AAA Saloons: Norris rules Oulton Park

Simon Norris dominated the AAA Saloon Cup at Oulton Park last weekend taking pole position, two wins and a fastest lap in his unique 2-door (900 bhp) Mitsubishi Evo IX.

His time from qualifying was enough to secure pole position for Race 1 by a clear 4 seconds and he confirmed that speed advantage by leading the race for the entire 20 minutes, ending up a full 30 seconds clear of the runner-up.

Laurie Kilby driving the Ajec Racing Evo IX kept Norris on his toes for the first couple of laps - setting the fastest lap in the process, despite his usual gearbox problems and a smashed windscreen - before Norris pulled clear, leaving Kilby with an occasional view of his huge rear spoiler way ahead in the distance.

Meanwhile Richard Jones (Launch Motorsport Evo VIII) got off to a flying start for his debut race at Oulton Park and despite a 'moment' or two was delighted to secure the third place on the rostrum.

Gary Prebble, behind the wheel of his 700 bhp Sparshatts Evo VII RS was having a very frustrating race, a mysterious engine/electrical gremlin reducing his power to nothing on a regular basis, before picking up again allowing him to put his foot down again. He eventually finished seventh overall (4th in GpA).

In GpB (for cars limited to 400 bhp) it was AAA Saloons newcomer Vaughan Fletcher (ScoobyClinic Subaru) only running around 300 bhp, who claimed pole position and initially led the GpB runners before Martin Thomas' Evo blasted through from the back of the grid to lead the GpB charge which won him the Launch Motorsport champagne for Driver of the Day.

But then Thomas retired on lap 6 when a boost hose blew off (as it had done in qualifying - hence starting at the back of the grid). That was the signal for other GpB runners to head for the pits; Fletcher with fuel pump failure, and Evo magazine's feature writer Roger Green - guest driver in the Ajec Racing Evo VIII - cutting short his race with brake problems.

Local boy Dominic Barnes therefore took his Ajec Racing Evo VIII to a surprise GpB victory and set the fastest GpB time ahead of Ian Froggatt (ScoobyClinic Subaru), another making his AAA debut, and Angus Gorringe's Audi S2.

In Race 2 Norris once again led from the green lights to the chequered flag - this time setting the fastest lap - despite suffering some rather worrying propshaft noise and vibrations from half distance.

With the problems encountered in Race 1 now cured, Prebble was hoping to make up for lost time and shot from the fourth row of the grid and tucked in behind Norris by the time the pack had reached the first corner. His luck didn't hold for long and he retired just two laps into the race when the bracket for the throttle cable snapped, leaving him with no way to control his engine.

Jones, the only other GpA runner in Race 2, was going well until his broken/dragging splitter forced him to pull off the track on lap 7.

The winner of GpB, Martin Thomas, started his race from the back of the grid due to his DNF in Race 1, but fought his way up to take a class win and secure an impressive second overall, despite a few off-track moments.

He was followed by Froggatt, setting fastest GpB time, and who at one time fancied his chances of overall race victory once he sniffed Norris was having problems.

Barnes again made the rostrum, this time in third while Fletcher never really had a chance to be up the front at the end of the race. Having started on the back row of the grid, he hammered his tyres down to the canvas and wore out his rear brakes in an effort to make up lost ground, but just couldn't make it, ending fourth in class and fifth overall. Green made another all-too-brief appearance, still hampered by brakes which were either all or nothing.

Watch AAA Saloon Cup highlights from Oulton Park on Friday 6 and 13 August at 7:40pm (BST) on Motors TV.


Simon Cooke

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