AFTER OULTON PARK ACCIDENT
Round 11 of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup, which was scheduled to be contested at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 31st May, has been postponed until later in the season following an unavoidable accident involving series leader Carl Breeze and Chairman’s Cup contender Mark Proctor.
Getting underway as originally intended, the latest instalment of the entertaining championship was brought to an early conclusion on lap two when Breeze’s car, stranded in the middle of the track at the exit of Old Hall following a spin, was collected at unabated speed by an unsighted Proctor.
Bringing an immediate halt to the race, the accident resulted in injuries for both drivers and with that in mind the series organisers elected to terminate proceedings instantly and instead work towards fitting the race into one of the remaining events on the 2009 calendar.
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Championship Co-ordinator Stewart Linn explained: “Due to the fact we didn’t know the full extent of the injuries sustained by Carl Breeze and Mark Proctor after their accident, we believed the right thing to do was to postpone the 11th round of the championship until later in the season. The same starting order will apply whenever the race is re-arranged.”
At the original start, Nathan Freke grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Breeze after making a better getaway from the grid as Frank Wrathall nestled into third ahead of Chris Dittman. Meanwhile, Joachim Ritter was the first retirement from the race as he exited Cascades – a spin across the track into the tyre barriers on the outside causing major frontal damage to his G50.
Heading into lap two, Wrathall produced a good pass up the inside of Breeze at Old Hall to grab second place but as Breeze’s car ran wide onto the grass on the exit, it spun back onto the track and came to a halt in the middle of the circuit. Although the cars closest behind luckily avoided making contact, Proctor was unsighted and the resulting impact was unavoidable.
Thankfully, both drivers were extracted from their damaged cars and taken to the Oulton Park medical centre as quickly as possible before being transferred on to hospital. All at Ginetta Cars express their thanks and gratitude to the Oulton Park officials, marshals and medical team.
As the 2009 calendar currently stands, there are just two weeks to wait until the next event of the season which will be held over the weekend 13th/14th June at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire.
Provisional 2009 Ginetta G50 Cup Championship Positions (after Rd10):1st Carl Breeze, 306pts; 2nd Nathan Freke, 299pts; 3rd Frank Wrathall, 259pts; 4th Christian Dick, 186pts; 5th Tom Sharp, 165pts; =6th Chris Dittman & Fulvio Mussi, 124pts
