Oulton Park Diary

Day 3

It started out cold & windy, but it stayed fair long enough to get the camp dismantled and packed away. After a coffee and quick bacon roll we headed into the circuit.

We watched the superbike class morning warm-up session from the outside of Old Hall, which is the first corner on the circuit, a terrifyingly fast right hander taken flat-out in 4th gear at full lean angle. It is one of those corners that perfectly illustrates the skill and commitment of the rider and the breath-taking speed of the bike. We spent the entire session open mouthed and awestruck, punctuated only by the occasional expletive.  

Most of the day was mixed weather, which made for entertaining racing, with plenty of action and more than a few riders ended up on their backsides. As they were up last, the sidecars got the best of the weather, which gave us all the chance to watch Chris Walker in action. Chris is an ex-superbike racer, the fans favourite, who is now trying his hand at sidecars. He finished 6th, which sent everybody home happy.

We even got out of the campsite easily, and were on the road in no time. After a quick dash back up the M6 (via a slight de-tour through roadworks in Glasgow) we got home before midnight.

We had a cracking weekend, despite the mud & rain and were treated to some top class racing. Oulton Park really is a great circuit. If you've never seen a superbike race, I can thoroughly recommend it. The championship visits tracks all around the UK, so find the nearest one to you and get along. Friday is practice, Saturday is qualifying and the races are on Sunday (except for Bank Holidays, where is all moves a day later). I promise you won't be disappointed.

Remember your camera.