A Weekend to Forget at Croft, but Positives to Remember

It was a challenging weekend for Immico Racing’s Paul Oggelsby at Croft in the Caterham 270R Championship. A missed downshift into Turn 1 during Friday practice resulted in heavy contact and left the car with a bent chassis for the remainder of the weekend. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the RS Motorsport crew, the car was patched up and back on track for the next session.

Determined not to let the setback define the weekend, Oggelsby qualified P6 and battled to a hard earned P4 in Race 1, showing strong pace despite compromised machinery.

“Friday was rough,” Oggelsby admitted. “I was frustrated at myself, but we got back on track. Honestly, considering the condition of the chassis, the pace we had was really encouraging.”

Race 2 highlighted the progress Oggelsby has made in technique and racecraft. After a solid start and challenging for the podium, a late braking move into Tower resulted in contact, dropping him to the back of the field. Undeterred, he fought his way back to P12 with strong lap times before another slice of bad luck, avoiding a driver who missed a gear on the final straight, Oggelsby was forced into the pit wall.

The impact left him with cracked ribs and further car damage, his second race incident this season caused by another driver’s missed shift.

In Race 3, despite nursing rib pain and avoiding curbs where possible, Oggelsby made up five positions in the early laps before a collision with a car behind ending his weekend prematurely.

Yet even in the chaos, there were positives to take. His underlying pace remained competitive, overtaking opportunities were well-executed, and the lessons learned under pressure will be invaluable for the rounds ahead.

“It’s a weekend I’d rather forget in terms of results,” he said, “but the RS Motorsport team did a brilliant job keeping me on track. The pace was there, and I’ve come away with important lessons that’ll make me stronger going forward.”

With the next round at Zandvoort approaching, Oggelsby and the Immico Racing team are fully focused on bouncing back.

Photos credit SnappyRacers