OULTON PARK GEARS UP FOR BRITAIN'S TOP RACE CHAMPIONSHIP
The countdown has begun: there are now less than three weeks
to go before the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship
(BTCC) races at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire on Sunday
14 May.
Oulton's event will be the only time this year that the BTCC
- Britain's biggest and most prestigious motor racing championship
- is on show in the North-West and a bumper race day crowd
is anticipated.
The BTCC and Oulton are synonymous with one another - since
its inception in 1958, the championship has been racing in
front of huge crowds at the picturesque parkland circuit near
Chester. Its location is within easy access from the M6, M62,
M53 and M56 motorways and draws people from cities such as
Birmingham, Chester, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester
and Wrexham. Indeed, Oulton boasts the BTCC's biggest ever
attendance figure of more than 40,000 people.
Furthermore, the track's swooping characteristics provide
spectators with outstanding views of the racing. Oulton's
big BTCC race day is geared around public and family entertainment
- admittance is FREE for children aged under 13 and adults
can book race day tickets in advance for just £20.00
via the www.oultonpark.co.uk website. That price includes
paddock access plus the hugely popular Pit Lane Walkabout
session when the crowds can meet the star drivers for autographs
and giveaways.
"Oulton Park and the BTCC go together like cheese and
pickle," says BTCC Director Alan Gow. "BTCC race
day there always generates a big crowd and a very exciting
atmosphere. For the North-West, this is both a major sporting
and social event rolled into one. And the BTCC drivers really
love the Oulton circuit - it's fast, it's up and down and
the lay-out makes for a terrific challenge. As a result, the
crowds are always guaranteed lots of close and occasionally
controversial action."
The BTCC will be in race action three times at Oulton on
14 May and among the star names will be Matt Neal (Droitwich),
the reigning BTCC Champion, who at Ireland's Mondello Park
track on Sunday won twice in his Team Halfords Honda Integra
to move to the top of the points standings.
But pressing him hard is Team RAC MG ZS driver Colin Turkington
(Portadown) and SEAT team-mates James Thompson (Harrogate)
and Jason Plato (Oxford). Multiple title-winning team Vauxhall
will be eager to regain its winning form with drivers Fabrizio
Giovanardi, Gavin Smith (Dublin) and Tom Chilton (Reigate).
And Mike Jordan (Sutton Coldfield) and his Team Eurotech Racing
with John Guest squad will also be looking to add to their
first ever win on Sunday and Oulton is a circuit that Jordan
knows well. Turkington's team Robert Collard is confident
of success as well, having almost won at Oulton 12 months
ago.
Meanwhile, looking to perform a giant-killing act will be
Preston's Jason Hughes - he not only owns the small independent
Kartworld Racing team but also races its rapid MG and has
a reputation for occasionally upsetting the bigger names.
Also on next month's BTCC bill at Oulton Park will be a further
six races from the high-profile championships run by popular
car manufacturers BMW, Porsche, Renault and SEAT.
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