Rounds 2 and 3 of the SSRI GT3 series brings us to Oulton Park, a track characterised by rapidly changing gradients, blind crests and several tight corners. The full circuit is 4.332 km (2.692 mi) long, with a 40 car GT3 grid finding your place on track can be challenging at times, add to that the britten’s chicane that eats your tires for breakfast when trying to cut, it promised to be an exciting round in both tiers. As the title says, to finish first, first you have to finish.
In the weeks leading to the race at Oulton park there was some discussion about the track choice for the 2nd and 3rd round of the SSRI GT3 series. Was the track not too small and narrow to fit the large 40+ car grid? Would we not be nose to tail seeing that with 40 cars your roughly 2 seconds apart taking into account a laptime of 1:32.xxx. Should we not split the qualifying in two sessions, even amongst the admin team there were some doubts. But to quote FIA’s Michael Masi “It’s called a motor race” we are not here to make cinnamon buns (which can also be very tasty).
Unfortunately our commentators Chris Hill and Tim Fullbrook were not able to commentate during the livestream. They both had a lousy excuse ;-), but through this way we hope that you recover quickly Tim and are back for the next round at Suzuka circuit! For Chris, well he is currently learning how to livestream so we can hopefully stream both tiers 1 and 2 for future events. Below you can watch the Tier 1 livestream:
Race Report
In the past we have asked drivers for a short race report, this so you guys can get a feel of how it is to compete in the SSRI championships. For Oulton Park Denise Pope of Wildthings Racing driving the Honda NSX GT3 Evo was kind enough to provide us with the insights of the race. Denise has het own social media following, be sure to check out the YouTube and Twitter. Ok enough with the advertisements ;-), without further ado the race reports!
Race 1
The start was difficult being on the outside line so the most important part was to keep it safe even if I lost a couple of positions. There were a few incidents to avoid in the first couple of laps and all was going well finding myself P3 in class, until I hit the inside curb at the Brittens chicane. I spun and Frank Hop couldn’t avoid a little tap trying to avoid me. I lost a few positions but recovered and the race was on.
I overtook Hage on the outside in the run towards Brittens and tried to keep in touch with Van Hoorn and Douma who were battling for the class lead. I had a feeling something would happen and they had a coming together at Hislops, taking to the run-off area and handing me the class lead. There was still over half the race to go so I knew I had to hold on as best as possible. The last few laps were really fun, chasing Oliver Anderson and eventually passing as he made a small mistake.
No-one in AM class is really expecting to beat Douma this season, so with a bit of luck (and bad luck for him) it shows you can never give up in sim racing!
Race 2
I got another good start from the inside line and managed to avoid the T1 incidents that were kicking off behind me, before avoiding other incidents going into Cascades. I managed to lose position to Frank Hop, but he had a moment at at Hislops and we were side by side on the run towards Druids.There was a bit of door banging and he went off while I get sent into a half-spin, but I managed to save it just enough to hold on and get through Druids.
Oliver Anderson was watching from close behind and after our battle in the first race I knew it was important to steadily build the gap to the cars running behind and try to drive consistently to the end of the race for another class podium. Oulton Park is an intense circuit with very close racing, and I really enjoy it, but I kept reminding myself to stay calm, hit my braking points and be patient, and it paid off with two good results.
– Denise Pope
Thank you Denise for sending in your race report, would you like to be featured in a future race? Be sure to reach out on the SSRI discord or drop me (Bas) a DM. Below you can find the race results per class, the results are pending the stewards review of the race incidents.
Results GT3 Pro Class
Race 1
1st Place – Robbie Stapleford – BMW M4 GT3 – BMW G2 E-sports
2nd Place – Charlie Crossland – BMW M4 GT3 – BMW G2 E-sports
3rd Place – Lewis Dykes – McLaren 720S GT3 – MOB7 E-sports
Race 2
1st Place – Robbie Stapleford – BMW M4 GT3 – BMW G2 E-sports
2nd Place – Charlie Crossland – BMW M4 GT3 – BMW G2 E-sports
3rd Place – Lewis Dykes – McLaren 720S GT3 – MOB7 E-sports
Results GT3 Semi-Pro Class
Race 1
1st Place – Richard Pixsley – Bentley Continental GT3 – Wild Things Racing
2nd Place – Aaron van Dreunen – BMW M4 GT3 – CBSR
3rd Place – John Beton – Lexus RC-F GT3 – Beton Racing
Race 2
1st Place – Aaron van Dreunen – BMW M4 GT3 – CBSR
2nd Place – John Beton – Lexus RC-F GT3 – Beton Racing
3rd Place – Leonardo Wolf – Bentley Continental GT3
Results GT3 Silver Class
Race 1
1st Place – Mike Abrunhosa – Porsche 991 II GT3 R – Team Abby Racing
2nd Place – Danny van der Veen – McLaren 720S GT3
3rd Place – Nelson Abrunhosa – Aston Martin V8 Vantage – Team Abby Racing
Race 2
1st Place – Mike Abrunhosa – Porsche 991 II GT3 R – Team Abby Racing
2nd Place – Nelson Abrunhosa – Aston Martin V8 Vantage – Team Abby Racing
3rd Place – Tom Daalhuijsen – BMW M4 GT3 – Middenmootmannen
Results GT3 Amateur Class
Race 1
1st Place – Denise Pope – Honda NSX GT3 Evo – Wild Things Racing
2nd Place – Carl van Hoorn – BMW M4 GT3
3rd Place – Milan Douma – BMW M4 GT3 – Green Moose Racing
Race 2
1st Place – Milan Douma – BMW M4 GT3 – Green Moose Racing
2nd Place – Denise Pope – Honda NSX GT3 Evo – Wild Things Racing
3rd Place – Steve Parker – McLaren 720S GT3
Congratulations to the podium finishers in all classes, the 3rd round of the season will take us to Suzuka circuit in the land of the rising sun on the 15th of March. Until that time we’ll leave you with some snapshots taken by our house photographers.
– SSRI The Place To Race
