British GT, Oulton Park – Quick Race 1 Report
Heartbreak For United, Joy For Ecosse

The old motorsport adage, ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’ was proven in dramatic style at a wet Oulton Park when Matt Bell and Charles Bateman saw certain victory ripped from their grasp in the cruellest of circumstances; fuel starvation sidelining the #23 Audi R8 LMS about a mile from the finish line after it had led every step of the way up to that point.

But United Autosport’s despair became Ecurie Ecosse’s delight as the famous old name recorded an equally famous victory, after Alasdair McCaig and Oliver Bryant kept the Barwell-prepared BMW Z4 in contention throughout the race and was in the perfect place to pick up the spoils as its rival literally fell by the wayside. In addition to this being the new Ecurie Ecosse’s debut win, it is also the third win on the trot for its BMW Z4 after it took two Blancpain wins in 2011 in the hands of former owners Marc VDS.

Charles Bateman led from the start and overcame the considerable handicap of a safety car to rebuild his lead sufficiently to circumvent the extra four seconds that his car had to serve at the stop, and Matt Bell rejoined several seconds clear. He then countered the challenge of the BMW and crossed the line to start the fateful final lap six seconds clear.

The RJN Nissan was in the thick of things, with first Jann Mardenborough and then Alex Buncombe keeping the car near the front throughout and several very quick drivers behind it en-route to fifth by the end.

With things relatively static at the front, the fight for third was a constant and highly entertaining battle between the RJN Nissan, the MTECH and Rosso Verde Ferraris, the Preci-Spark Mercedes and the #31 Trackspeed Porsche. Allan Simonsen prevailed to take an eventual second, while Matt Griffin fended off Richard Westbrook for the final podium place.

GT4 went to the Team WFR Ginetta of Jody Fannin and Warren Hughes, a clear lead being converted into a one lap cushion by the safety car, but the fight for the final two podium places between the two Lotuses and the APO Ginetta was just as entertaining as the GT3 battles and again was only decided on the final lap; Phil Glew heading home Alasdair Mackinnon to leave both Evoras with silverware.

The second race is due to begin at 15:05 and will have to go some to match the drama seen in the first. However, there’s every chance that it will!

MH