Sukaru pair Alec Livesley and Adam Bessell were left feeling ‘a bit gutted’ with second place after narrowly missing out on victory at the Five Hours of Oulton Park, the fifth round of the EnduroKA championship.
The round-one winners battled rivals MilnAir Racing throughout the day, but the safety cars ultimately proved their downfall.
Their weekend started strongly, as the #555 outfit led the majority of the 45-minute qualifying session on Saturday morning before MilnAir snatched pole by just 0.055 seconds. With the two winners of this season starting on the front row, a close battle at the front looked set for the main event.
As the Five Hours of Oulton Park got underway, Livesley gave Sukaru the lead into Turn One after making a move down the inside of pole-sitter Declan McDonnell. He held the lead through the opening stages before MilnAir overtook him at the first safety car restart.
When the second safety car came out around the half-hour mark, both leaders opted to make their first pit stop. Sukaru pitted once, while MilnAir used the opportunity to make two stops.
The third safety car then came out, prompting Sukaru to make the late call to pit. However, the race resumed just one lap later, leaving the team almost a lap behind the field.
Speaking after the race, the pair said to BMM, “We lost a load of time when we pit-stopped. I think we should have done it a lap earlier. We didn’t have time to catch back [to the rest of the field] on track. It was just a lap out.”
The rest of their race centred around making up for lost time. Bessell’s long stint saw him climb back up the order and, when Livesley returned to the car, he continued his teammate’s hard work.
They eventually secured a well-earned second-place finish, but Bessell couldn’t help reflecting on what could have been after the chequered flag.
He said, “The race was good but we were a bit gutted with second place to be honest. Me and Alec are never happy with second.”
The team has confirmed that they will compete at the final round of the season at Brands Hatch. With Livesley absent, Bessell told BMM he will look to bring some ‘super-duper drivers’ into the team as they aim to end their 2026 campaign on a high.
Read the full race report here.
Main image: Michael Jolley
