Less is Moore

The second round of the Pace Ward MLR Sprint Series on Saturday 9th May took place on the twisty tarmac rally stages located on the infield at Oulton Park, this technically demanding two-kilometer course once again proving that it’s not all about power, but handling and technique. Exploiting this to his advantage was Stephen Moore, who bolted a set of slicks to his Class B Evolution VI to elevate it to Class D, a move that saw him win the category and also set the fastest time of the day.

The morning of the event dawned wet and overcast, conditions that meant the sprint course’s smooth asphalt was going to provide competitors with very little grip. It also meant that the usual advantage gained by the more powerful cars was drastically reduced.

Consequently, after the morning’s three practice sessions, Richard Marples in his Class A (the category for cars that are closer to standard) Evo X recorded the fastest time, 0.34 secs ahead of Moore, who was running in Class D - on slicks - as well in his usual Class B using treaded tyres. Third fastest in practice - and also in Class A - was Jason Stott in his Evo VIII, with the first of the class B runners Rob Loftus in his Evo VI next, whereas the first Class C competitor was Richard Marriage, also in an Evo VI.

With the rain diminishing during the morning’s runs, a dry line was now forming on the course and with patches of wet tarmac and standing water remaining it meant that, for the first of the competitive runs, grip levels were somewhat of a lottery. Quickest out of the blocks was Marriage, setting the benchmark for Class C, but with Marples fastest overall in his Class A car on the second competitive run, it was clear that traction was still more important than power.

Keeping his Class D powder dry and opting not to run in the category for the most modified cars for the first three runs, Moore was holding his own on treaded tyres and headed the Class B field by posting the fastest overall time on run number three. He then continued his run at the top of the time sheets when he swapped to slicks as the track further dried out for run number four.

But Marples was also getting quicker as conditions improved and went fastest overall on runs five and six. However, with the weather getting warmer, it was obvious that the seventh and final run of the day was going to be the most competitive for all concerned.

This theory was convincingly endorsed, when Moore posted a 1:02.99 in Class D trim and set FTD by a margin of 1.15 seconds in the process. Impressively, Moore’s closest rival was Marples, who scored a convincing victory in Class A after a truly impressive and consistent performance throughout the day.

Marriage continued his supremacy in Class C, whilst it was Robert Jane in his Evo X who eventually came out on top of the Class B rankings following a day-long battle with Loftus, together with Steve Peel in his Evo VI and the busy Stephen Moore.

Once again, the crew filming for Motors TV were on duty throughout the day - come rain or shine - with the Oulton Park event due to be broadcast in the next few days.

The third round of the series takes competitors to the most southern venue on the calendar, Castle Combe on 13th June. The 2015 Pace Ward MLR Sprint Series is sponsored by: Pace Ward performance insurance, SuperPro suspension parts, AP Tuning, Ross Sport and HKS Europe.

Round 2 Class Winners Class  Class sponsor Driver Car    Time A SuperPro Richard Marples  Evo X   1:04.14 B AP Tuning Robert Jane Evo X  1:05.36 C Ross Sport Richard Marriage Evo VI 1:05.30 D HKS Europe Stephen Moore Evo VI  1:02.99 

notes

Classes The Pace Ward MLR Sprint Series features four classes:  Pace Ward MLR Sprint Series: •Class A: Standard - sponsored by SuperPro•Class B: Fast Road - sponsored by AP Tuning•Class C: Super-Road/Track Day - sponsored by Ross Sport•Class D: Unlimited - sponsored by HKS Europe

All cars must be road legal.

2015 Calendar 11th April:   Pembrey 9th May:  Oulton Park 13th June: Castle Combe 25th July: Teesside Autodrome 15th August:  Blyton Park 12th September: Snetterton  11th October: Rockingham