BTCC 2001: Rounds 5 & 6 – Oulton Park

Welcome to the demanding but picturesque Oulton Park in Cheshire for rounds 5 & 6 of the 2001 British Touring Car Championship.

The format for the sprint race remained the same as at Thruxton last time out; the Touring and Production classes combined.

The Touring Cars will set off first for a 16 lap race, and 10 seconds later, the Production Cars then get the green light for their 15 lap race, effectively putting the Production Cars in the lead from the start.

And this weekend saw the return of the legendary Tim Harvey, taking a race seat in the Alfa Romeo 147.

Round 5: Sprint Race

Yvan Muller picked up pole position after a staggeringly impressive qualifying session, with teammate Plato in second and the two Egg Sport Vauxhalls of Thompson and Bennett on row two.

Kurt Luby had an impressive session qualifying fifth, and Steve Soper starts from the back of the Touring car grid as his qualifying times were deleted.

In the Production class, it was Simon Harrison again at the top of the timing charts, as he picked up pole in his Peugeot 306, followed by Moen, Pyper, and Kaye.

As the lights turned green, Muller got off to a flyer but Plato amazingly nearly jumped the start and had to back off the power, then came to a halt in the middle of the track. 

With the rest of the field swerving around him he struggled to get his Vauxhall rolling, and found himself a good distance behind the rest of the Touring Car pack when he eventually did.

Luby got off to an incredible start and made it up to second place by the time the pack reached the first bend.

As the Production Cars joined the race, Gavin Pyper in the Alfa 156 lunged up the inside of Roger Moen’s Peugeot to make it into second, and made another impressive move on Harrison down into Cascades to take first position.

Back at the front Yvan Muller was already pulling out quite a lead on Luby’s Lexus, with the following Peugeots and Egg Sport Vauxhalls all over the back of him.

Plato was left to scythe his way through the field to try and salvage his race.

Dan Eaves in the Peugeot tried his best to defend against Thompson and Bennett but both end up taking him in one corner, and then set their sights on Luby.

Yvan Muller was pulling out a huge lead thanks to the chasing pack being tucked up behind Luby, and by this point Plato was catching them too.

A huge moment for the Egg Sport Vauxhalls as Bennett overtook Thompson, only for Thompson to tag Bennett going up the inside. Thompson took the place back but Bennett almost spun and lost all momentum, leaving the door open for Steve Soper and Jason Plato to go through.

With some clean air to run in, Thompson quickly pulled up on the back of Luby and made it up into second place, with Plato hot on Luby’s heels next.

Another issue for Pinkney in the Alfa meant yet another retirement for the JSM team. Plenty of work to be done there.

Back in the Production race, Pyper was still leading with the two Peugeots of Moen and Harrison following closely behind. Howell and Kaye in fourth and fifth.

As Moen got a run on Pyper down towards the chicane, a lock-up sent him straight across the grass, with Pyper having to take to the run-off area to avoid the collision, but costing him two places in the process.

And just a couple of laps later, with Pyper desperate to get back in contention, he had to straight-line the chicane again after tussling with Harrison’s Peugeot. 

Thankfully for him he didn’t lose another place, and was able to pass Harrison shortly afterwards as the Peugeots started to struggle with their brakes.

With Luby having also been passed by Plato and Bennett, Dan Eaves was next to put the pressure on as he seemed to shove him wide through Island Hairpin. But it didn’t pay off for Eaves, as although he took Luby’s position, Tim Harvey in the remaining Alfa 147 swooped by the pair of them.

With the chequered flag being waved, Roger Moen took the Production win and outright win, as the tourers weren’t able to catch the Production cars. Pyper held on for second, and Harrison took third, followed by Kaye in fourth.

But in a cruel twist of fate for Moen and Pyper, they both received 10 second penalties for their wrestling match into the chicane, promoting Harrison to race winner.

Muller made it look easy in the Touring Car class, as Thompson came in second, followed by Plato and Bennett. Plato’s start-line drama was caused by a clutch issue, but drove through the field supremely well to take the podium.

Having clashed with the big boys throughout the race, Luby ultimately finished in eighth. Still, an impressive drive from him.

