On and Off Track Drama for Claire Tippet at Oulton Park

19 July 2004

Cheltenham based Claire Tippet, the latest MSport-UK Featured Driver, had another successful outing in the VW-Cup Championship at Oulton Park (Cheshire) on 17/18th July. Driving her Golf Gti Mk1 Claire once again grasped two strong finishes, in this her debut year, at a race weekend which saw high level drama unfold both on and off the track.

The Cheshire track was subjected to a weekend of poor weather with heavy rain battering the circuit throughout Saturday. During her Saturday morning qualifying session Claire did one lap and came straight back into the pitlane with a faulty windscreen wiper, a vital component in the climate!, and with severe misting up on the inside of the windscreen. As it happened, the session was stopped at this point with the treacherous conditions catching many a driver out and leading to a number of incidents. The break allowed for repairs to the windscreen wiper and some anti-fog screen treatment before the session was re-started and it was back out to brave the elements.

"It went really well" Claire said, "I was sixth quickest on the first lap out, the next lap was not so good and then the session was stopped so I didn't get a chance to improve so was down to 19th on the grid, which I was disappointed with."

For the race, held on Saturday afternoon, the rain managed to stay away though the circuit was still wet. "There was standing water" Claire reported back, "but a dry line soon appeared. Even though my car was set up for the wet it wasn't too much of a hindrance. I matched my best Oulton Park time. I had some good overtaking moves down Cascades and moved my way up to finish 14th."

The second race, held on Sunday afternoon, looked set to be dry though with the odd spit of rain in the atmosphere nerves were tense in the VW Cup paddock. "The start was okay" said Claire, "but the turbos behind me easily caught me by the first corner. I managed to outbreak one of the Polos on the hairpin and then had a good duel with Jason Barlow in the Beetle."

But shockingly as the race was in full flow the red flags were deployed and the race stopped as a helicopter crashed next to the track. The track was cleared to allow the emergency services easy access to the stricken aircraft which crashed just metres from the track. Miraculously, the pilot walked away with minor injuries.

The race was not restarted and the results were taken from the lap previous to the red flag, lap six, which saw Claire in 12th place.

Claire now lies 20th in the championship with 16 points. Her next race will be at Thruxton (Hampshire) on 29/30th August.

Supporters can follow Claire's progress on MSport-UK.com - Full Details

See 2004 series calendar for VW Racing Cup

Related Story 08.07.2004 - Cup Racers Prepare for Oulton Park Battle