BTCC R5 - OULTON PARK: THE ROLLER-COASTER OF OULTON PARK PROVED TO BE DIFFICULT
Lots have been learnt for Scott Sumpton in a difficult weekend at Oulton Park!
Although it was a very difficult weekend for Scott at Oulton Park... The tight and twisty nature of the track was the complete opposite from the fast speed of Thruxton, however Scott was determined to do his best.
The scorching conditions over the weekend made it tough in the car, with temperatures of 50°c it was boiling hot in the SGS Curpa Leon. However, with the hot weather this meant there was a lot of fans, it was a great turn out with over +35,000 fans watching the race it made it an exciting weekend. In both FP1 and FP2 it was vital for Scott to get used to the car and to gather as much knowledge so he could go into qualifying with the best chance possible. He found where he needed to be on track and what to do at each corner, and with the track recently being re-surfaced there was lots of time to be found on the new grippy track.
In the new 'quick 6 qualifying' Scott was determined to get his lap in early on and he pushed his hardest. However on his quickest lap he slightly went over track limits which set of the sensor and ended up in his lap getting deleted. This would have put him 15th on the grid for race one however he next quickest lap was only good enough for 19th.
Going into race one Scott decided to go onto the hard tyre which was the option tyre for that weekend. This was Scott's first time running on the hard tyre as the option whereas some other drivers had opted to go onto the soft. This made it really tricky to move forward as the softer tyre was much faster and with the tight nature of Oulton Park it makes it really hard to overtake, therefore Scott finished off where he started in 19th.
Moving into race two Scott was even more hungry to move forward, now he was on the soft tyre he could do some over-taking. With a few people having to come into the pits due to damage and Scott making it up the field, he was sitting in a nice 15th place up until the last lap. Closing in on Sam Osborne, Scott done all he could to get past him and managed to driver round the outside of him into the tight hairpin. This promoted Scott to 14th place and this was great to get more points on the board!
Race three was a tricky one for Scott, after his best start, he was up in the mix battling on the first lap. However, some of the more experienced drivers got the better on the opening lap of the hectic final race where it is all guns-blazing. Halfway through the race Scott made a mistake coming out of the complex which meant he ran wide and across the gravel. After losing vital time it was then a struggle to gain in back again. Therefore, in the end Scott ended up finishing 16th place.
Although it was a difficult weekend full of highs and lows, Scott walked away from Oulton Park with valuable knowledge and confidence going into the long summer break and ready to come back to Croft better than ever!