Round 5 Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time	Best
1	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	23:27.514	1:32.276
2	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	0.404	1:32.484
3	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	4.291	1:32.246
4	P	Gareth HOWELL	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	6.877	1:32.752
5	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	15	9.356	1:32.234
6	P	Peter CATE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	9.61	1:33.190
7		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	20.419	1:28.729
8		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	22.744	1:28.584
9		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	23.67	1:28.478
10	P	Tom BOARDMAN	Tom Boardman Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	15	27.369	1:33.966
11		Phil BENNETT	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	15	29.34	1:28.572
12	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	34.802	1:33.324
13	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	15	35.759	1:34.051
14	P	Jim EDWARDS Jnr	TCR/Interactive Network Solutions	Honda Accord	15	38.886	1:34.734
15	P	Rick KRAEMER	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	39.238	1:34.761
16		Steve SOPER	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	15	42.604	1:29.894
17		Tim HARVEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	15	43.077	1:29.718
18		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	15	48.216	1:29.822
19	P	Richard MEINS	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	15	48.868	1:34.415
20		Kurt LUBY	ABG Motorsport	Lexus IS200	15	49.033	1:30.212
21	P	Dave ALLAN	Synchro Motorsport	Honda Accord	15	56.138	1:34.650
22	P	Colin BLAIR	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	15	1:00.052	1:33.301
23	P	John B-AND-Q	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	14	+ 1 LAP	1:38.741
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	13	DNF	1:37.523
R	P	James LEVY	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	11	DNF	1:37.072
R	P	Rob COLLARD	Collard Racing	Renault Clio	4	DNF	1:34.032
R		David PINKNEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	4	DNF	1:31.936
R	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	3	DNF	1:35.300
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	0	DNF	N/A

Round 6: Feature Race

Vauxhall continued to show their strength as Muller and Plato locked out the first row of the grid, once again followed by the Egg Sport Vauxhalls of Thompson and Bennett.

Plato’s clutch issue could well continue into the feature race, but fortunately for him it’s a rolling start this time around.

In the Production class, Harrison, Moen, and Pyper take the first three positions for the start.

The safety car lights went out and the front four all maintained their positions through the first corners. Luby again was off to a flyer and made it up to fifth, despite taking a very wide line through Cascades.

Down into Knickerbook chicane the pack and Yvan Muller was already pulling out a decent lead from Plato with Thompson and Bennett following closely behind, but before long Bennett was facing backwards in the gravel trap after finding neutral heading into a corner.

Just as in the sprint race, Luby found himself in a good position but found himself losing two positions in one go to a Peugeot and an Alfa.

Back in the Production race, Moen was all over the back of Cate in the battle for fourth and they were two abreast going into the chicane… which just doesn’t work as we discovered in the sprint race.

Moen turned into Cate and cut across the grass again as a result. He takes the place but that was a move which got him a 10 second penalty last time around.

James Thompson is the first to stop on lap 7 with a decent time of 8.4 seconds, and he was released back onto the track just behind the Production leader, Gavin Pyper.

Leader Muller’s first pit stop was a 7.1, and Plato put in an even more impressive 6.4 second stop a lap later which put him right in contention to leapfrog Muller.

And leapfrog him he did, as he exited the pit lane a fraction ahead of his teammate. But it wouldn’t last long, as Muller used his warm tyre advantage to switch back and take back first position from Plato.

After battling with Tim Harvey in the Alfa, Steve Soper headed into the pits in his Peugeot, and as the clock hit 9 seconds his car switched off! After 32 seconds he was finally able to get it going again, but that cost him a significant number of positions.

And the news got even worse for Peugeot as Soper’s teammate, Eaves, pulled onto the grass with a mechanical issue not long later.

Heading towards the end of the race and with Plato chasing down the lead, a puff of smoke from the back of his Vauxhall left him limping around Oulton Park losing positions left, right, and centre.

And Plato wasn’t the only Vauxhall retiring. Phil Bennett had contact with Kurt Luby’s Lexus, punting him down an escape road, and headed into the pits to switch the car off shortly afterwards. A gearbox issue was to blame.

