first race went to Bradley Ellis and Phil Bailey from Hinkley while Barry Gates and Anthony Dunn were the top crew in Sunday’s second race.
The sensational Ross Allen grabbed a first and second place in the weekend’s two Dunlop Radical Biduro championship races in what was only his second competitive meeting behind the wheel of an SR4 sports car.
“It’s been a great weekend,” grinned former karting champion Allen. “I really enjoyed my debut at Snetterton and this has been the icing on the cake. It must have been thrilling to watch as it was fantastic to be involved in such close racing and at high speed as well.”
Thrills too in the two BARC Dunlop Sports MAXX Cup races with just eight tenths of a second separating race winner Simon Gusterson of Cambridge and Horley’s Martin Wallbank as they crossed the finish line. Rain had been forecast for the event but it didn’t put off the many spectators from attending Oulton Park and they were blessed with dry conditions until the final Sports MAXX race, this time Wallbank adapting to the wet better than Gusterson to beat him by five seconds. Simon Shaw won the Class C category, just a second ahead of Michael Weidner
Highlights from the day’s racing will be broadcast shortly on both Sky Sports and Motors TV while the next Great & British Dunlop Motorsport Festival takes place at the famous Spa circuit In Belgium in three weeks time.
