Race Report: Oulton Park

Tom Hibbert enjoyed a meeting to remember in the Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup at Oulton Park, with a brilliant two wins from two races moving him back to the top of the championship standings this past weekend (31 July / 01 August).

The annual trip to Cheshire was made extra special this season with the re-introduction of unlimited crowd numbers for the first time at a British Touring Car Championship event for more than 18 months, with the Ginetta stars putting on a show for the spectators in attendance.

Adam Smalley, the championship leader heading into the weekend, set the pace in qualifying as part of an Elite Motorsport one-two-three with team-mates Tom Emson and Josh Rattican. Smalley went on to lead every lap of race one, however a time penalty ultimately cost him the victory.

Therefore, it was Hibbert, who had shot from fifth to second at the start of the race, who took the victory. A last lap move for Rattican earnt him second place, while Luke Reade enjoyed a brilliant first podium finish in the championship.

In race two on Sunday, which was televised live on ITV4, Hibbert produced a dominant display to lead from start-to-finish to double his weekend tally. There was some great action in the battle for second, with Rattican and Carlito Miracco ultimately fighting their way through to the podium.

As Reece Somerfield and Joe Marshall also impressed with leading results across the weekend, Ginetta veteran Colin White was the driver to beat in the secondary Pro Am class as he took both wins. Carl Garnett and Dan Morris each scored a pair of podium finishes as well.

Fun Facts: Tom Hibbert and Colin White are proving to be Oulton Park masters in the Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup. Hibbert now has five wins at the circuit, having previously won in 2017 and 2019, while White has taken at least one class win there for seven consecutive seasons.

The Ginetta Junior Championship was also on track and produced a typically action-packed race on Saturday. Liam McNeilly impressively rose from eighth on the grid to a second win of the season, which has moved him into the point’s lead, with Josh Miller and Aston Millar joining him on the podium.

Unfortunately, their planned second race was postponed due to timetable delays on Sunday. That means they will now have four races during the next meeting at Knockhill in two weeks’ time (14/15 August), where they will once again compete alongside the GT4 SuperCup.

Find out more about Millers Oils’ technical partnership with Ginetta: https://www.millersoils.co.uk/ginetta-cars-extends-technical-partnership-with-millers-oils-to-2024/