Oulton Park 25th May 2019 , Rounds 5 and 6 The Toyo Tires/Watchdogapp.com Jaguar Saloon & GT Championship

Race 5 and 6

Qualifying

Qualifying ended up close, very close – the top 3 Class D cars separated by less than 0.2 of a second – with James Ramm just ahead of the Tom Robinson XJR and Colin Philpott 3^rd – all three cars noticeably quicker than the others – which were headed by the Class C car of Guy Connew. Chris Boon was again the fastest of the Class B cars followed by Walker (XJS) Webster (X300) and Stewart (XJS) with the fully rebuilt XJ6 4.2 of Tim Morrant posting a good time to head the Class A cars just ahead of Dean Sewell in the similar car. Michael Holt’s interesting weekend started without posting a qualifying time due to some electrical “issues”so he was to start last. Guy Connew also had some technical issues of a more serious nature and was unfortunately unable to take the start.

Race 1 – Oulton Park

It was side by side for the lead into the first corner but James Ramm held his nerve, kept his foot in and pulled ahead of Colin Philpott who just got the better of Tom Robinson at the start. These three cars then proceeded to extend the gap to Chris Boon – 4^th at this stage in his Class B XK8. Robinson was very close to Philpott – challenging hard for second place and this battle enabled Ramm to extend his lead a little more. Meanwhile Coppock was going well in the Class D 6.0 XJS, Morrant was going well in the Class A XJ6 – even bettering his qualifying time and Tom Lenthall was going well in his newly painted and refurbished Class C XJS.

Newcomer Neal Blakes in the Powerbell S-Type was slowly getting to grips with the car after 6 years off the race circuit and he and David Ringham in the Class A XJ6 were frequently “debating” the same piece of tarmac. After 7 laps things began to change – Tom Robinson in the Class D XJR began to slow then stopped with a disintegrated diff and Tim Morrant lost all his coolant due to a blown head gasket – both staking a claim to be ‘unluckiest’ man in motorsport! Michael Holt’s Class C X300 continued his remarkable progress through the field – eventually taking an outstanding 6^th place overall and just behind Tom Lenthalls XJS who won Class C honours. James Ramm stretched his lead further and duly and deservedly won his first race of the season. Chris Boon followed Colin Philpott home for 3^rd overall and the Class B win from Rick Walker, Roger Webster and Daniel Stewart. Dean Sewell took Class A from David Ringham and Lawrence Coppock drove an excellent race to finish 4^th overall and 3rd in Class D. Michael Holt took Saloon honours and Saloon Drive of the Day and Tom Lenthall took GT Drive of the day. Fastest lap was Ramm 1.57.6.

RESULTS RACE 1- Oulton Park

Overall 1^st James Ramm (XJS), 2^nd Colin Philpott (XJS), Chris Boon (XK8)

Class A 1^st Dean Sewell (XJ6), 2^nd David Ringham (XJ6)

Class B 1^st Chris Boon XK8, 2^nd Rick Walker XJS, 3^rd Roger Webster (X300)

Class C 1^st Tom Lenthall (XJS), 2^nd Michael Holt (X300)

Class D 1^st James Ramm XJS, 2^nd Colin Philpott (XJS), 3^rd Lawrence Coppock (XJS)

Race 2

Following the ball draw (number 6) Michael Holt found himself on Pole for the second race – a huge contrast to starting last in Race 1! Tom Lenthall was P2, Coppock and Boon P3 and P4. Race 1 winner Ramm was P6 – alongside Philpott P5. Sadly, Webster pulled off on the warm-up lap with a loose exhaust which along with non-starters Robinson and Morrant depleted the field a little.

Ramm got a blistering start and was challenging Pole sitter Holt by the second corner, quickly getting past and pulling away. Philpott also pressurised Holt and moved into second place on the next lap and started the chase. Boon and Coppock were consistent in 3^rd an 4^th but the battle of the day was between Sewell (Class A XJ6), Walker Class B XJS and Stewart Class B. Sewell challenged Walker into the Hislops chicane early on – outbraking himself and spinning as he did so and falling behind again. The battle continued and the next effort was by Stewart on Walker at the same place and ending in a slight nudge which spun both cars and loosened Walkers bumper which hung on for a lap and then disappeared into the scenery. It was great fun to watch and in the end Walker got back past and at the line all three cars finished just over a second apart – fantastic driving and great entertainment.

Holt continued to hold on but was eventually passed by Coppock and Boon with Tom Lenthall also passing towards the race end and holding on by a small margin for Class C honours. James Ramm built a bigger lead which grew further with Colin Philpott slowing on the last two laps due to diff problems – he just managed to limp home and claim 2^nd place overall. 3^rd overall was Lawrence Coppock who had a good weekend and Chris Boon once again claimed Class B honours in 4^th. David Ringham and Neal Blakes were also at it for much of the race with Ringham eventually pulling away for a well deserve Class A second. Fastest lap was James Ramm 1.59.2, Michael Holt was Saloon race winner and Drives of the day went to James Ramm and David Ringham.

RESULTS RACE 2 – Oulton Park

Overall – 1^st James Ramm, 2^nd Colin Philpott, 3^RD Lawrence Coppock

Class A 1^st – Dean Sewell (XJ6), 2^ndDavid Ringham (XJ6),

Class B 1^st - Chris Boon (XK8), 2^nd Rick Walker (XJS), 3^rd Daniel Stewart (XJS)

Class C 1^st – Tom Lenthall (XJS), 2^nd Micheal Holt (X300),

Class D 1^st – James Ramm (XJS), 2^nd Colin Philpott (XJS) 3^rd Lawrence Coppock (XJS),