True to expectations, a crowd of thousands filled every corner of the prestigious Brands Hatch circuit over the weekend 4th/5th November to witness the thrills and spills of the final meeting in the 2006 British Championship season.
The beautiful late autumn sunshine and crisp air served to enhance the friendly tension between the teams who were determined to pull out all the stops and grasp the best of those final points on the Championship table. After the previous meeting at Pembrey, nothing could be guaranteed, with top places in both classes within reach of several of the drivers, including Team Oliver MAN driver, Stuart.
The qualifying race on the Saturday morning came to a halt when Terry Gibbon (Volvo White) and Garry George (Foden) left the track. After the restart it was Chris Levett (MAN TGA) who crossed the finish line first, just 25 thousandths of a second ahead of reigning Champion Ross Garrett (Foden), with Stuart achieving a very acceptable fourth position.
In the first Championship race disaster struck early for Stuart whose brakes failed, sending him across the gravel and into the tyre wall at Paddock Hill Bend. With one less contender, the battle was on between the leaders - Champion Garrett and newcomer Levett. At the chequered flag it was Levett who triumphed, closely followed by Garrett, with Summerfield in third place.
Sadly, Stuart’s MAN had to be recovered from the circuit, but with their usual optimism in such circumstances, Ian, Michael and Rainer set to work immediately to ensure that Stuart would be back in contention the next day.
The result meant that the final round of the Championship on Sunday was to be an exciting one with Stuart only one of the front running drivers going all out for a place on the podium alongside Garrett and Levett. Both Stuart and rival Jenkins started from the back of the grid, but very quickly stormed through, proving just how much power can be achieved by these magnificant machines. By the end of the first lap Stuart was alongside George in eighth place as they crossed the line. His next target, Gibbons, was passed as they put on the power out of Graham Hill Bend and Collett was passed a lap later. By the end of lap four Stuart was up to fifth place, where he remained until the end – not bad going in such a relatively short distance! Once again it was Chris Levett who lifted the first place trophy with Garrett in second place and Summerfield in third.
When the points were totalled for the 2006 British Championship it was confirmed that Ross Garrett had retained his crown with Chris Levett in second place. Stuart completed the 2006 British Championship in third place – a remarkable achievement given that he had been out of racing for a year and had started this season in a truck with reliability problems.
The British Truck Racing season came to an end at Brands Hatch with a thrilling non-championship race around the Indy circuit. With the Championship settled, all the drivers were out to have fun and there was plenty of excitement for the crowd with overtaking and skids at a premium. A delighted Chris Levett crossed the line first to take a triple Brands Hatch victory and Stuart was very happy to finish in fourth place.
The whole event was a highly successful end to the 2006 season, and a tribute to the teams and everyone who had worked so hard to pull it all together.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Stuart flew straight off to Shanghai to oversee the training and final selection of drivers from the China Truck Racing Association who will be taking a team into Europe next year.
:: Pembrey - Wins... Business as usual :: It was ‘business as usual’ for Stuart Oliver at Pembrey last weekend as the MAN driver claimed another two comfortable victories in Class “A” of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship.
:: THE WINNING GOES ON AT THRUXTON :: Last weekend Team Oliver Racing was in action at the high speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.
:: Late Entry to 2010 FIA European Truck Race Championship :: 'astonished at the unsporting actions of a fellow British team entered European Championship as well as the narrow minded, short sighted actions of the FIA truck racing Stewards.
:: Oliver signs off with second Truck Superprix victory :: Stuart Oliver signed off a successful 2009 British Truck Racing Association Championship campaign by clinching his second victory of the weekend at Brands Hatch today (Sunday).
:: OLIVER CLINCHES CROWN WITH THREE WINS :: The second visit of the season to Pembrey produced the usual frantic first-turn action that the Welsh circuit has become renowned for – with the Class ‘A’ races generating some particularly spectacular action.
:: Oliver Wins at Thruxton :: The latest rounds of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship took place at a sunny and warm Thruxton circuit last weekend (August 15/16) – and saw a double win for Stuart Oliver
:: Team Oliver in China :: British Truck Racing drivers Stuart Oliver, Ben Horne and Dave Ball joined Swedish driver Mikael Johansson and Russian Mikhail Konovalov at the finals of the China Truck Racing Championships
:: Most - Czech Republic :: Sunday’s race ended in mechanical failure for Stuart when after a collision he was forced to retire.
:: Race Winning Form at Donington :: Stuart Oliver strengthened his position in the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship to 8 points with two clear wins at Donington Park on 27th July.
:: European Championship - Albacete, Spain :: An enthusiastic Spanish crowd of 20,000, saw Spanish driver Antonio Albacete take his MAN to victory on Sunday (winning both the Qualifying and Championship races).
:: Stuart to drive BTCC :: In what can only be described as the best thing that has happened to BTC Racing in its short history, Stuart Oliver – the 2007 Delphi British Truck Racing Champion – has signed to drive for BTC Racing,
:: Stuart does it for a seventh time!!! :: 2007 Champion Stuart Oliver cemented his title with a dominant victory in the second Class A race of the British Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch.
:: Stuart Oliver wins International Truck Challange :: Torrential rain and floods hit the South of England as teams made their way to the Thruxton rounds of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship.
:: Round 2, Zolder, Belgium :: Stuart Oliver held his eighth place position after the second round of the 2007 European Championship held at the Zolder circuit in Belgium.
:: British Championship Pembrey :: Stuart Oliver – Battles to gain a First Place Finish – Just missed another due to a ‘Racing Incident’
:: Barcelona 2007 :: Team Oliver returned to European racing with good finishes
:: MAN TG-A Complete Outfit FOR SALE! :: Team Oliver will be enhancing the team presence in both the British and European Championships for 2007.
:: Brands Hatch 2006 :: True to expectations, a crowd of thousands filled every corner of the prestigious Brands Hatch circuit over the weekend
:: Team Oliver win win win :: Champion Stuart Oliver (MAN) came back into top form with straight wins in all races and fastest laps to add to his points
:: Brands Hatch – Press Preview By JONATHAN REEVES :: Steve Horne, Stuart Oliver and David Ball had a busy day at Brands Hatch – assisting with a Press ‘preview’ for the forthcoming Truck Superprix, the final event of the 2006 season on November 4/5.
:: Team Oliver - Fastest Drag Race Truck! :: Recently, twelve of the BTRA teams, including Team Oliver, had a weekend away together at the Santa Pod Raceway.
:: Thruxton August 2006 :: Over the weekend of August 5th/6th Team Oliver was at the Thruxton circuit to participate in a weekend of truck racing events, including rounds 6 and 7 of the British Championship
:: Nurburgring - Truck Grand Prix 2006 :: Since Stuart Oliver aired the Team Oliver MAN TGA race truck at the Pembrey circuit in Wales over the Easter weekend, the vehicle has undergone extensive work to bring it back up to competitive racing standards.
:: Pembrey April 2006 :: Easter weekend saw the return of Stuart Oliver to the Truck Racing circuit when he took to the track for the first rounds of the British Championship
:: Stuart Oliver extended his lead.... :: Stuart Oliver extended his lead in the FIA European Truck Racing Cup dominating the first day of action at Alastaro in Finland while Sunday’s races brought success for Jochen Hahn.