And just like that, we’re heading into the final two rounds of this short, but exceptionally successful season for James Dennison Racing. We’ve taken wins and podiums aplenty and despite suffering a significant engine failure last time out at Snetterton, we're raring to go for the season finale.
Oulton Park is a track I’ve never raced at and only briefly driven around in a couple of BMW road cars, so the Friday test day is all about finding my feet. It’s a brilliant track, this. Long, sweeping turns with tricky double apexes, tight chicanes, banked hairpins, big dips and crests – it’s got the lot. But it doesn’t take any prisoners, as I was about to find out.
Qualifying mishap brings frustration
Heading into qualifying I was confident of a strong grid position. After taking a few laps to learn the track in Friday practice, my pace was strong and a front row start looked within reach. But then…
Down came the rain. In bucket loads. October 3rd 2020 was officially the UK’s wettest day since records began. Qualifying was almost a washout but a brief gap in the monsoon meant we could get out and sneak some laps in what was to be a shortened session. Luckily, I had some brand-new wet tyres to use. The downside being I'd only ever tried a very worn and old set of said compound once before, so my knowledge of how they behaved wasn’t great.
Building up to full speed, I started third lap of qualifying and started to push. As I sped into Island Bend, the rear broke loose in a big way. I was doing around 90mph at the time but was still confident I could bring it back. After all, I’d had a similar moment in practice and all had been fine.
But this time things were different. The brand-spanking wet tyres had far more bite than my worn semi-slicks did on Friday’s greasy tarmac. The result was that as the car came around to face forwards again, the back wheels gripped up in a flash. Snap. With the steering point hard right, it sent the car spinning off onto the grass at high speed.
I finally came to a rest in a small gravel trap on the inside of the Shell Oils Corner, yet with the car beached I had to sit out the rest of qualifying. A frustrating mistake on my part, yet both myself and the car were completely fine and I was able to drive away after the session.
Race 1 drama brings a red flag
Somewhat remarkably, my one ‘flying’ lap in qualifying was enough to put me P5 in class for race 1. This being despite most of the other drivers getting their best laps in five laps later on a drying track. The podium was in reach – so not all was lost.
The race began under safety car as a rolling start, meaning we were already moving as the green flag came out. In such conditions (the rain had returned), it was safest way to proceed and the first lap or so went by mostly without incident as everyone tried desperately to hunt for grip and dodge the standing water. Visibility was nil in places, yet the positions were there to be had, so I went for it.
John Booth and Joe Dalgarno (my nemeses from Donington), were the two cars immediately in front and thanks to good exits out of the Britten’s chicane, I managed to dispatch both on consecutive laps.
Running in 3rd, I could see Jackson and Ballard up ahead and was making ground on them fast. Two more laps and a move would surely have been on, but several crashes from the A Class cars meant a full course yellow went out and stopped any chance of overtaking. Still, we’d be ready on the restart.
Alas, there was not to be any more racing in this session. Too many cars had taken damage and the decision was made to throw the red flag and end the race. I was pleased with my podium from 5th, but also hugely disappointed not to have completed the final four laps or so with the pace we had.
A quick check of the results sheet confirmed my fastest lap was 2 seconds (!) quicker than the second fastest in-class, a great achievement. Let’s hope we can carry the pace through to the next race.
Charging through the field in race two
Because of my slight ‘incident’ in qualifying, I didn’t record a second fastest lap. That meant I was starting the second and final race of the day, right at the back of the field behind the slower C class cars. Not ideal. However, the conditions were still extremely challenging – meaning positions were there for the taking (and losing).
We would once again conduct a rolling start and after passing John Donnelly into the first corner it was time to go all guns blazing for a charge towards the podium. Quickly dispatching Joshua Bacon and Ashley Parsons, Joe Dalgarno was next in line. Knowing I had to make a move fast, I braked late going into Old Hall on the outside, feeling the grip in the sodden tarmac. An unorthodox place to overtake – but it worked. Using the superior grip on the wet line, I got on the power earlier and managed to hold the position.
After four overtakes in the first couple of laps, the remainder of the race went by with comparatively little drama. The two frontrunners in class had pulled a considerable lead before I’d made my move for 3rd, meaning I was unable to close the gap over the next few laps.
Regardless, a 3rd place finish from dead last on the grid was a great way to end the season. A special thanks to the organisers and marshals at Oulton Park who allowed us to race in such conditions – it really was soaking wet out there!
All-in-all, we had some great racing in 2020. My first two wins and a 100% podium rate (from the races I started) meant it was a year I'd never forget and I go into 2021 with optimism for – what we hope – will be a full season of racing. Don't forget, if you want to join me, I'm always on the lookout for new partners so why not take a look at my sponsorship brochure and drop me a message on the contact page.
Photos by Dickon Siddall
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