AS HOME CHALLENGE AWAITS AT OULTON PARK
• MINI Challenge racer Rob Smith eyes victory in second MINI Festival• Penultimate event marks significant homecoming for Telford driver• Additional support for Oulton weekend from local backer Oak Tyres
Telford racing driver Rob Smith returns to his ‘home’ track, Oulton Park International Circuit, this coming Saturday, 20th August, determined to battle for race victories as the MINI Challenge JCW season reaches a pivotal stage.
Off the back of a long overdue return to the rostrum placings last time out at Brands Hatch, where he secured two podium results and mounted a strong bid for race wins, the MINI UK VIP Customer Team driver is aiming for a continuation of that form during the penultimate race meeting of 2016.
In addition to being the track closest to Rob’s family home in Shropshire, Oulton Park is also just a short drive from his current base in Crewe where he works as a Body and Trim Engineer for luxurious automotive giant Bentley Cars. Furthermore, the Cheshire circuit is also the local motorsport venue for one of the 24-year-old’s key backers, Oak Tyres, who are based in Haydock on Merseyside.
Looking forward to welcoming lots of support to Saturday’s single day event, Rob goes into the race meeting seventh in the standings but, as a result of his richly deserved Brands Hatch results last month, he is closing back in on the coveted top three in the championship.
“We’re within 50 points of the top three now on drop scores and with 50 points for a win, we’ve still got an opportunity to get right back in there”, said the Evergreen Tyres, GroupTyre Ltd, BMTR and Oak Tyres supported driver, “We’ve got to be aiming for wins at Oulton, it’s the only way to try and get as many points as possible over the last few races.
“It’s a bit of a triple whammy as far as being a home event – Oulton’s only an hour from the family home in Telford, I’m working in Crewe now at Bentley, which is just a few minutes down the road really, and it’s the local event for Oak Tyres who are a very important partner. It’ll be good to get all of the guests along at the weekend and, hopefully, put on a good show.”
Over the course of the last couple of events Rob’s season has certainly turned a corner. For the most part, his second full year in the ultra-competitive MINI Challenge has unfortunately been plagued by a series of power issues and mechanical woes.
With a breakthrough finally coming ahead of the Rockingham event in late June, his car literally firing on all cylinders, the rapid racer’s true pace instantly shone through and he was very unfortunate to miss out on a potential win after being caught-up in contact early in the final race.
During the most recent outing at Brands Hatch, Rob was hugely competitive throughout and sees no reason why he cannot challenge for his first win of the season on home ground at Oulton in rounds 14 and 15.
“Brands was hopefully a turning point for us”, he said, “We ironed out the problems we’d been having, the car was quick and I’m hoping we’re all sorted now. I’ve always gone well and been quick at Oulton over the years, last season was a bit of an anomaly as we got caught-up in some carnage but, in general, it’s been a good track for me.”
Qualifying at Oulton Park will take place at 10.15 on Saturday, 20th August, with race one of the weekend beginning at 14.00 and race two following at 16.55.
Provisional 2016 MINI Challenge Driver Standings (after Rd13):7th Rob Smith, 404pts
