A COOL head in a scorching Fiesta Challenge race gave Richard Casey a well-deserved victory at Oulton Park, writes NEIL JOHNSON.

The Whalley-based driver executed a brave overtaking manoeuvre on the inside of the high-speed Cascades corner to take the laurels - and extend his lead in the hotly-contested championship .

Casey emphasised his current dominant form when he put his immaculately-prepared, Yorkshire Panelcraft-backed XR2 on pole position by over a second, with less than one-and-a-half seconds between the next six drivers.

But a missed gear on the startline handed the advantage to close rival Wayne Stockton who grabbed the lead with Casey following in his tyre tracks.

With little to separate the leading trio, Casey took the initiative in a daring move on the second lap.

He explained: "I knew I had to get past him somehow, and decided to go for it at Cascades.

"It was bit of a do-or-die effort, and we ended up going past on two wheels and taking out all the cones, but at least we made it!

"It was fantastic to win, especially at Oulton which is my favourite circuit." The popular XR2 Challenge - open to production cars running on Yokohama 'control' tyres - lived up to its reputation for close, exciting racing at the Cheshire track.

Second-placed Tony Mumford crashed out at Fosters, and the ensuing battle between early leader Stockton and Oliver Morley ended in tears on lap nine of the 12-lap race.

Going into Fosters, Morley collected Stockton in the side, putting himself into a huge barrel roll which wrecked his car and brought out the red flags.

The race results were declared according to positions on the last complete lap, handing victory to Casey, with the now-sidelined Stockton and Morley placed second and third. The result gives Casey - who has three wins under his belt already this season - a 20-point lead over Stockton with just five rounds to go, starting at Ty Croes, Anglesey, this weekend.

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