An interview with Paul O’Neill

Before the action got underway at Oulton Park last weekend for the annual visit of the British Touring Car Championship, I spoke to local driver Paul O’Neill about his own personal memories of Oulton Park and what he believes that most drivers love about racing around the circuit.

AF: Paul, it’s been three years since you last drove at Oulton in the BTCC. How much do you wish you were back out there again?

PO’N: I’ll be honest I didn’t even realise it had been that long. I think the first year I really missed it as it was the first time for a long time that I didn’t have a drive in the BTCC so it hurt a little bit. The second year I didn’t miss it as much as at that point I’d started doing stuff for ITV so even though I wasn’t racing I was still part of it which wasn’t too bad, but I think this year I really do miss it again, especially when you look at the sheer size of the grid and the fact you’ve got 7 champions all competing on the same piece of tarmac. I could be back out there at some stage but I don’t know anything of that at the moment so we’ll just have to wait and see.

AF: What’s been your best moment at Oulton on your home track?

PO’N: I think the obvious choice there is back in 2002 during the second race when I took my first ever win, that was a huge moment for me and my career, and it’s something that’ll always stick in my mind, especially in front of the local fans, but I do have some other good memories of this track over the years, there’s been different moments which I’ll remember such as various overtakes and moves on people so Oulton holds a lot of memories for me, but I do have to say my best one will always be my first ever win.

AF: What is it about Oulton that drivers love the most?

PO’N: It’s a real driver’s track; it throws up a number of unique challenges, like Druids corner for example, plus the number of undulations which makes it interesting for both the drivers and the spectators. From a personal perspective, it’s my home track and every driver loves racing at their home venue, especially due to the crowds, the fans at Oulton Park are always great to be around, there’s a brilliant atmosphere and they all seem really knowledgeable and know their stuff when it comes to the BTCC.

AF: Who do you think will be the big winners at Oulton this weekend?

PO’N: Well as a said before it is a real driver’s track, and it really separates the men from the boys. I think that on the whole it’ll be the more experienced guys that will be the most successful this weekend, the likes of Jordan, Shedden, Plato, Neal, even Alain Menu could have a chance of getting some good results around here, but I think all of them are very experienced guys, Jordan of course is reigning champion and he normally does well around here but we’ll see how it goes.

AF: Which driver has impressed you most so far this season?

PO’N: I think for me Jordan has been very impressive so far. I know he’s the reigning champion and there’s that added expectation to perform well but he’s done that successfully this year, he’s really showing that not only can he win the championship, but that he has a chance of doing it again and again by getting very strong results which is what makes a very good driver, proving to the fans as well as yourself that you have the capability to go out and successfully defend the championship.  

Written and interviewed by Alan Faulkner
Photo credit: Alan Faulkner