Good Friday at Oulton Park

[Speedy norm]

I started going to races in mid seventies and for 15 yrs Good Friday at Oulton was the highlight. A great entry and a wide variety of classes.
Shellsport G8, Auroura F1 Thundersports Btcc
If you had a half decent F2 car it was practice / race Thursday / Friday, Off to Thruxton Saturday for Euro F2 round on the Monday. If qualifying went badly it was off to Brands for Sunday practice for G8 Auroura or whatever on the Monday.
Great days
Best race? '79 David Kennedy Wolf Wr1 and Rupert Keegen in Arrows - great battle for Gold Cup and a huge crowd

Any other memories?

[Andrew Kitson]

For many years there was always a Good Friday meeting at Snetterton too. F5000 was the main event in the early 70s.

[Rob29]

Snetterton held the first Good Friday meeting in 1966 for Group 7 sports cars.1967 was F2. Oulton Park started the following year,I think. 1972 I went to Oulton,Thurs & Fri,Thruxton saturday,Brands,sunday,Thruxton,monday!
Oulton still had a Good Friday meet a couple of years ago,seem to remember a 2 CV race.

[Speedy norm]

" Oulton had a Good Friday meet a couple of years ago - a 2CV race." I rest my case!

[PaulSands]

I always remember Oulton being "dry" on Good Friday's...drove my dad to despair

[Andrew Kitson]

Good Friday at Snett in 1968 was a 500km European Touring Car Championship race, won by the Mustang of John Ewer and Syd Fox. A lovely sunny spring day and I remember the Red Arrows Gnats performing just before the start.

[gfm]

Andrew - I towed Robin Searle's 1000cc Mini up for that race. He was up against those dutch Fiat Abarths - one was driven by Toine Hezemans, the other by a super young scandinavian who was killed a little later, and had a brother who also raced/rallied. His name escapes me but he was definitely a superstar in the making. What was his name? They used to cock their front wheels way up in the air and were much quicker than our Mini.

The drive of the race was I thought was Hunter in the 911 which came 3rd. Had a cracking engine in it; it passed us on the way home going & sounding like a ding bat still on open exhausts. I was all the more impressed because the night before the race, I watched Hunter dancing on the hotel table at 2 am, trousers round ankles liberally spraying onlookers with a soda syphon. He was an ex-works Triumph driver apparently.

Easter weekends I remember were the F1 race weekends at Goodwood and then those fanatstic F2 races at Thruxton. I learnt so much watching how those boys and cars went. Racing was just so intense: Stewart, Rindt, Hill, Ickx, Surtees etc. Great teams, obviously well balanced cars (power/rubber/aerodynamics just perfect).

It's very hard to look back at those times without thinking, they were the greatest, and feeling, well 'old'. True international colour and occasion. Remember too, around that time we had Porsche 917, Ferrari 512, Lola T70, Chevron B16 etc etc. Makes you 'ache' ...

[chunterer]

I went to a couple of BTCC meetings that used to be held at Oulton.

1984 was the first when Weaver gave the Rovers a good hiding with his CC 635! and a certain P. Mcarthy cartwheeled towards Old Hall in a supporting FF race!

Went again '89/90/92 when there was usually BTCC and Brit F3000 on.

[jminsh]

I can remember when i was little the old man raced in the Group A days in a MK 1 Golf being at Oulton on the Friday then dragged off to Thruxton for the Monday which wasn't so bad to a 12 year old when the the circuit had it's own skate board park. Can't imagine it these days there wouldn't be enough cars left for Thruxton and the countless team hanger onners might be tired .