Oulton Park the Venue for Caterham's Euro Challengers

17 July 2005

Next Saturday (23 July) attention switches to the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire and Caterham's flagship European series, the Cosworth Caterham Masters and the Autosport Caterham Eurocup, which are making their only UK appearances of the season.

Multiple Caterham champions Clive Richards (Horsham) and Richard Hay (Worcester) have a slender three-point advantage in the Masters thanks to their consistent top-three finishing record in the German and Spanish rounds at the wheel of their Colards Motorsport machine. But French sports car ace François Desprez - a race-winner in his B&B Propulsion Caterham CSR 260 at both the Nürburgring and Valencia - is certain to be a threat to their points lead.

Meanwhile, reigning Euro and UK R400 champions Jon Barnes (Lee on Solent) and Luke Stevens (Newmarket) - currently holding down fourth in the title chase - will be hoping that the mechanical problems which hampered their progress in Spain earlier this month are well behind them. Stevens was a race winner at Oulton in 2004 on his way to the British title.

Among the newcomers to the Cosworth Caterham Masters grid will be local hero David Dyson (Altrincham), the 2003 Roadsport Champion, who will share a Hyperion Motorsport CSR with the reigning Academy Champion and current Roadsport frontrunner, 18-year-old Guy Harrington (Belper). A field of 17 CSRs is expected in Cheshire.

The Autosport Caterham Eurocup, meanwhile, is set to provide a fascinating tussle between championship leader Oliver Bull (Portishead), who has won three of the four rounds, and his pursuers, led by Team Parker duo Mike Cantillon (Arkley) and Jamie Constable (London).

Just eight points separates Bull from Constable and Cantillon, and Mike is the only driver to have outpaced Oliver's TFL Racing R400 this season, having beaten him into second place in the opening round at Hockenheim.

With championship fourth-place man David Knox absent next weekend, Oulton provides the ideal opportunity for top-10 drivers Ben Dezille Butler (Bury St Edmunds), Daniel Mitchell (Stebbing), Sarah Reader (Loxley), Germany's Ralf Schmid and Malcolm Johnston (Moffat) to move up the order.

UK championship front-runner Rachel Green (Sawbridgeworth) will be in action also - she's the only female ever to have claimed a pole position in an R400 - and she will be joined by several drivers making their first Eurocup appearance of the season, including Dyson, Esher's Ian Thompson, Ascot driver Philip Derby, Kevin Williams (Bury St Edmunds) and Manchester's Ted Murray.

See series calendars for all 2005 Caterham Championships

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