Ross Curnow delivered his best performance of the season in an action-packed two days of Racing at Oulton Park on 13^th/14^th May.

Friday testing went well with Ross ending up 3^rd fastest in the dry morning session, and the afternoon rain then saw him finish 2^nd - just 6/1000ths off the fastest time.

The first qualifying session on Saturday was run in cloudy conditions with the field going out onto a damp track. Ross was hampered by traffic throughout and was disappointed to qualify 6^th, 0.7 sec off pole. The second session started in light drizzle but with the track looking as if it might dry. Most of the front runners, including Ross, went out on wets but Ross pitted after 4 laps to switch to slicks. After working hard to get these up to temperature, he put in a stunning lap of 1.27.06 sec to grab pole ahead of Chris Holmes by 1.5 sec.

Set up for Race 1, unusually run on the Saturday to help BTCC TV schedules, was less of a problem since it was raining. Ross got off well from the third row to beat Breen off the line and take Meadows by the time the pack came out of Old Hall. Howson jumped the start from the second row and incurred a 45 sec penalty which effectively ended his race before it had begun. On Lap 8, Ross passed Legris to take 2^nd place and hold this to the end. It was a mature drive in difficult conditions and Ross was overjoyed at the end. ‘This was the first time I had driven the car on a full wet setting and to come from 6^th on the grid to take 2^nd was very satisfying.’

After overnight rain, conditions improved on Sunday morning and were dry and sunny for Race 2. Ross started well from pole and had already opened up a lead over Holmes by the time they were through Old Hall. By the end of Lap 6, he had extended this to over 6 secs and then found this wiped out when the safety car was deployed, allowing the pack to bunch up behind him again. The safety car went in on Lap 10, and Ross had to set to work again, leading by 1.5 sec at the end of the next lap and extending this to 5.5 sec by Lap 14 ahead of a frantic battle for 2^nd place.

The race then took a dramatic turn. With a flag out for oil on the track at Cascades, the leaders dived down the hill not realising the extent of the hazard - although a dramatic TV commentary prepared viewers for what was likely to happen. Ross was the first to hit the oil, spinning onto the grass, and he was then followed by most of the next 10 runners. The race was sensibly red-flagged and the results were declared as at the end of Lap 14 giving Ross a well deserved victory. Taking the podium for the second time in the weekend, Ross said: ‘I saw the oil flag but nothing prepared me for what I found at the bottom of Cascades! I’m really pleased, however, and it has been a fantastic end to the weekend. I got a great start and once in the lead, I just had to remain focused on driving well and keeping my concentration.’

This was a strong showing from Ross, demonstrating he can force his way through the pack in the wet and also keep his composure when controlling a race from the front. It lifts him to the top of the championship points table with 75 points, 4 points ahead of Hankey.

The next two races will be at the Brands Hatch meeting on 20^th/21^st May with testing on Friday 19th.