MG Car Club’s Spring Race Meeting at Oulton Park

Report by DSdigital photography

17 May 2023

The MG Car Club held its second race meeting of 2023 on the spectacular Oulton Park International circuit and were rewarded with healthy grids, fine weather and high-quality racing on the ever popular and challenging layout.

Four of the MGCC championships and the Classic Sports Car Club’s Golden Arts Magnificent Sevens provided a packed day of racing for the race fans who basked in the welcome sunshine.

MGCC Cockshoot Cup Championship

Twenty-four gathered at Oulton Park for the MGCC North West Centre run Cockshoot Cup 2023 season opener. The overall win was closely contested in both of the double-header races by Chris Greenbank’s newly upgraded MGF and Ray Collier’s MG ZR 190

In Race 1 the fast-starting MGF Cup car of Mark Wright and the Midget of Keith Egar leapfrogged Greenbank and Collier who had occupied the front row of the grid. Collier was in the lead by lap four and Greenbank up to 2nd by half distance. He then closed in on Collier who was struggling with brake issues and the pair staged a thrilling finish with Greenbank crossing the line just 0.111sec ahead of Collier. Greenbank also was awarded Driver of the Race.

John Payne in his Austin-Healey Sprite won Class B while Phil Rigby in his MGF took Class F. Rhys Higginbotham beat Leon Wignall to win Class A.

Wright withdrew from Race 2 due to a gearbox problem which appeared during the first race. Off the line Egar shot past Greenbank and Collier to lead at Old Hall. On the second tour Collier claimed the lead but Greenbank took the lead a lap later. At half-distance the MGF straight-lined the Knickerbrook chicane letting Collier back into P1 but Greenbank retook the lead two laps later just before the race was halted prematurely with Jamie Steven’s MGF in the gravel at Druids. Collier got the win as he was leading at the end of the previous lap and he also received the Driver of the Race award.

Race 2 class winners were Higginbotham (Class A), Rigby (Class F)and Payne beat Mark Bellamy by less than a second to win Class B.

MGCC Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge

Stephen Watkins continued his winning streak in the 2023 Midget & Sprite campaign with two more comfortable wins and was largely unchallenged in his Class A Midget at the head of the 23 car field.

In Race 1 reigning champion Pippa Cow and Richard Bridge both got ahead of Watkins at the off and the three had an exciting battle during the first three laps. But once Watkins got temperature into his slicks he moved into the lead and won eventually by five seconds.

Cow, Bridge and James Hughes had a good scrap for Class E honours and P2 overall. Cow pulled out when her brake pedal went long and Bridge won the class battle after a red flag ended the race prematurely with Andrew Caldwell’s Midget was stuck in the gravel.

There was a four-car battle in Class D which was resolved in Dean Stanton’s favour, his Sprite winning the class after he fought past Hugh Simpson’s Midget. The commentators awarded Stanton Driver of the Race and Ian Hodgkinson’s won Class H in his Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite.

Having had her brakes bled Pippa Cow once again again jumped Watkins at the off to lead Race 2 though Watkins was back in P1 on the second lap and he went on to take the flag for his second win on the day. 

Cow, Bridge and Hughes again had a frantic Class E battle which ended at three-quarters’ distance with contact between Cow and Hughes as he attempted a passing manoeuvre. As Bridge took the class lead Hughes went no further but Cow resumed. She hunted down Bridge and took the class win after passing him on the penultimate lap.

Class D once again featured a close multi-car fight for the win. Long-time leader Stanton had a late off leaving Simpson and Barnaby Collinson to contest the class win. In a thrilling finish, Simpson prevailed by 0.038sec and got Driver of the Race too. Hodgkinson made it a double win in Class H.

MGCC MG Cup Powered by Cherished Vehicle Insurance

Stuart Tranter was tempted enter his Rover Tomcat in the MG Cup invitation class and grabbed pole position for Race 1.

He started Race 1 in dominant style but after three laps his tyres went off and Ian Boulton, reigning Class B champion, was suddenly on his tail. After a place-swapping battle where Boulton first got by at Shell Oils hairpin to be reposed by Tranter on the start-finish straight, Boulton attacked again at Old Hall, ran alongside down the hill and stayed on the inside at Cascades to seal the move and go on to take his first-ever outright race win and lead Tranter home by 3.4 seconds. Tranter was followed home by the Class C winning ZS 180 of Ashley Woodward.

Boulton got a poor start to Race 2 and dropped to P5 but by lap 5 he had recovered to P2 and hounded Tranter for the remaining laps. However, Tranter held on to P1 until another red flag ended the race five unites early with two cars off at Old Hall.

Dave Nixon took P4 overall in his Tomcat to beat Woodward to Class C honours by less than a second which earned him Driver of the Race.

MGCC MG Trophy Championship Sponsored by Mangoletsi MG

Adam Jackson (ZR 190) joined the 18-strong line-up of Trophy cars for his first outing of the year having sat out the Brands Hatch openers. He was rewarded with a brace of race wins ahead of fellow ZR 190 racer Graham Ross, the Brands double winner being unhappy with his suspension settings.

Ross was on pole for Race 1 but Jackson blasted by him at the start then streaked clear to take a dominant win and Driver of the Race. With Doug Cole, another habitual Class A frontrunner, an early retiree with a driveshaft problem Ross was untroubled in P2.

However, the battle for Class B victory was a more competitive affair with Tylor Ballard taking P1 after managing to keep the chasing MG ZR 170 of Fergus Campbell at arm’s length.

From pole, Jackson again dominated Race 2 to beat Ross comfortably even though a late safety car compressed the field for a couple of laps. For Ballard his Race 2 challenge was blunted early when a trip across the grass on the exit of Old Hall dropped him to P8 which allowed Campbell to take up the class lead. James Cole, in his hastily repaired engine after head gasket problems in Race 1, was in good form and had his sights set on class victory. He overtook Campbell on lap 3 and hung on to take the class win by just 0.669sec.

Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens

Classic Sports Car Club’s Magnificent Sevens guested with the MG Car Club for two 30-minute races, the first time that Caterhams have raced with MGCC. 

Tim Davis proved to be the pacesetter of the 22-strong line-up of machines based on the Lotus Seven Series 3 design. This, in Magnificent Sevens’ third meeting of the year, was Davis’s first outing of 2023 and he made things difficult for himself by having a poor start to Race 1. He dropped to around 10th but quickly fought back to P2 and swiftly closed on leader Colin Watson.

Davis attacked Watson for the rest of the race but Watson appeared to have the straightline speed advantage and remained ahead to the flag.

Davis made up for his poor Race 1 start and from pole he led Race 2 from the start and then dominated while Watson recovered from Race 1 10-place winners’ penalty, climbed through the field to finish P2, albeit 31secs adrift.

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