GT Cup and Monoposto Season Finale, Oulton Park

The GT Cup championship finished off their 2015 season with a pair of thrilling races at Oulton Park last Saturday (10th October).

Race one became a two horse race between the Ferrari 458 of Darren Nelson and the highly modified Porsche 935 of the veteran Richard Chamberlain. The battle was so close that the two drivers set identical fastest lap times early in the race, as they pulled well clear of the chasing pack.

Nelson steadily increased his lead in the middle of the 25-minute race, before Chamberlain clawed his way back into contention in the closing stages. The increased pressure proved to be too much for the Ferrari driver, who went straight on at Knickerbrook on the penultimate lap, handing victory to Chamberlain after a fantastic duel.

Phil Burgan took a lonely third place in the United Autosports-run Audi R8, who finished 28 seconds behind the leaders, and over 20 seconds ahead of fourth place finisher and GTB class winner James Greenway.

Race two again fell to Richard Chamberlain, after an opening lap spin for Darren Nelson at Island Bend gifted the orange Porsche victory. Behind, Andy Schulz rose through the order from dead last to take third, and the GTO title for TF Sport. Adam Wilcox finished second for JHM Automotive in a rather battered looking Audi R8, while Darren Nelson recovered to fourth place after a spirited drive through the field. Phil Burgan took fifth for United Autosports, having run as high as second in the opening stages of the race.

The Monoposto championships also ended their 2015 season at Oulton Park, with a pair of races for each of the two categories.

The Mono 2000 and 2000 Classic categories started the day’s single-seater action, with Robbie Watts utterly dominating the 15 minute race in his Dallara F302 Formula 3 car. Tony Bishop and Chris Davison completed the podium in their F3 Dallara’s.

Race two followed a similar pattern, with Watts racing into a 22 second lead over Tony Bishop. Shane Kelly completed the podium in his Formula Renault.

The Mono Moto/1600/1800/DTEC class were next out on track. The opening race was won by Jeremy Timms in his motorcycle engined Dallara F399, from Richard Gittings Jedi Mk6 and the motorcycle engined F3 car of Marc Fortune.

The second race of the day was shortened by red flag for oil on the track, after Richard Gittings’ engine failed in the late stages of the race. Jeremy Timms was triumphant once again, with Jason Timms and Anthony Gauntlett completing the podium.