Pictured: Aaron Mason. Click to open hi-resolution version

NEWS RELEASE: 22 APRIL 2014

MASON HEADS HOME HIS TEAM-MATES FOR OULTON PARK VICTORY

Reigning champion Aaron Mason started the new season of Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup competition just as he left off at the end of 2013, with an Easter Monday win at Oulton Park from pole position at the wheel of his Scirocco. Mason led home his team-mates Joe Fulbrook and James Greenway for a AWM/Warranty Direct podium lock-out.

Mason smashed the lap record for the Cheshire track on the way to his 17th career VW Cup win but he didn’t get things entirely his own way – his new team-mate Greenway, who was making his saloon-racing debut, outgunned him at the start and led the opening lap in his White Rose Volkswagen-backed Scirocco.

There were plenty of other star performances up and down the grid, and there might have been many more but for a sequence of race-halting accidents. The first attempt at running the opening round came to grief after 100 yards because of a pile-up which blocked the circuit. A number of cars were involved, most seriously the Golf of Howard Fuller, which spun across the track and took several hits from pursuing cars. After stabilisation at the circuit medical centre following extrication from his car, Fuller was airlifted to hospital for precautionary scans.

There was a clean restart later in the afternoon, but the race was halted after only a handful of laps because of a crash involving another Team Hard driver, Kieran Gallagher. The Scotsman was uninjured but the barriers at Shell Oils Corner were sufficiently badly damaged that the red flags had to fly once again.

The results were declared after four laps, by which time Mason had reasserted himself and passed Greenway into Cascades, followed through by wily ex-champion Fulbrook. Fulbrook was struggling with a power steering failure which made his Golf more than a handful – he at least was pleased the race did not go the distance.

Aaron Mason
“We’ve got a 1-2-3 lockout and with me at the sharp end, so it doesn’t get any better. I was glad to get the move done on James early because my lap times weren’t great, and luckily for me Joe had power steering issues and that backed him into the pack and kept everyone else back. It’s been a good race for the team, with no damaged cars, so a top job all round.”

Joe Fulbrook
“I’m a bit disappointed – I had the pace to win that, just not the power steering. We changed the rack and the pump before the race but still it went wrong. I was spinning on my own fluid in some places. We’ve worked hard this week and we had the pace, and we were only really racing Aaron…”

James Greenway
“I made a pretty incredible start and got the lead into turn one; I managed to hold on to it for the first lap but then I made a bit of a mistake out of turn one and Aaron got the run on me down to Cascades and he and Joe came through. After that I was trying to look after my tyres and Joe’s car was leaking a bit of fluid, which made things a bit tricky, but it was a great first race for me – hectic, but I’m pleased to get the podium on my first weekend in the VW Cup.”

Despite the shortness of the race there were some notable performances behind the leading trio, with SlideSports recruit David Sutton holding on to fourth place for the duration after a rocketship getaway from sixth on the grid. Sutton was under intense pressure all the way from a gaggle of pursuers, Stewart Lines looming largest among them. “I was looking forward to getting past Sutton and having a good scrap with the leaders in the final laps,” said Stewart, “but then the red flag came out… But I’m happy with fifth and it’s better than I’ve done here in the past.”

Jack Walker-Tully made a good start from P2 in the Cooke and Mason Scirocco but got boxed in and fell back to seventh after a missed gearchange; he improved to sixth by the end after passing championship newcomer Matt Hamilton’s Golf, which was suffering from a lack of power. Hamilton slipped to 10th by the end, overhauled by the youngest driver in the race, 16-year-old Sam Morgan, and by Milltek Sport prize drive winner James Walker, who was driving like a man possessed. “From 18th to eighth – I’m pleased with that,” said James. “It’s a shame about the red flags because I think I had the pace to make the podium…” Josh Caygill, having his first run in a Scirocco, was another to find a way past Hamilton and into the top 10, improving from 11th on the grid to ninth at the flag.

Phil House battled manfully through handling and gearbox problems caused by broken engine mounts to salvage 11th ahead of Team Hard man Paul O’Neill, with car-racing debutant Lucas Orrock staging the drive of the race from 32nd on the grid to 13th. “I think we showed what we are capable of,” said KPM’s former karting champion, and hopefully at the next meeting we will be starting from a bit higher up the grid.”

Other championship newcomers to make the top 20 were Stefan Di Resta, younger brother of F1 star Paul, who placed 16th despite a gearbox offering fewer gears than usual, George White, whose car was badly damaged at the first start and was patched back together brilliantly by the KPM team to take 19th, one place ahead of James Pile, the wheelchair user making his championship debut in a SlideSports Golf.

Tom Barley joined his Team Hard colleague Gallagher on the sidelines after a hub failure, with Tim Snaylam suffering a variety of mechanical maladies after just two laps at the wheel of his brand new Scirocco. Other than the injured Fuller, the only driver unable to make the restart was Robin Riley, whose Scirocco suffered both front and rear damage in the start smash.

Qualifying surprises
A record 33 Volkswagens took to the track for qualifying, and an extraordinary 18 of them posted a lap time quicker than that recorded by last year’s pole-sitter. Reigning champion Mason took top spot in his AWM Scirocco with a lap of 1m 51.720s, more than 4.4s quicker than the best of 2013. Walker-Tully ran him closest in his Cooke and Mason Scirocco, with Greenway an impressive third fastest.

Fulbrook was the top Golf man, fourth despite a power steering issue, ahead of championship debutant Hamilton. David Sutton’s SlideSports Scirocco was sixth and Stefan Di Resta seventh on his debut for JWB.

Morgan qualified 12th with his KPM team-mate, rookie George White, an impressive 16th in his Scirocco. Former champion Walker suffered a gearbox problem in his Milltek Sport Golf and could qualify only 18th. There were mechanical dramas for KPM man Orrock and Team hard runners Simon Rudd and Adam Weaver, none of whom was able to set a meaningful lap time.

Star turn from ‘Owy’
ITV4’s BTCC raceday presenter Paul O’Neill enjoyed his first taste of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup after a late call to drive a spare Team Hard Golf. He qualified 10th despite no prior chance to test and took 12th in the race. “I enjoyed it,” said former touring car racer Paul. “I had a bit of a blip at the start when I couldn’t get second, and then I was just trying to stay out of everyone’s way. But I battled back a bit and had a good go before the alternator started to pack up and a bit of a misfire crept in. It was fun and I’d like to have another go, especially if I can get some testing in beforehand.”

Full results

Pictures for download

On TV  27 Apr Motors TV 1720; 3 May Channel 4 0700