Rolling Start for Mickel Motorsport at Oulton Park

Press Release 21^st March 2018

John Mickel #4 – K-Seal

John Mickel returned to the track in his re livered #4 K-Seal machine to defend his 2017, UK record third title over the course of 9 weekends throughout 2018.

Paul Simmons #51 - Baileigh Industrial Ltd

Experienced Legends Driver, Paul Simmons returns in the #51 black and perfectly fabricated Baileigh Industrial UK machine.

Mike Schlup #3 – K-Seal Guest Driver

Mike Schlup, MD of K-Seal, returns to increase his experience in Legends Racing in his #4 reversed livery car.

Round 1

With snow impeding the racing all day, the opening round saw gloomy skies and a slippery cold and wet track. Visibility was low and drivers were forced to wipe snow from their visors.

John Mickel showed his legendary race craft throughout the day hitting the front of the pack on every race, but the wet conditions favoured the other driver’s set ups. Despite a red flag stoppage following a roll on corner 1 of race 1, John still managed to clinch a 2^ndplace finish. He drove hard to finish 5^th in race 2 which saw two yellow flag stoppages and despite a surge through the pack from 22^nd position on the start grid, he finished 6^th in the Final, with just 1.8 seconds dividing the top 9 drivers over the finish line.

This places him in 4^th position in the Championship after the completion of Round 1. The points, however are very tight and with 8 weekends, 16 race days and 48 races still left to run, with up to 200 points per race on offer, this is a solid start for the him.

The #51 mean, black, Baileigh machine looked fast on track. With the very wet conditions, Paul got to grips with the car and took a very respectable 11^th and 7^th place finish in the opening two races and 10^th in the Final. These solid performances leave Paul positioned 8^th in the UK Championship standings.

Mike Schlup, in the #3 new blue and orange livery K-Seal Legend, tested the limits of his car right from the outset giving him a 16^thin race 1, a DNF in race 2 and a 26^th in the very hectic Final. Mike now stands in a very respectable 20^th place in the Championship with 29 drivers contesting for the points.

Championship Points after Round 1

Position	Driver	Points
1	Jack Parker – 13	540
2	Will Gibson – 57	500
3	Steve Whitelegg – 66	490
4	John Mickel – 4	485
5	Miles Rudman – 7	460
6	Ben Power – 55	390
7	Connor Mills – 82	355
8	Paul Simmons – 51	330
8	Neil Shenton – 35	330
10	Sean Smith – 21	295
11	Marcus Pett – 79	240
11	John Patterson – 73	240
13	Nathan Antony – 29	230
14	Sy Harraway (r) – 83	180
15	Sebastien Kluyskens – 17	175
16	Giles Verleyen – 33	130
17	Robert King – 74	110
18	Rickie Leggatt – 26	80
19	Stephen Treherne – 12	70
20	Mike Schlup – 3	65
21	James Hall-Morton (r) – 32	60
22	Paul Simkiss – 99	50
23	Bill Read – 67	30
24	Miikka Riihimaa – 113	25
24	Jonty Norman – 43	25
24	Nick Bridgeman – 68	25
27	Phil Turner (r) – 247	15
27	Nic Grout – 44	15
29	Jean Michel Poncelet – 65	0
	Matthew Pape – 24	0 Not in championship
	Guy Fastres – 48	0 Not in championship
	Gerard McCosh – 69	0 Not in championship