After two disappointing results at Brands Hatch and Mallory Park had interrupted his charge to the 2006 Club F3 Championship title, Shane Kelly reasserted himself has the man to beat with a well earned victory at Oulton Park on Saturday (23rd September).

With just 6 points in hand over his only remaining rival for the Championship (Jon Gray), the battle for pole position (and the 2 bonus points that accompany it) was as intense as it had ever been during qualifying. Shane was quick out of the blocks and he held provisional pole with just five minutes of the session remaining. As the clock ticked down, Gray set a faster time to take the top spot. As Shane made an attempt to regain the position on his final flying lap, the yellow caution flags flew at the final corner to protect two drivers who had spun. This meant Shane had to abandon his quickest lap, handing the pole to Gray and leaving him 3rd on the grid behind Stuart Gough who would start 2nd.

As the race got underway, Gray led from Kelly who made a good start to gain a place by the first corner, and they both pulled away from the field until Ken Finneran spun on the eighth lap. He was collected by Keith Baldwin, bringing out the red flags and stopping the race.

The re-started race would be run over just 10 laps, with Gray again starting from pole and Shane now alongside him on the front row.

As the red lights went out for a second time, Shane made a perfect get-away and he led Gray into the first corner. As before, the two Championship protagonists left the field trailing in their wake. Now in front Shane was able to dictate the pace and he began to pull away from Gray, setting the fastest race lap (and earning 2 all-important bonus points) as he did so. As the chequered flag flew after 10 laps, Shane took the victory by 6 seconds from Gray and by over 20 seconds from 3rd placed man Stuart Gough.

The win and fastest lap mean that Shane has increased his lead to 9 points with just one more round remaining at Thruxton on Sunday. Having tested at Thruxton earlier in the year, Shane is confident that his team will be able to give him a car with which he can challenge for another race win to seal the title. However his win at Oulton Park provides him with a cushion and he knows that should Gray win the race at Thruxton, a top 5 finish for Shane would be enough to take the crown.

Shane's thoughts on the Oulton Park race: "It seemed that the pressure was on me this weekend, at the very least I had to maintain my championship lead. I didn't spend much time thinking about it; instead I focused on doing the job in qualifying and then the race."

"We spent a good day testing on Friday, during which my race engineer and I found the sweet spot with the setup in both wet and dry conditions. This gave us all the confidence we needed heading into qualifying."

"After holding provisional pole position for most of qualifying I ended up in 3rd on the grid as I was unlucky to find yellow flags on both of my final flying laps."

"My first start was really good and I only just missed out on taking the lead by the first corner. When the race was stopped I knew that starting from 2nd, I had a good chance of taking the lead."

"My second start was even better and I built a good lead on the first lap, once in front the car was perfect and I was able to run at my own pace. The fastest lap was really useful as it effectively cancels out the points Jon gained over me for pole!"

"I couldn't really have asked for any more from this weekend.... Apart from that pole position I suppose!!!"