Oulton Park is all set to host rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend. Following the first four events of the 2024 season, the championship is shaping up to be as close as ever as the series heads into its last races before the summer break.
Nestled in the Cheshire countryside, Oulton Park remains one of the most historic and picturesque circuits in Britain. Its motorsport heritage goes back to 1953 when the original track layout was designed by the Mid-Cheshire Car Club.
Oulton Park has been a firm fixture on the BTCC schedule since 1960, and is one of the most popular venues on the calendar for fans and spectators, particularly with its June date.
This weekend’s tyre allocation
Goodyear has nominated the soft and hard tyre compounds for Oulton Park, denoted by white and red sidewalls respectively. One set of yellow-branded medium tyres will also be available to drivers for Saturday’s free practice sessions only.
Drivers will run the soft during qualifying and two of Sunday’s races, while the hard tyre will be used once by each driver. Those on the soft tyre during race one must use the hard tyre in race two if they finish inside the top ten.
Previous rounds have provided an added layer of intrigue when multiple compounds have been in use. Drivers on the soft tyre could find more than a second per lap advantage in the early stages of the race, but will need to strategically choose when to manage the pace as the race progresses.
Michael Butler, Goodyear’s BTCC Event Leader, comments on the strategy at Oulton Park: “These races will be the first time this year we’ve had the soft-hard combination. For drivers at the sharp end, the toughest decision will be whether to run the hard in race one and wait for the performance advantage in race two or start aggressive with a soft.”
“We’re proud of the performance this season, as demonstrated last time in Thruxton, where we saw flat out racing on the most difficult circuit of the season for tyres. Nonetheless, teams will need to find a setup that balances getting the hard tyres fired up and takes care of the soft if they’re to have an advantage over rivals. As with every BTCC round, every second counts.”, Butler adds.
