British Touring Car Championship 2002 rounds 3 and 4: Oulton Park. Story by TOCA News Team, images by Kelvin Fagan.
Vauxhall secured double honours today at Oulton Park Circuit as Yvan Muller and Paul O'Neill scored a win apiece for Vauxhall Motorsport and Egg Sport respectively in two thrilling BTCC encounters enjoyed by an enthusiastic Cheshire crowd of 16,500 people.
For Muller it was a welcome return to the top step of the winners' rostrum after a mixed opener at Brands Hatch three weeks ago; for Liverpudlian O'Neill, who graduated to the Touring Class this season, it was a highly emotional - yet thoroughly deserved - debut victory.
Sprint Race
Yvan Muller made the most of a drive through penalty incurred by pole sitter Matt Neal to claim his first win of the season for Vauxhall Motorsport, from a hard-charging Warren Hughes in his MG Sport and Racing ZS and Muller's team mate, James Thompson.
As Muller said:
"This is my first victory of the year and it's very good, particularly bearing in mind the additional ballast I was carrying. I tried to look after the car in the mid section, but the last part of the race was tough as I lost my advantage with the traffic and yellow flags."
Muller made a great start to slot in behind pole sitter Neal into the first corner as Thompson, carrying 42kgs of success ballast, slipped back from second to sixth in his Vauxhall Motorsport Astra Coupé. The sister Egg Sport car of Neal immediately held a small advantage over Muller who, likewise, headed the two MGs and the fast starting Team Halfords Peugeot of Tim Harvey. Any advantage gained by the leading duo however was soon negated when the Safety Car was called out for a Production Class incident. Neal's advantage was subsequently struck a further blow when he was hit with a drive through penalty for starting out of position. A devastated Neal pulled into the pits to take his penalty when racing resumed on lap six, handing the race lead to Muller, who was being chased hard by the MG pairing of Hughes and Anthony Reid.
Muller looked to have things very much under control until two laps from the end, when a combination of yellow flags and back markers allowed Hughes and Thompson, in second and third respectively, to catch up with the lead Vauxhall; however, Muller held onto the flag, finally taking it with just 8/10ths of a second in hand.
Hughes, who overtook his team mate Reid into Old Hall corner on lap seven, was delighted to secure second, having come under a fierce amount of pressure from Thompson over the closing stages. Thompson's drive back from his poor start was impressive – but not as impressive as that of Neal, who incredibly fought his way up from tenth after his penalty to fourth at the flag.
Other impressive performances included Colin Turkington, on his debut for Team Atomic Kitten, and former Superbike star Aaron Slight for Barwell Motorsport. Turkington was all over the hugely experienced Harvey for fifth place at one stage, until a racing incident at the Knickerbrook Chicane resulted in a spin and trip to the pits for repairs. Slight turned in his best showing of his limited BTCC career to date, overtaking David Leslie in his Team Petronas Syntium Proton to claim a superb sixth place from 12th on the grid, thereby gaining the Independent's Cup.
In the Production category, a battle for Championship honours ensued from the off with poleman James Kaye (Synchro Motosport) claiming overall victory in his Honda Civic Type-R, a spectacular 7.974 seconds ahead of Tech-speed Motorsport's Mark Fullalove who finished 1.6 seconds ahead of Gary Ayles Motorsport's Alan Blencowe.
Nevertheless, the racing was close from the start with Edenbridge Racing's Norman Simon taking full advantage of the fact that poleman Kaye and second placed Fullalove became boxed in by the Touring pack in front of them as the lights went green. Simon powered round the outside of the two drivers in his BMW 320i, aided by his rear wheel traction, to take the lead, followed closely by the Honda Accord of Beacon Motorsport's Spencer Marsh. Kaye soon regained the lead and maintained his position at the front of the Production pack to the end. 2001 Lotus Elise Champion, Fullalove also managed to make his way through the fracas to maintain a strong second position but could not catch the leader who was gradually opening up a gap. Simon, Marsh and Blencowe all played cat and mouse for the duration of the race in the fight for third place and a chance to stand on the BTCC podium for the first time. It was finally Blencowe who managed to gain the position in his Alfa 156 at the chicane on lap 18, holding off rival Simon to the finishing line.
