Ross Wylie ended his APR Volkswagen Cup debut at Oulton Park on the highest note possible, taking the second race spoils for Slidesports.
The Scirocco driver started third on the grid behind the SEAT of Peter Wyhinny and Joe Fulbrook’s Bora, Wyhinny the biggest loser at the start as he dropped down to third spot, Fulbrook leading the way initially.
The lead son changed hands as the feisty Wylie had soon grabbed the lead away from him by the time they reached the end of the lap, Wyhinny coming under huge pressure behind them from race one winner Aaron Mason.
Jim Cartwright was right on the tail of the pair with Martin Depper climbing all over the back of him, but his race was over on lap three after contact with Mason at Island Bend left his car firing into the barriers, the safety car coming out to remove the stricken Golf.
After a lengthy delay, the restart saw another big name have problems when Mason lost control of his Scirocco heading through Old Hall corner, a trip through the grass his punishment as he dropped towards the rear of the field.
While Mason began his recovery, James Walker was already in the middle of one of his own, out-braking many cars on his from 19th into the top 10 by dispatching the likes of Josh Caygill and Philip Morris.
Wylie’s pace at the front was enough to extend his lead gap of the Bora of Fulbrook, Depper meanwhile now all over the back of Wyhinny for third, Phil House joining them with a sequence of quick laps.
As the field started the last lap, House looked ready to launch an attack for the podium, but he left the road at Brittens chicane, ending the double champion’s race prematurely.
Wylie crossed the line first for a maiden VW Cup win to the delight of the Slidesports team, Fulbrook finishing less than two seconds behind, while the experienced Wyhinny managed to fend off Depper for the final rostrum place.
Fifth went the way of a star performer from the day, David Sutton, the Team HARD scholarship winner rewarding Tony Gilham’s team with a top-five finish ahead of Alex Dziurzynski.
Walker’s charge was rewarded with seventh place, while Mason meanwhile made his way back up to eighth place by the flag after an eventful race with late passes on Andy Wilmot, Morris and Caygill.
