CNC Heads Sports/Saloon Car Championship – Oulton Park Round 5 – Preview

All three winners so far in the CNC Heads Sports Saloons will be back on the grid at Oulton Park this Saturday, for round five of the 2022 Championship.

Jon Woolfitt’s Spire GTR made up for his opening round problems to take a double win at Cadwell last time out, is currently joint second in the Championship and heads Class B. Both Paul Dobson’s Locost Mazda and Andrew Southcott’s MG Midget Lenham have been winners too. Southcott won the Oulton opener but was absent from Cadwell, where Dobson picked up his victory.

All three are in Class B, where Mark Primett’s Banks Europa has shown pace despite a troublesome start to the season and Connor Modro is showing more and more as he acclimatises to his Ginetta G40. CNC stalwart Patrick Smyth is due out in his Lotus Elan, along with Richard Hall’s Caterham and Ben Roberts’ BMW E30.

Guy Carter’s TVR Tuscan and Bod Buckby’s Caterham are running solo in Classes A and C, while Championship sponsor Ric Wood heads Class D with his Nissan Skyline.

Wood has two challengers in Marshall Groves and Bob Claxton. Groves will hopefully have a new gearbox in his Vauxhall Vectra Challenge car, after problems at both Oulton and Cadwell, while Claxton is out in his trusty VW Golf Gti.

Defending double Champion and current Championship leader Jamie Cryer’s Ginetta G20 will be the one to beat again in Class E. Paul Rotheroe’s Citroen Xsara threatens at times and Ian Bamber’s Ginetta G20 gets quicker each time out. They will be joined by Peter Koukoulas’s Toyota MR2 and Matthew Jones’ Ford Focus.

In Class F Graeme Smith’s Mazda MX5 is unbeaten, but after going solo at Cadwell, he has Brian and Helen Allen back this weekend with their respective Ford Puma and Fiesta Zetec.

The BARC North West run Championship remains one of the most varied and competitive Championships of it’s kind in the country and welcomes any interest from competitors both old and new. For further details contact Co-ordinator, John Leck, at johnleck.racing@hotmail.co.uk

It is also at this meeting that the Dave Simpson Trophy will be presented to the driver winning their class by the largest speed differential.

Qualifying is at 11.15 for 20 minutes, with the race due off at 15.00 for 20 minutes plus one lap.

Published by Peter Scherer for BARC North West, May 25th 2022