With the chequered flag looming, Muller had a decent lead on Thompson, and the retirements of Plato, Bennett, Soper, and Eaves meant there was an opportunity for Tim Harvey in the Alfa 147 to take a podium in his first race back.

Gavin Pyper came across the line in first for the Production class, with Howell’s Focus second, and Harrison’s 306 in third. Tom Boardman brought his battered Peugeot home in fourth.

Next up: Round 7 & 8 at Silverstone.

Round 6 Results

Position	Class	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time	Best
1		Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	45:01.849	1:28.589
2		James THOMPSON	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	30	2.152	1:28.689
3		Tim HARVEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	30	55.423	1:29.652
4	P	Gavin PYPER	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	29	+ 1 LAP	1:32.013
5		Kurt LUBY	ABG Motorsport	Lexus IS200	29	+ 1 LAP	1:30.050
6	P	Gareth HOWELL	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	29	+ 1 LAP	1:33.208
7	P	Simon HARRISON	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	29	+ 1 LAP	1:32.965
8	P	Tom BOARDMAN	Tom Boardman Racing	Peugeot 306 GTi	29	+ 1 LAP	1:33.828
9	P	Rick KRAEMER	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	29	+ 1 LAP	1:34.494
10	P	Richard MEINS	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	29	+ 1 LAP	1:34.631
11	P	Dave ALLAN	Synchro Motorsport	Honda Accord	29	+ 1 LAP	1:34.558
12	P	Peter CATE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	29	+ 1 LAP	1:33.075
13	P	Colin BLAIR	GA-Janspeed Racing	Alfa Romeo 156	28	+ 2 LAPS	1:35.079
14	P	John B-AND-Q	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	27	+ 3 LAPS	1:38.093
R		Steve SOPER	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	28	DNF	1:29.821
R		Jason PLATO	Vauxhall Motorsport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	26	PWS	1:28.226
R		Phil BENNETT	Egg Sport	Vauxhall Astra Coupé	22	DNF	1:28.905
R	P	Jim EDWARDS Jnr	TCR/Interactive Network Solutions	Honda Accord	18	DNF	1:34.144
R	P	James KAYE	Team Kaliber Sport with Barwell	Honda Accord	15	DNF	1:33.266
R		Dan EAVES	Peugeot Sport UK	Peugeot 406 Coupé	14	ELE	1:29.734
R	P	Mat JACKSON	GR Motorsport	Ford Focus	13	DNF	1:33.544
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	4	DNF	1:34.305
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	4	DNF	1:34.305
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	4	DNF	1:34.305
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	4	DNF	1:34.305
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
R	P	Nick BEAUMONT	Team B&Q/Talksport Radio	Honda Integra Type-R	11	DNF	1:38.804
R	P	Annie TEMPLETON	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	11	DNF	1:38.141
R	P	Toni RUOKONEN	Cranfield Automotive Management	Mitsubishi Carisma	4	DNF	1:34.305
R	P	Roger MOEN	HTML	Peugeot 306 GTi	12	DNF	1:32.942
NS		David PINKNEY	JS Motorsport	Alfa Romeo 147	–	DNS	N/A
NS	P	Rob COLLARD	Collard Racing	Renault Clio	–	DNS	N/A
NS	P	Paul O’NEILL	Tech-Speed Motorsport	Peugeot 306 GTi	–	DNS	N/A

Touring Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 5 & 6 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Muller	82
Thompson	70
Plato	68
Bennett	46

Touring Car Team Championship Standings After Round 5 & 6

Team	Points
Team Egg Sport	55
Vauxhall Motorsport	54
Peugeot Sport UK	14
ABG Motorsport	14
JSM	10

Production Car Driver’s Championship Standings After Round 5 & 6 – Leaders

Driver	Points
Harrison	64
Kaye	56
Moen	36
Pyper	36
Howell	36
Jackson	36

Production Car Team Championship Standings After Round 5 & 6 – Leaders

Team	Points
Barwell Motorsport	50
GR Motorsport	49
GA Janspeed	26
HTML	22
Tom Boardman Racing	15