FUN CUP ENDURANCE 2025 – ROUND TWO– OULTON PARK – REPORT
OLYMPIAN GRD TRIO MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW!
Defending Fun Cup Endurance Champions Olympian GRD took their second successive win, as the Championship returned to it’s “home” circuit of Oulton Park.
Poleman, Rob Croydon led into Old Hall from the start for Rare Vinyl, from Racelogic’s Julian Thomas, Red River Sport’s Bonamy Grimes, Demon Tweeks’ Jason Minshaw and FFS’s Barry Thompson.
Minshaw successfully challenged Grimes into Knickebrook for third, but both lost out to Morpheus FNS’s Harry Mailer as they turned into Old Hall for the second time.
Croydon was unable to get away and after Mailer snatched second at Knickebrook, Mailer had the lead too before the end of the lap.
The safety car was soon in action though, Mailer led Croydon, Thomas and Minshaw, but Charlie Hart was fifth for Morpheus 2Rent, despite touching the grass at Knickerbrook. As he elbowed his way passed Grimes into Druids, the Red River Sport Car had contact with Thompson, whose FFS car broke the rear suspension and was left stranded.
Grimes pitted under the safety car for a new front, but as the green flag waved for lap six, Mailer began to restore his lead, with Hart taking Thomas for second into Island.
Minshaw and Croydon had started to lose places, as UVio Hofmann’s Fabulous Randaccio was into third at Old Hall, but the safety car was soon in action again as Team Disruptive’s Steve Lake was recovered with a broken throttle cable.
Two laps later it was green again with the top five holding station. Paul Turner was sixth for Greenheath, from JPR’s Nigel Greensall, Thomas, PLR’s Ben Pitch and AxiaMatrics’ John Perrott.
Randaccio had started to lose touch with the duelling Mailer and Hart, but with Hart going ahead into Knickerbrook on lap 13, he was able to close again, while in fourth Greensall had ousted Croydon.
Turner was still sixth, but Thomas had led a huge scrap for seventh, until Perrott, Pitch, GCI’s Ian Wood and Sherardize’s Peter Belshaw had all got by.
The top six all pitted on the 21st lap, for Chris Hart, Stephen Walton and Farquini Deott to take over, but UVio Hofmann’s rejoined with a lead over Hart and Walton, who was rapidly being caught by Vapeclub EDF’s Ted Bradbury, taking fourth as we reached the end of the first hour.
“We had speed, but the safety car destroyed my lead. After that I just worked with Charlie,” said Mailer. “I enjoyed that, I could see Charlie going for it and the three of us made the gap,” Randaccio added.
“I think we had the wrong tyres, we were slower on new ones and couldn’t get through the corners, so we peaked too early,” said Croydon. “We were going OK until I tried to go from third to fourth and it selected second,” added Demon Tweeks’ Jason Minshaw.
UVio Hofmann’s led for most of the second hour, with Bradbury reeling in Hart for second, before taking the place into Knickerbrook on the 34th lap.
Olympian GRD’s Simon Rudd had taken over from Chris Dovell in 19th place and on lap 31 took fourth from GCI’s Craig Butterworth, but Sherardize’s Teddy Wilson was also on a charge into eighth behind the second pitstop window, behind Greenheath’s Gary Bate and PLR’s Neil Plimmer.
Bradbury and Hart both pitted together, but while Vlad Vassiliev tookover from Bradbury, Chris Hart stayed in for a double stint. Rudd and Butterworth were into the top three, but they joined Farquini as all three pitted three laps later.
“I got my head down and just went for it, the car was good and did my best to chase Ted and Farquini, it was hard work though,” said Rudd.
Another brief safety car intervention followed before halfway was reached, after the Renom Racing car and the repaired FFS car both stopped on track.
The top six had all closed up with no backmarkers in between as the green flag was prepared, but as the race went live Pitch headed for the pitlane, “as I went from third to fourth it went bang, so I tried fifth and the same and had to pit with a broken driveshaft,” said the PLR driver.
