OULTON WIN PUTS CHAMPIONSHIP TILT BACK ON TRACK

Matty remains in Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship contention following rounds five and six of the 2022 season, after a subdued Saturday gave way to a spectacular Sunday at Oulton Park.

The 26-year-old built steadily into the event over the course of the week with a pre-event test on the Wednesday prior, followed by the traditional pair of practice sessions on Friday afternoon.

Culminating with the fastest time in the final session, Matty headed into an early qualifying on Saturday morning feeling comfortable in the car and confident about his pace.

The half-hour grid-setting session proved to be anything but straightforward however, with heavy traffic throughout compromising attempts to set competitive times.

Those issues were compounded as a pair of quick laps were made null and void for track limits infractions, leaving Matty well down the order as the clock ticked over to ten minutes remaining.

Needing to be quick but accurate with his lines too, Matty was finally able to find a gap in the closing moments and set a time good enough for sixth on the race one gird.

On a narrow circuit where overtaking is at a premium, progress was always going to be dependent on the start and Matty was once again quick off his marks as he vaulted past Redline Racing team-mate Micah Stanley on the run down to turn one.

The race was barely a lap old when it was neutralised with an early safety car after a crash at the Hislops’ chicane and when barrier repairs took longer than usual, the decision to red flag the race was taken.

Switching to a 10-lap sprint, there were limited changes to the order though Matty was able to preserve his fifth on the road to take a handful of precious points, but more significantly pole position for race two following the reverse grid draw.

Needing to convert that starting spot into a strong result to maintain pace with the championship leaders, Matty delivered an almost faultless drive.

Getting cleanly away from the start, he steadily built his advantage with a series of quick laps in the opening stages before setting the fastest of the entire race at the end of lap four.

Untroubled for the lead throughout, Matty really made his pace count when second placed Charles Rainford came under sustained pressure from championship leader Kiern Jewiss.

With the number 99’s driver focused on his mirrors rather than keeping pace with the leader, Matty built up a near six second gap by the chequered flag to take maximum points from the race and cut the gap to the top of the standings from eight points to five.

Heading to Knockhill in Scotland for rounds seven and eight of the season at the end of July, Matty will be aiming to continue his rediscovered momentum at the track where he scored his first Porsche Carrera Cup victory back in 2020.