OULTON PARK
EQUIPE
18 MAY
It was a day of difficulties at the front when Oulton Park was swarmed by cars of the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Equipe Classic Racing event on Saturday.
The most surprising victim came in what was set up to be a thrilling final 20 minutes of the 40-minute Libre race between the brutish power of Danny Winstanley’s Jaguar E-type and Tom Smith’s nimble Lotus Elan. Winstanley had built a lead of around seven seconds from pole ahead of the pit window, but what Smith described as the “pure racing” nature of his Elan had kept him well within touching distance.
Pitting earlier was key to Smith’s race plan, particularly as a swathe of backmarkers sat between him and the E-type, and after Winstanley’s late stop the gap was down to just over a second.
Unfortunately, any idea of a grandstand finish was quashed when Winstanley took the decision to retire his car. “Something felt tight before the stop, and my oil pressure was getting low – I didn’t want to risk anything, so I had to slow down and bring it in,” the former Caterham driver said. This handed a comfortable win to Smith, his third of the season behind the wheel of the Elan, a car that he admits he is still “trying to bed in” and is completely different from his usual MGB.
It was a similar story in Equipe GTS. Rob Cull and his TVR Grantura MkIII looked set to add another victory to this season’s tally, but a blown head gasket shortly a
