Weather Effected Oulton Shuffles Up The Order - RTA Round 4 Review

 By Evan Dalton for Bwoah Motorsport and RTA Virtual Motorsport 

After the trials and tribulations of Donington Park, the paddock embarked on an hour trip north to Little Budworth and the famous Oulton Park circuit. Up until 1973, racing was only permitted on Saturdays and bank holidays, but when Ireland’s Tuesday night entertainment calls, there’s only one answer, and the grid lined out for Round 4 of the RTA Virtual Motorsport Formula Vee Ireland Series. 

If anyone ever asked you to describe the typical weather on November 11th, tonight’s qualifying session was the perfect example. The eyes of those who favour wet weather were gleaming, and specifically Dylan McClements who set the early pace. The rain was suspected to get lighter, and it did marginally, but the championship leader was able to take pole position for the second time this season, just ahead of his brother. 

Just behind the McClements front row, was their cousin. Not exactly a shock in RTA to see. “Oh typical Ronan Doherty benefiting off the tow and a great engine again” says you. 

But it was not him, it was Finlay Melvin. 

Heat 1

Despite the sudden sunshine, the asphalt was still slippery, but everyone got away well. On the run down to the ‘Shell Oils Corner,’ Melvin was sandwiched in between Brandon McCaughan and another car and ended up click and collected, flipping vigorously into the air. The unrecognised item in the top ten, was no longer, and the marshalls had a clean up on aisle four. 

The track started drying out quickly, and the battles we’ve seen in previous weeks began to reemerge. Peter McCann fought with Travis Mawhinney, Sean McClements fought with Conor Melia, and Kevin Joyce fought with more torrid luck. Joyce however, recovered to an excellent tenth place finish.

Jordan Kelly returned to his sim rig, after a few weeks testing his racing abilities using a controller. 

He initiated the battle heading onto the final lap, with a “gloves off” war cry, and went for the move early on Dylan McClements. The top four remained in the fight until the end, and with the powerful slipstream couldn’t decide where to place their machinery. Despite ice skating through the last corner, Dylan McClements held onto the Heat 1 win against Melia and Kelly. 

Heat 2

The sun surprisingly stayed for a bit longer, but the controversy ramped up. Contact between championship contenders Dylan McClements and Melia sent the former packing. Melia also fell slightly down the pecking order. They weren’t the only ones, as Mawhinney somehow ended up 6 feet in the air in the middle of a straight, and everyone had to avoid. 

It got worse. An ill-timed skill issue for McCann meant he came charging into ‘hislop’ at record speeds and everyone once again had to practice their evasive driving. The order was well and truly shuffled. 

McCaughan managed to do what he was practicing in the Walter Hayes, and went from 24th to 8th in one lap. Alongside Diarmuid Toomey, they went charging after the higher runners. 

When most of your, usually tight knit field gets spread out, the action weirdly dismantles. Sean McClements had the time of his life in the lead, with his only challenger being karter Peter Brett. 

The race leader held on despite a few near misses on the last few laps. The crashes kicked off, with Ryan Johnston and Adam McAuley becoming conjoined twins on the grass verges off turn 1. Jamal Ghandour also had an off track endeavour with Niall Leahy. 

Brett held on to second for his first RTA podium, with Melia in third. McCaughan managed to claim the reverse pole position for Heat 3. 

Heat 3

The weather was the worst of the evening and so was the number of cars who made it through sector one. McCann, Kelly, Ghandour, McAuley, Johnston, Sylvie Bartlett, Dave Collier and Dara O’Conor all suffered ill fortune on the race start. 

Emma Dempsey also ended up facing the wrong way on the first rotation, Pavlo Kyshkan went off a few corners later. 

Up the front, McCaughan held onto his race lead, with Dylan McClements and Kamto Chukwureh following behind. The two Antrim drivers opted to work together. 

Despite a calm middle stint of the race, some monster drives were on display. Travis Mawhinney gained 16 positions within the first ten minutes, with David Bartlett and Ken Doyle gaining as well. 

Sean McClements’ race was ruined after contact with Brett, which sent him outside the top ten and heavily hurting his championship chances. A couple of mistakes from Melia as well left it a three horse race out front. 

Heading onto the final lap, Dylan McClements was only a handful of tenths off the race leader McCaughan, and the last lap theatrics returned. Heading into the last corner, the two tangled, and McClements was able to edge in front. McCaughan just narrowly missing out. Brett held on to third for his second podium of the night.

RTA moves up north of Hadrian’s wall for a week as they head to Knockhill, a drivers favourite. With a twisty turney championship in store, every round becomes ever more crucial.