Early challengers Racelogic were also out of the running, “we had a fuel issue and was losing power, so Julian had to pit and we think we fixed it,” said Jonathan Hoad.
Randaccio still led, but Vassiliev succombed to pressure from Hart and lost second at Lodge, before Hart then led into Old Hall a couple of laps later. But Hart and Randaccio shared a couple more exchanges, before Mailer split them into Lodge, and then led himself into Old Hall.
So Mailer had the lead at half distance, from Chris Hart, Randaccio, Vassiliev, Wood and Dovell, with Turner seventh, from Belshaw, Signature RV’s Marcus Clutton and AxiaMetrics Greg Evans, with 13 cars still on the lead lap.
Randaccio retook Hart for second just before the third stop, but Wood had lost ground, “Vlad was losing the pack into Cascades, I got a run on him but outbraked myself, spun and knocked the back wheel,” said the GCI driver.”
“I thought we were quicker, the car was a bit loose and I had a bit of contact too,” said Belshaw. “We’ve got some pace now, but still not enough,” Clutton added.
Eight of the 20 laps in the third hour were behind the safety car, which meant the penultimate pitstop window was behind the safety car too. Farquini had led from Olympian GRD’s Riley Phillips, Signature R’s Ruston, Charlie Hart, Walton and Butterworth.
Phillips first led into Old Hall as the race went green on lap 63, with Hart second at Lodge a lap later. Farquini was still third, from Butterworth, but Hart was back in front with Wilson taking fifth from Ruston as the safety car came out again.
On lap 69 there was the mass pitstop under caution, with Hart leading in Phillips, Farquini, Butterworth, Wilson and Perrott. “A podium is likely so long as we are in with a chance in my final stint, but it’s the hunter being hunted,” said Phillips.
Green from lap 73 with 11 cars still on the lead lap, Rudd and Charlie Hart tried to gap Randaccio after they had swapped two laps later, Belshaw was fourth, but Mailer was charging through again, before both moved up as Hart had to serve a stop go penalty.
Rudd and Randaccio both had spells in front, before Mailer led again out of Druids on lap 80, with Rudd down to third, as Belshaw, Butterworth and Weatherill held onto the rest of the top six places.
It was still close at the front and Rudd opted to make his final stop early, “I made the right call, it was clean and fast and I think it was my best stint in Fun Cup,”he said.
Over the next five laps the others made their stops, but Phillips had the lead from Farquini, Wilson, Butterworth, Chris Hart and Walton.
With 15 minutes on the clock Phillips’ lead was 5.359 secs over Farquini, but both Wilson and Butterworth were closing. Hart and Walton were having a duel for fifth too, swapping and changing, until Evans split them on lap 94.
Wilson managed to oust Farquini from second into Lodge on lap 97 and began to eat into Phillips’ lead.
At the flag as they completed 101 laps, and Wilson had reduced Olympian’s winning margin to just 1.784 secs. “I didn’t like being chased,” Phillips admitted, as Olympian GRD made it three in arow.
But Sherardize’s Belshaw and Wilson were a solid second, with UVIo Hofmann’s in third. “I damaged the splitter on a marker in my first stint and that really hurt our pace,” said Farquini.
GCI’s Wood and Butterworth retained a clear fourth, with Evans sealing fifth for AxiaMetrics. “We had a bad misfire in my stint like having Kangaroo fuel,” said team Weatherill. “Don’t think I ever made so many passes as I did today,” Perrott added.
Hart hit trouble on the final lap and dropped from sixth has he limped home, which moved Clutton up in the Signature RV car. Bradbury was still classified seventh for Vapeclub EDF but stopped just after the line. “I lost gears on the last lap and it kept cutting out on me, so we just made it,” Bradbury explained.
Walton/Mailer, Croydon/Matt Larbey and Bate/Turner completed the top 10, with Olympian GRD, Sherardize and AxiaMetrics the Masters top three.
It’s a short break now to Anglesey on June 7th for our double header into the night races.
https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=BRSCC/2025/251931rc1fun.pdf
Published by Peter Scherer for Fun Cup Endurance, May 13th 2025
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