A jubilant Kaye said:
" I am over the moon. You wouldn't believe what we have been through to run this car. This is the first win for a Honda Civic Type-R in a Production Class anywhere in the world. It's wonderful!"
Feature Race
A truly dramatic Feature Race saw pole man Neal bungle his pit stop and then put out of the race after running into Warren Hughes' MG, as well as the leading Vauxhall Motorsport duo of Yvan Muller and James Thompson hit dramas on the same lap. This allowed the flying Paul O'Neill to take the lead for Egg Sport – a lead he was not to relinquish until the chequered flag.
As O'Neill announced:
"I just can't believe it! I thought maybe I would finish fourth – I've never even done a pit stop before today! But then it all went a bit mad and I saw the two Vauxhalls were in trouble and then I was leading. The car was just fantastic, so consistent and I just got into the groove. I really can't believe the result. The crowd and everyone has been simply mega!"
A relatively subdued start to the race allowed Neal to head the pack into the first corner, with Muller hard on his gearbox and Thompson hounding Hughes for third. A classic overtaking manoeuvre by Thompson into Old Hall allowed the Vauxhall driver to start chasing down his team mate and leader Neal. Neal's advantage was wiped out as the round of pit stops began when he missed his own pit bay, costing valuable time and, as the leaders rejoined the track, the Egg Sport driver found himself down in ninth – and the yet-to-stop O'Neill inherited the race lead. Once the pit stops were all over, it was a Vauxhall one-two as Muller headed Thompson by two seconds, with the Yorkshireman some 15 seconds clear of the hard-charging O'Neill.
Despite the 42kgs of success ballast from his victory in the Sprint Race, Muller looked on course to gain his second victory of the day when disaster struck the Vauxhall team on lap 20 of 25. First Thompson slowed with a puncture to his left front tyre then, incredibly, Muller also slowed with an intermittent electrical problem. An incredulous O'Neill went past first Thompson and then Muller to re-take his lead from earlier in the race and, pushing hard all the way to the flag, take his debut BTCC win.
After a tremendous late-race battle with MG Sport and Racing's Warren Hughes, Tim Harvey took the flag in a fine second place for Team Halfords from the back of the grid after problems in qualifying. Unfortunately the team had only been able to change one of the mandatory two wheels in the pit stop - due to equipment failure - so Harvey was subsequently given a time penalty which pushed him down to sixth place overall.
Hughes therefore took another strong second place finish for MG, from David Leslie in third who was delighted to score Team Petronas Syntium Proton's first ever BTCC podium. Just as thrilled as Leslie with his performance was Gareth Howell, who brought his Team Atomic Kitten MG ZS home in fourth place on his Touring Class debut, ahead of Honda Racing's Alan Morrison and the recovering Thompson in sixth.
Spectators at the Cheshire circuit also witnessed a titanic battle for the silverware in the Production category with Beacon Motorsport's Spencer Marsh taking his first BTCC win, Team B&Q Jet York City's Jim Edwards Jnr and Edenbridge Racing's Norman Simon claiming second and third place respectively.
Marsh commented:
"This is so great! It was mad out there. It was a awesome fight for honours and I am obviously pleased with the outcome."
Synchro Motorsport's James Kaye had a lightening start from pole position on the grid and it looked like no-one would have the opportunity to pass him as the gap between himself and Tech-speed Motorsport's Mark Fullalove grew throughout the race. However, Simon also had a great start rocketing his BMW 320i into third place. The gauntlet was laid for podium finishes with Marsh hot on the rear bumper of Simon. However, the pressure was too much for Simon as he out-braked himself into the hairpin on lap 11 causing him to spin off the track. He rejoined but Marsh had grabbed his chance and had already firmly placed his Honda Accord in the rear view mirror of Fullalove's Peugeot 306.
