Heats
1963 Snetterton Lomb 
  Go 1964 Oulton Park 
1963 Goodwood 
Back to index page

Oulton Park Spring Meeting

Oulton Park, Great Britain

Date: 6/4/1963
Track length: 4.443 m
Attendance:
Entries accepted:
Starters:
Finishers:

Pole position:
Fastest lap: Hill in 1.59,0 = 134,42 kmh

Distance: 19 laps
Average speed: 133,17 kmh
Weather: Dry
Ruleset: Group 2
Car info: 1963 Cars

 

At the fall of the flag the Jaguars of Roy Salvadori and Mike Salmon had the best of the start and Salmon got his nose in front at the first corner and led the opening lap from Salvadori and Graham Hill. The first three rows of the starting grid were where they ought to be, six Jaguars leading Alan Hutcheson's Riley which had the works Rapiers of Peters Harper and Procter in hot pursuit, then John Whitmore's Austin Cooper leading the babies. Next up, however, from the back row, came a very determined Jack Sears in a Willment-entered Cortina which was to provide the sensation of the race.
On lap 2 Roy Salvadori took the lead and Graham Hill squeezed inside Salmon at Lodge, while Jimmy Blumer's Cortina apparently went grazing. Two laps later, Bill Aston's Jaguar retired to the pits, Paddy Hopkirk mounted an assault on Christabel Carlisle who was tailing Whitmore, and Jack Sears began to get among the works Rapiers. Jack's team-mate, Jeff Uren was out with a broken gearbox, and the Hopkirk Mini has a minor adventure due to a locking brake.
Jimmy Blumer's Cortina was going strong again, but a lap adrift. At 11 laps, Graham Hill began a serious bid for the lead, which he took at Knicker Brook on the 13th, and Jack Sears, having disposed of both of the works Rapiers, was involved in a titanic struggle with Hutcheson's Riley which was going as never before. At lodge corner on the 12th lap Mike Salmon's Jaguar sheared a rear hub and spun frighteningly to rest on the outside of the corner, immobile with its tail sticking out into the track. The obstruction proved something of a hazard to the Hutcheson/Sears battle which, with the world Champion firmly established at the head of the field, held the eyes of everyone. Twice the Ford came under the Bailey Bridge in the lead and braked at what seemed the last possible moment, only to be passed by a blue bullet which somehow contrived to negotiate the difficult corner under full control. This was the sequence of events on the final lap and it seemed that Jack's bid had finally failed until an excited shout from the finishing line announced that he had somehow got the Ford's nose in front by inches as they took the flag.
At scrutineering after the race, Salvadori's car was found to have oversize wheel rims and his second place was disqualified.
Source: Autosport

Class A-D
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1   John Coombs
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Graham Hill, GB
 3781 L6 D 19 laps, 38.02,0     1.59,0  
DSQ     Tommy Atkins
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Roy Salvadori, GB
 3781 L6 D 19       Oversized rims
2 2   Park Garage (Watford) Ltd.
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Chris McLaren, GB
 3781 L6 D 18        
3 3    
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Mike Pendleton, GB
 3781 L6 D 18        
4 1   John Willment Automobiles
Ford Cortina GT		 Jack Sears, GB
 1498 L4 B 18     2.07,6  
5 2    
Riley 1.5		 Alan Hutcheson, GB
 1489 L4 B          
  3   Sunbeam Talbot Ltd
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Peter Harper, GB
 1592 L4 B          
  1 127 Cooper Car Co.
Austin Mini Cooper		 John Whitmore, GB
 997 L4 B 18        
  2   Don Moore
Austin Mini Cooper		 Christabel Carlisle, GB
 997 L4 B       2.11,2  
  3   Westover Racing
Morris Mini Cooper		 Edward Lewis, GB
 997 L4 B          
      Sunbeam Talbot Ltd
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Peter Procter, GB
 1592 L4 B          
      Alan Andrews racing
Ford Cortina GT		 Jimmy Blumer, GB
 1498 L4 B          
      Cooper Car Co.
Morris Mini Cooper		 Paddy Hopkirk, IRL
 997 L4 B          
DNF   106 Atherstone Engineering
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Mike Salmon, GB
 3781 L6 D 11       Axle sheared
DNF     Team Tourist Trophy
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Bill Aston, GB
 3781 L6 D          
DNF     John Willment Automobiles
Ford Cortina GT		 Jeff Uren, GB
 1498 L4 B         Gearbox