What might have been

2023 MSV Miata Trophy

Rounds 9 & 10 – Oulton Park International

Oulton Park is another fabulous park circuit we have in the UK; brilliant to drive and a challenge to race.

We arrived fourth overall and looking to get back into the top three of the championship. Qualifying was amazing. It was dry, the car felt great and I nailed a few laps, ending up quickest by over 0.5 seconds. My SuperPole lap didn’t go as well as I was beaten into second place, but only by 0.065 seconds.

Race one was short for me. I got away brilliantly in the light rain, but after a small touch at turn one put the car into a slight slide, I was boxed in and down to third. Then, half way round the first lap, I was hit hard in the rear under braking for the chicane and put into the wall. It was one of the quickest shunts I’ve had in my career up to now and we were lucky.

It was tight to get the car fixed in time for the start of race two, but Terry, Dad and Alex and the crew were on the case while I was up in the office with the clerk. They did a great job to turn the car round in time so I could make the second race. The other driver was disqualified, for what that’s worth, but it doesn’t bring back my race unfortunately.

Race two was wet. After some confusion with the grid, I lined up 14th and immediately got stuck in. We finished up third in the end, and had the pace to go all the way if the race had been longer! Setting fastest lap by over one second was a nice bonus. It was testimony to the quality of the paddock repair.

So it’s fair to say we had a race meeting of ups and downs. I really wanted to win a race, but we’ve got speed and one more chance at Brands in a month.

Digital Programme

Results

Full Results

Coverage

Race 1

Race 2

Gallery