On lap 18, the race leader seemed in trouble as Fullalove was gaining time on Kaye's Honda Civic Type-R. A fuel pressure problem became apparent and Kaye was forced to limp into the pits and retire from the race. Meanwhile Fullalove had been given a ten second penalty for straight lining the chicane, which seemed to provide enough of a distraction for Marsh to take and maintain the race lead until the end. This penalty cost Fullalove a podium finish.
The action continued behind the front men as Edwards Jnr and Simon were battling for podium positions. On the last lap an opportunity rose for Edwards at Lodge where he pushed slightly ahead. The Honda Accord and the BMW 320i were door handle to door handle right to the start/finish line with Edwards pipping Simon by 3/100ths of a second and consequently taking second place overall.
Sprint Race Provisional Results
1 Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Astra Coupe
2 Warren Hughes GBR MG ZS
3 James Thompson GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
4 Matt Neal GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
5 Anthony Reid GBR MG ZS
6 Aaron Slight NZL Vauxhall Astra Coupe
7 Andy Priaulx GBR Honda Civic Type-R
8 David Leslie GBR Proton Impian
9 Gareth Howell GBR MG ZS
10 Alan Morrison GBR Honda Civic Type-R
11 Tom Chilton GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
12 James Kaye GBR Honda Civic Type-R
13 Mark Fullalove GBR Peugeot 306
14 Alan Blencowe GBR Alfa 156
15 Norman Simon GER BMW 320i
16 Spencer Marsh GBR Honda Accord
17 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Honda Accord
18 Mark Thomas GBR Honda Accord
19 Colin Turkington GBR MG ZS
20 Dan Eaves GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
DNF Phil Bennett GBR Proton Impian
DNF Annie Templeton GBR Peugeot 306
DNF Tim Harvey GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
DNF Steve Wood GBR Mitsubishi Carisma
DNF Paul O'Neill GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
DNF Gavin Pyper GBR Alfa 156
DNF John B&Q GBR Honda Accord
Feature Race Provisional Results
1 Paul O'Neill GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
2 Warren Hughes GBR MG ZS
3 David Leslie GBR Proton Impian
4 Gareth Howell GBR MG ZS
5 Alan Morrison GBR Honda Civic Type-R
6 Tim Harvey GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
7 James Thompson GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
8 Aaron Slight NZL Vauxhall Astra Coupe
9 Tom Chilton GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
10 Yvan Muller FRA Vauxhall Astra Coupe
11 Spencer Marsh GBR Honda Accord
12 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Honda Accord
13 Norman Simon GER BMW 320i
14 Mark Fullalove GBR Peugeot 306
15 Mark Thomas GBR Honda Accord
16 Steve Wood GBR Mitsubishi Carisma
17 Annie Templeton GBR Peugeot 306
DNF James Kaye GBR Honda Civic Type-R
DNF Matt Neal GBR Vauxhall Astra Coupe
DNF Andy Priaulx GBR Honda Civic Type-R
DNF Anthony Reid GBR MG ZS
DNF Dan Eaves GBR Peugeot 406 Coupe
DNF Colin Turkington GBR MG ZS
DNF Alan Blencowe GBR Alfa 156
DNF Gavin Pyper GBR Alfa 156
Kelvin Fagan, our BTCC photographer, has photographs from every round of the 2002 championship for sale - send us an email for your exact requirements.
2002 BTCC season calendar
30/03 - 01/04 - Brands Hatch GP by KF
20/04 - 21/04 - Oulton Park by KF
05/05 - 06/05 - Thruxton by KF
01/06 - 03/06 - Silverstone by KF
21/06 - 23/06 - Mondello Park by KF
13/07 - 14/07 - Croft by KF
27/07 - 28/07 - Snetterton by KF
10/08 - 11/08 - Knockhill by KF
25/08 - 26/08 - Brands Hatch Indy by KF
20/09 - 22/09 - Donington Park by KF
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