Race Report: 31st May 2025 at Oulton Park International

Event: Armed Forces Race Challenge – 750 Motor Club Race Meeting

Location: Oulton Park International

Date: 31st May 2025

Series: Armed Forces Race Challenge

Class: D

Car: Citroen Saxo VTS

Qualifying

Lee Kenealy

Position: P22

Best Lap Time: 2:17.080

Highlights:

TIMESTAMP 09:46:31.858: Green Flag

TIMESTAMP 10:01:30.381: Session Finish

Race 1

Starting Position: P22

Highlights:

TIMESTAMP 12:33:31.936: Green Flag

TIMESTAMP 12:39:28.530: Session Finish

Race 1 Results

Laps Completed: 3

Final Position: P13 (2nd in Class)

Time: 6:55.966

Gap: 59.372

Best Lap Time: 2:14.053

Race 2 Summary

Starting Position: P21

Highlights:

TIMESTAMP 16:00:50.885: Green Flag

TIMESTAMP 16:22:13.083: Session Finish

Race 2 Results

Laps Completed: 10

Final Position: P18 (2nd in Class)

Time: 22:31.892

Gap: +1 Lap

Best Lap Time: 2:11.822

Incidents and Penalties

Race 1

Incidents

None

Penalties

None

Race 2

Incidents

None

Penalties

None

Analysis and Team Comments

Team Analysis

“The team were thrilled to be back at Oulton Park’s, eager to see how Bari would perform in better conditions than the last round at Donnington.

Oulton has more undulations in the circuit, and Kenealy reported the car felt unsettled. Minor setup changes largely resolved the issue, though lap times were 9 seconds off Kenealy’s best at the teams last visit to Oulton in the other Saxo.

Race 1 began well, and despite a red flag forcing a restart, Lee showed real determination, battling for 13th overall. The car performed better, responding well to the changes and proving to be a competitive package. Race 2 was steadier, with Lee pushing hard to close the gap to the front, demonstrating consistent improvement in lap times throughout the day.

The results speak for themselves – two second-place finishes and a car that behaved itself well.
The progress made over the weekend is a testament to both Lee’s skill behind the wheel and the team’s dedication to refining Bari’s setup.

The team as a whole continues to prove themselves competent and talented, including the newest addition of Callum, who was the photographer for this weekend. Big thank you as usual to him, Mel for providing the mechanical support that kept the car together, and everyone else who keeps the team running.

Lee Kenealy

“It was great to be back at Oulton Park, and racing on the International Circuit, my favourite circuit in the UK. The last time we were here, I raced in Addie, in the 750MC Allcomers race against Alfa Romeo’s in their championship. This time, I raced in Bari. Despite Bari also being a Saxo, they are set-up very differently and it was always going to be interesting to see how Bari handled around the circuit.

This weekend was about gaining some confidence in the car in better track and weather conditions than the last race at Donington Park.

Qualifying was challenging, while getting used to the car at a different circuit. The car felt unsettled at this circuit with more undulations than the last, but some fettling with tyre pressures before Race 1 resolved a lot of the issue.

I had a good start in Race 1, which put me in a great position for the first corner. Due to a red flag about two-thirds of the race in, meant a re-grid and restart with 6 minutes remaining. On re-start, I had a great battle for 13th overall, with Sean Graham in his Class B Sultan Locust, with me securing my place at Druids with an outside overtake.

Race 2 was a less eventful than the first race, no red flags, and we all settled into our positions quickly. I tried my hardest to catch up with Sean again, but just couldn’t make the time back up.

Driving the car in ideal temperature conditions for tyre grip was great, and allowed some real progression in my lap times throughout the day – I had a great time.

This weekend, saw me bring home 2nd in class twice – so very successful in my eyes. Looking forward to the rest of the season as usual, lots of progress made this weekend, and more to come.

Big thank you to the team again for all the support, mechanical and otherwise, including our newest member and photographer Callum from Cday Shots”

With Thanks To

A massive thank you to all those who worked to organise the event, Event Marshalls, and the other teams present, for a fantastic day of racing; as well as to our own team members including:

Lee Kenealy [Driver]

Mel Higgins [Mechanical Support]

Laura Evans [Social Media Manager]

Leah Halsey [Presenter and Social Media Content Creator]

Katrina Muhsin [Presenter and Social Media Content Creator]

Sasha Wynn [Web Content Manager and Writer]

Also with many thanks to our Partners and other businesses who are supporting what we do:

Stormvault UK

Ninety2 Automotive

Abraham Fernández [Photographer and Videographer]

Harriet Bluett – HD Media [Photographer and Videographer]

Callum Day [Photographer and Videographer]

Powerflex

RamAir

And our supporters:

And of course, our friends and family who were able to join us in-person and online worldwide.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Doris Archer Motorsport

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading