Official Race Report from Paul Lawrence

Morris on top at Oulton Park

Peter Morris was unstoppable at Oulton Park in round eight of the Michelin Porsche Club Championship on Saturday (31 July). With team mate Chris Egginton absent, Morris took his Team GVR 968CS to victory from pole position as Tom Segrue (944S2) and Fraser Robertson (944) clinched class victories.

An excellent 21-car field assembled for a single race on the Island circuit at Oulton as the second half of the championship season kicked off. With Egginton away on business, Morris was determined to score maximum points and duly took pole by more than a second as a mighty performance from Segrue put his class two car into second slot on the grid.

"I like Oulton Park; it's one of my favourites," said Morris. His main class one rival was Ian White (3.2 Carrera) in third and White went into the race knowing that the start would be decisive. "My best chance is to get ahead of Peter off the grid. The race will be won on the first lap," he predicted.

Mike Clapham (968CS) was a strong fourth from class two runners Richard Lambert (Carrera 3) and Rob Williams (Carrera), while Robertson topped class three but only by a tiny fraction from Ian Oliver (911E). Making a welcome return to racing was Barrie Maskell (Carrera 3), who was out for the first time in 2004. "I was determined to race as a pensioner in a wheelchair," said Barrie, who celebrated his 65th birthday over the winter!

White's hopes of beating Morris away were dashed when the 968 got a decent start and led the pack into Old Hall. "I had a reasonable start, but so did Pete," admitted White. Further back there was some contact and it was Mark Rogers (911SC) who came off worst, having to pull off at Cascades with a rear puncture.

Up front, Morris immediately pulled out a margin over White as Segrue slotted into a class-leading third. Lambert initially beat Clapham away, but the 968 moved ahead mid-race to take fourth. Meanwhile, having been delayed in the first corner tangle, Adam Egar (911SC) was another man on the move and would eventually finished seventh after dropping to 15th on the opening lap.

At the head of the field, Morris was in control, but was finding it far from easy. "There was a lot of oil from Island onwards and I couldn't get on the racing line," he said. With White only a couple of seconds behind, Morris could never relax and after more than 25 minutes of racing the gap was less than three seconds. "I was hoping he'd get tied up in traffic," admitted White. "But I was pleased to be so close to him at the end of the race."

Segrue turned in a faultless drive to take a clear class two victory and a fine third overall, well clear of Clapham as Lambert took fifth from Rob Williams. "I couldn't keep up with Tom," accepted Lambert. Egar's fighting recovery drive earned him seventh and fourth in class two while Robertson added another class three victory with a commanding drive.

Series newcomer James Clare (924S) was a strong second in class three but one of the battles of the race raged over fourth in class behind Oliver. Chris Stewart and David Fissenden spent the whole race battling in their 911Es and at the flag Stewart got the place by little more than a second.

Richard Lambert's story

Brakes and more brakes

It had been six weeks since the last meeting at Snetterton and my car had spent most of the time on its trailer in the garage. I decided it was best for JAZ to give it a once over which they did and other than new front pads everything was fine.
Off to Oulton for testing on Friday afternoon, it was the first time I had used the Island circuit and like many others found it difficult to get to grips with braking for the new hairpin. This circuit is all about brakes and the Carrera 3 has only got little diddy ones so all the stopping was taking its toll. After testing I needed to replace the rear discs and pads ready for qualifying the next day.

Qualifying
We woke up to rain but fortunately the sun soon came out and we had a dry session. Qualifying was very frustrating, traffic and other drivers who stupidly wanted to race meant I only had one decent lap. I finished qualifying very annoyed, thinking I would be way down in the order. I was very surprised to find I was 2nd in class and 5th on the grid. Tom Segrue in his 944S2 was first in my class and on the front row of the grid.

I didn't need to do anything to the car so had some lunch and waited for the race.
It turned out to be a very hot day, not ideal for donning a 3 layer race suite, gloves and a helmet but. I had a water bottle in the car so at least I would have something to drink.

The race
Sitting on the grid with two 968's and a 944S2 in front I figured that Ian White in his 3.2 Carrera and I would be able to forge to the front but unfortunately Pete Morris in his 968 and Tom both made great starts and stayed in the lead. I passed Mike Clapham in the other 968 and then Ian passed Tom to move into 2nd. I tagged onto the back of the S2 and tried to keep up. Whilst I had the straight line speed, I didn't have the brakes compared to the S2 with its ABS so started to drop back. Mike caught me and I let him pass hoping he would pressurise Tom into an error but it wasn't to be.
After some early pressure from Rob Williams behind me he dropped back and I just concentrated on keeping up the pace and getting to the end. A few near misses with David Botterill's 924 Carrera which was slowly lapping with a flat tyre and an accident between another S2 and a 911 kept things interesting.
I ended up finishing 2nd in class and 5th overall which was a satisfactory result. I will have to get a lot more wins though if I want to win the overall championship from the team GVR 968's.

The car is running beautifully and all it needs is a clean before the next race meeting at Brands Hatch.