MSR’s Memorable Moments: BTCC Oulton Park 2011

In the second of Motorsport Radio’s Memorable Moments, where our writers open up about weekends close their heart, Nigel Chiu discusses one of his earlier memories attending an event. From Cascades to Knickerbrook, Touring Cars has found a home at Oulton Park, inspiring those on both sides of the fence.

A cloudy, damp Sunday in the north west of England. Oulton Park the scene, the British Touring Car Championship the action.

It was one of the first motorsport events I’d been to and despite the conditions, the atmosphere was brilliant. In those days, drivers and teams were allowed to mix wet and dry tyres on the car so there was some confusion in terms of what tyres the front running cars were using.

That did not matter though because the racing was entertaining to say the least. I was stood on the inside of Old Hall corner and I just remember the cars dancing as they slid their way through the first turn side by side and nose to tail.

Gordon Shedden took a commanding victory as many drivers went backwards and struggled for pace.

The noise and speed of the cars, even in the damp conditions was amazing on such a tight track. Cascades, the fast left hander is a great spot to visit if you find yourself at Oulton Park.

From the top of the hill at turn one, the cars go downhill and the drivers throw the car into Cascades and use all the road on the exit, and often quite a bit more. Throughout the day, cars were going wide and spinning as the drivers pushed the limits as they grew in confidence.

As many will know, the BTCC paddock area is open to fans so you often find drivers everywhere and anywhere so getting an autograph or photo is relatively easy as a fan. The openness of the paddock is one of the great assets of the BTCC and just one of the reasons why the fans love it.

In race two, I was watching near the Hislop’s Chicane. Matt Neal was the man on the move, having started in the midpack and getting onto the back of Honda teammate Shedden.

They were all set for a 1-2. Neal caught Shedden but the two made contact at the Island hairpin which was a distant view ahead. Both got away with it.

However, on the last lap of the last corner of the race the track commentators were suddenly screaming that the two Honda drivers made contact again after Neal locked up and hit Shedden putting them both in the gravel. It handed the win to Jason Plato.

There were huge groans and sighs across Oulton Park and some were confused when the Plato was the first car to appear on the slow down lap. A bizarre set of circumstances.

The support races were great too. I have always had a soft spot for Porsche so the site of a field of Porsche Carrera Cup cars, roaring their way around the track was one of the highlights of the day. Unfortunately with Oulton, it is a little trickier than other places to get around the whole track. That was the only minor disappointment.

Knickerbrook was the viewing spot for race three of the BTCC and again there was plenty of action going in and out of the chicane. Mat Jackson took a comfortable win but there were incidents and drivers bumping throughout the race as the sun set on a great day’s action.

Anyone motorsport fan living in the UK should go to a BTCC event if you haven’t been already. It’s more than worth the money with fantastic access and great action on the track guaranteed.

Right now, the championship is in a golden era with close competition and up to 30 cars on the grid. There is no better time to go to a BTCC event, after the coronavirus passes that is, and if you want entertaining motorsport all day long, the BTCC is for you.

Edition one saw Andy Lloyd discuss Floods and Fields at Le Mans in 2018.