McGill pitches a challenge to Camp’s Civic Cup authority

Liam McGill edged closer to long-time Civic Cup points leader Alistair Camp with another commanding performance at Oulton Park last weekend.

Fresh from dominating the previous triple-header at Croft, McGill added a reversed-grid podium to victory from pole position. Camp never gave his Area Motorsport team-mate a moment’s rest in the opener, his FN2 looming large behind the Scot’s EP3 after being edged onto the grass approaching Island hairpin on the opening lap.

“Even when you thought you’d done a really good lap, you’d look in the mirror and he was coming for you,” puffed McGill.

From row five of a partially-reversed grid, Camp led the way forward with McGill in his wake. McGill lunged inside his rival at the hairpin on lap four of 10 but, finding that new front brake pads unsettled his car’s balance, locked up and skated wide before slotting back in behind.

The pair reached fourth and fifth by the final lap but, as Camp tried to round Wesley Swain at Cascades, the youngster’s rear end stepped out, firing Camp off. McGill snaffled third and Camp recovered to eighth while Lewis Kent denied Daniel Petters a maiden victory on the penultimate tour. With only two double-headers remaining, McGill is just three points shy of Camp.

The Scottish Mini Cooper Cup was in barnstorming form in its second of three summer ‘away’ rounds. Overcoming 18 months of engine woe, two-time champion Robbie Dalgleish won the opener’s R50 category laurels after trading the lead with Chad Little and Stuart McPhaden. Defending into Lodge for the final time compromised Dalgleish’s exit but he held off Little by just 0.063 seconds.

“I’m sure Chad would have been absolutely cursing me, but it’s the only option I had – basically parking the car and making it as wide as I could,” admitted the winner.

From sixth on the grid, Dalgleish led the sequel within a lap but could not break the tow. McPhaden and Little closed in with the former tipping Dalgleish into a half-spin at Hislops mid-race. Somehow, Dalgleish clung on, but Little snatched second among an eight-car train. He then seized upon Dalgleish’s mistake for a decisive lead a lap later.

Adam Shepherd continued his fine form in TCR UK to take maximum points and close to within six marks of championship leader Callum Newsham. Shepherd was untroubled in the opener while Brad Hutchison and Newsham pounced on Sam Laidlaw’s tardy safety-car restart to pinch second and third.

Having started 10th on the partially-reversed grid, Shepherd’s Capture Motorsport Cupra Leon VZ shadowed long-time leader Steve Laidlaw’s Area Motorsport version across the line, knowing he would inherit victory. A 5s track-limits penalty dropped Laidlaw to fourth, behind Newsham and Hutchison.

Chevrolet V8 grunt powered Simon Allaway’s spaceframe Lotus Esprit to another CNC Heads Sports/Saloons double after mechanical dramas sidelined the top three qualifiers. Ben Roberts (engine) and brother Chris (timing) started neither race, but Alek Modro’s Westfield Aero returned to second in the finale – which series sponsor Ric Wood’s Group A Nissan Skyline sat out, having earlier charged to second from row 12.

Denied by a track-limits penalty in the opener, Josh Selvadorai made amends with Junior Saloons honours in race two. Wilf Butler’s relentless pressure was rewarded when he inherited the first but clobbering a tyre stack ended his challenge in the rematch.

Selvadorai and Butler shared the Junior Saloons spoils

Photo by: Mick Walker