Michael Crees had a positive weekend in the latest round of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park.
A best every qualifying position of 12th place and two 12 place finishes in race one and two and a DNF in race three.
In changeable weather conditions during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions made for interesting results. With frequent heavy showers, Crees led the way early on in FP1, showing that he has the pace to run at the front in all conditions.
After a delayed start due to Carl Boardley having a moment on the
warm-up lap, the opening race of the weekend got underway at a rain-soaked
Oulton Park. Crees continued his points-scoring run, taking P11 in the #777
Civic having slipped down the order following the start and finishing
highest-placed of the Jack Sears Trophy contenders.
The second contest of the day, unfortunately, brought heartache for teammate Cook.
Despite carrying the full 60kg of ballast on-board, a flawless drive saw him
make up an incredible 14 places by the 11th tour of the slippery track. Hunting
down a top-12 finish for the reverse grid draw, Cook charged into Hislops
battling for position with Smiley, and BTC Racing team-mate Crees. With the
three jostling for position, the two Hondas, unfortunately, collided, with Cook
taking the brunt of the contact, pitching him into the barriers.
Crees recovered well to nurse The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing car home in P12,
adding to his championship points tally.
An off-track excursion on the opening lap for the #777 Civic, forced early retirement for Crees with race-ending damage, and the Rich Energy ambassador recorded his second DNF of the season so far.
Michael Crees still leads the Jack Sears Trophy standings, albeit with a narrow 4-point lead as the BTCC prepares to head north of the Border for its annual visit to Scotland.
Speaking after the weekend, Crees said: “All in all I didn’t have a bad weekend. I scored my highest-ever qualifying place in P12 and then I would have taken three top-12 finishes but then the car just let go in race 3. Whether that was cold rear tyres or my mistake, I’m not sure. That pitched me into a spin and caused the DNF.
“The incident with Josh in race two was just one of those things. I let Josh through to challenge Smiley, all three of us went over the hill, Josh out-braked him on the outside and I out-braked him on the inside and we ended up collecting each other. It’s the last thing that you’d ever want to happen. Coming together with your team-mate and ending with a DNF is not how you want to finish the day.
“I think my performance is getting stronger each time out. I’m running consistently in the front-twelve now. I’m still 4 points ahead in the Jack Sears and I need to focus on that championship now. Keep ramping up the points.”
Image courtesy of Phil Laughton