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Oulton Park

Oulton Park, Cheshire, Great-Britain

Date: 31/3/1972
Track length: 4.443 m
Attendance:
Entries accepted:
Starters:
Finishers:

Pole position: Gardner in 1.46,8
Fastest lap: Muir in 1.53,6

Distance: 20 laps
Average speed: 137,71 kmh
Weather: Heavy rain
Ruleset: Group 2/70
Car info: 1972 Cars

 

The second of the season's NCR Paper Chases for British Touring Cars followed the F2 race and was, likewise, held in a torrential downpour. In the damp practice Frank Gardner had put the 1972 SCA Freight Camaro on pole position ahead of Brian Muir's Gartlan/Wiggins Teape Capri and the smart Dave Brodie Escort RS. Willie Green (Kay Escort RS) showed he was a welcome addition to the grid by sharing row two with Dave Matthews (Broadspeed Escort RS) while, behind, two more recruits who were not at Brands, Terry Sanger with the ex-Muir Camaro and Dennis Leech's now 7-litre Hemi-headed Mustang, looked good on row three.
The race turned out to be just about the biggest walk-over ever seen in modern Group 2 racing. At the end of lap one Muir had a tremendous lead which he increased to a phenomenal 18 seconds by lap 2 and no less than 1 minute 36 seconds at the finish. Second, after a dice with Dave Matthews, was Frank Gardner in the Camaro while Leech came through very effectively to take third place.
Matthews, however, had his class well sewn up and took fourth place ahead of the last man not to be lapped, Terry Sanger in the Research Consultants Camaro. Green fought a frantic battle with Brodie and, despite both drivers complaining of their engines cutting out, Green finally pulled away for sixth spot overall.
In the 1300 cc a first lap skirmish put paid to the chances of Vince Woodman (Escort GT) and from then on the Minis of Jonathan Buncombe and Jon Mowatt battled it out although Mowatt later dropped back and had a one minute penalty anyway, so Buncombe took it. A caption in Motoring News a couple of weeks ago has offended Imp ace Bill McGovern, who tells us that nobody ever outbrakes him and wants us to apologise for suggesting such. Whatever, Bill won the 1-litre class with the Bevan machine by 17 seconds from Mo Mendham's Mini. The result put McGovern and Matthews into the joint lead of the Championship while Wiggins Teape celebrated their own car winning their championship round, the first but almost certainly not the last time this will happen.
Muir himself was full of praise for the Capri ("It really is better than I expected") and the Dunlop wet weather tyres.

Touring Cars class A-D
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1 8 Malcolm Gartlan Racing/Wiggings Teape Ltd.
Ford Capri RS 2600		 Brian Muir, AUS
 2940 V6 A 20 laps, 38.43,2 2 1.48,6 1.53,6  
2 2 5 SCA Freight Ltd.
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Mk2		 Frank Gardner, AUS
 5736 V8 A 20 laps, 40.19,2 1 1.46,8    
3 3 6  
Ford Mustang Boss 429		 Dennis Leech, GB
 7030 V8 A 20 laps, 40.24,0 8 1.55,0    
4 1 30 Melton Racing with Broadspeed
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Dave Matthews, GB
 1798 L4 B 20 laps, 40.30,2 4 1.50,4 1.58,2  
5 4 10 Research Consultants Ltd.
Chevrolet Camaro Z28		 Terry Sanger, GB
 4956 V8 A 20 laps, 40.41,2 7 1.54,8    
6 2 32 Willy Kay
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Willie Green, GB
 1800 L4 B 19 laps, 38.57,0 5 1.51,8    
7 3 28 Norman Reeves/Stirling Cooper
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Dave Brodie, GB
 1974 L4 B 19 laps, 39.09,0 3 1.49,8    
8 5 3 Cona Coffee
Ford Mustang Boss 302		 Martin Birrane, IRL
 5591 V8 A 19 laps, 39.50,2 9 1.56,4    
9 4 26 John Willment Racing
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Mike Crabtree, GB
 1992 L4 B 19 laps, 39.59,4 13 1.59,4    
10 1 61 Richard Longman & Co.
Austin Mini Cooper S		 Jonathan Buncombe, GB
 1293 L4 C 19 laps, 40.23,6        
11 5 31 Gulf Team Kamilainen
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Matti Kemilainen, SF
 1796 L4 B 19 laps, 40.28,6 6 1.53,4    
12 1 1 George Bevan
Hillman Imp		 Bill McGovern, GB
 998 L4 D 18 laps, 39.30,6   2.03,4    
13? 2 59  
Morris Mini Cooper S		 Jon Mowatt, GB
 1293 L4 C 18 laps, 40.43,2 11 1.56,8   Including 1 minute penalty; spin
14? 2 77  
Austin Mini 1000		 Mo Mendham, GB
 998 L4 D 18 laps, 39.47,4     2.08,0  
15 3 57 AVJ Developments
Ford Escort 1300 GT		 Paul Ridgway, GB
 1298 L4 C 17 laps, 38.44,0        
16 4 66  
BMC Mini Cooper S		 Mike Drinkwater, GB
 1293 L4 C 17 laps, 38.56,0 15 2.00,8    
17 3 83  
Hillman Imp		 Terry Watts, GB
 998 L4 D 17 laps, 39.26,6   2.07,2    
18 4 80  
Hillman Imp		 Melvyn Adams, GB
 998 L4 D 17 laps, 39.42,8   2.07,2    
19 5 78 Stapleton Motors Racing Promotions
Hillman Imp		 Adrian Webb, GB
 998 L4 D 17 laps, 39.54,8   2.05,4   Including 10 seconds penalty
NRF 6 4 W.M.G. Marketing
Chevrolet Camaro		 Martin Thomas, GB
 5736 V8 A 17 laps, 40.20,8 12 1.57,0    
NRF 5 69  
Morris Mini Cooper S		 Barry Johnson, GB
 1293 L4 C 16 laps, 39.24,0        
22 6 82  
BMC Mini Cooper		 Jeremy Bean, GB
 998 L4 D 16 laps, 39.26,4        
DNF   62 Ken Costello
BMC Mini Cooper S		 Rob Mason, GB
 1293 L4 C 16 10 1.56,6 2.04,4 Wet electrics
DNF   55 VMW Motors
Ford Escort 1300 GT		 Vince Woodman, GB
 1298 L4 C 2 14 2.00,4   Accident damage
DNF   2  
AMC Javelin		 David Howes, GB
 6390 V8 A         Wipers
DNF   54 Gulf Team Kamilainen
Ford Escort 1300 GT		 Heikki Kemilainen, SF
 1298 L4 C   16 2.00,8   Accident; loose bonnet, blackflagged
DNF   81  
Hillman Imp		 Trevor Willcocks, GB
 998 L4 D         Accident