Official Race Report from Paul Lawrence

Firman and Chamberlain take Open wins

Henry Firman and Richard Chamberlain shared the wins in the Michelin Porsche Open Series during the final two races of the season at Donington Park over the weekend (23/24 October).

Race one

The opening race of the weekend on Saturday ran in truly dreadful conditions as heavy rain left the track awash. However, in trouble even before the grid was Chamberlain (935) after a wheel worked loose on the way from the assembly area. They quickly re-fitted it, but the wheel had been damaged and worked loose again after a couple of laps.

Also in trouble was Rupert Lewin (996 GT2R) who was first to find the river across the track at the Old Hairpin and slithered into the gravel on the green flag lap. Unfortunately, the first lap of the race netted the same result!

Instead, it was Rod Carman (911GT3 Cup) who set a cracking pace over the opening laps, only to spin on the run to McLeans and retire. Next, Paul Livesey (911GT2) took up the running but took to the chicane escape road and allowed Firman (911GT3 Cup) through into the lead, which he held to the flag.

"It was really soaking wet, but the biggest problem was visibility," said Firman after his debut race victory. "I enjoyed that; I don’t mind the rain. But once you are ahead, it's still quite hard knowing how hard to push!"

Livesey recovered to second while third went to racing newcomer Philip Taysom after a tremendous drive in the Trakshare 911GT3 Cup. Paul Howells (993 Supercup) was an excellent class-winning fourth, while one of the drives of the race came from Tim Bevan who pushed his class four winning 944 into a remarkable fifth overall!

Race two

The track was dry, but rain was threatening as the field assembled for the second race on Sunday afternoon. With Chamberlain, Lewin and Carman all at the back of the grid, the start was very busy, but everyone got safely through Redgate for the first time.

Firman grabbed the early lead, but like Lewin, he had made what proved to be the wrong tyre choice as the rain never materialised. "I took a gamble on intermediates and on the green flag lap I thought it was the right call," explained Lewin.

However, the track stayed dry and it was Chamberlain who rocketed to the front of the pack, taking the lead from Firman under braking for Coppice on the second lap.

Once ahead, Chamberlain blitzed the field to win by more than a lap. Lewin, struggling with overheating rear tyres, salvaged second as Livesey took another strong result in third.

Carman, having scythed impressively through the pack on the opening lap after a monster start, claimed a class-winning fourth despite a brush with a backmarker. Howells added another class three win, while class four fell to Alex Eacock (944) but only after a spirited battle with James Clare (924S).