|
Official Race Report from Paul Lawrence
Westbrook and Young take Bill Taylor Memorial
The Michelin Porsche Open Series provided the most dramatic action of
the Porsche Festival at Brands Hatch over the Bank Holiday weekend (29/30
August).
Sunday’s hour-long race witnessed the lead change
as rain suddenly fell in the final few laps, handing victory to the hard-charging
Jason Young and Richard Westbrook (911 GT3). Richard Chamberlain (935)
had his revenge for losing out on the win in that race by dominating Monday’s
40-minute race.
Class two wins were shared between the 911GT3 Cup cars
of Craig Rapp and Rod Carman, the duo having a superb battle in the second
race. John Allen and John Bussell (911) combined to win class three in
the one-hour race, while Paul Howells claimed that honour on Monday.
Race one
A superb 29-car field lined up for Sunday’s race,
which incorporated the annual Bill Taylor Memorial Race. Poleman Richard
Chamberlain (935) took control early on, using the prodigious power at
his disposal to quickly open a gap over Rupert Lewin (996GT2R) and Peter
Cook (911 GT2).
Chamberlain was four seconds clear when the safety car
emerged on lap twenty after Piers Maserati (911 GT3) visited the Paddock
Hill gravel. From the restart he rapidly built up his lead again, until
Slim Borgudd in Gerald Harrison’s 911GT3 was the only car on the
same lap. The lead pair pitted on lap 40 with 24 minutes to go, virtually
the last to make a stop, and emerged with the 911GT3 of Carrera Cup racers
Jason Young/Richard Westbrook in second place.
Westbrook was closing, but Josh Sadler in the lead 935
had a ten second lead – until rain started to fall. Westbrook was
on a charge, and closed in his slick-shod car, passing the leader through
McLaren on lap 54. Two laps later the chequered flag flew, four minutes
early, but with a wet rack and the field on slicks it was a sensible decision.
“It’s nice day out for us!” explained
Westbrook. “We fancied our chances round here. When I saw him near
the end I was determined to catch him, and the GT3 was just so good in
the wet – even on slicks.” A disappointed Sadler was another
to praise his car in the conditions: “The 935 was still very driveable,
just progressive understeer.”
Third was a pleasing result for car-owner Harrison and
his Swedish ex-Formula 1 team-mate on their GT3RS's race debut. Cook had
a solo run to take fourth, two laps down, ahead of the Craig Rapp/Robi
Bernberg 911GT3 that won class two and Rod Carman (911 GT3). The John
Allen/John Bussell 911 took class three and ninth overall.
Race two
Chamberlain made up for the disappointment of his near
miss on Sunday with a dominant performance in Monday’s 40-minute
race. His 935 steadily pulled clear at the front, and such was his pace
that by lap ten only six cars were on the lead lap. Chamberlain kept the
Porsche wound up for the whole 40 minutes - completing 49 laps of the
1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
“That wasn’t too bad!” exclaimed Chamberlain
after the race, “it was hot work though, and the speed difference
with some of the back markers made it interesting. It’s good to win
after missing out yesterday.”
Cook was the only driver to stay close to Chamberlain’s
place, taking second after slotting into that position on lap two. “I
knew it would be hard to catch Richard,” he said, “we had the
car set up too stiff and I was struggling for traction, which hurt me
in traffic.”
Lewin held third in the early part of the race before
retiring, which put all the attention on the battle for the final podium
spot between Rapp and Carman. For lap after lap they ran nose to tail
- slicing their way through the back markers - Rapp never offering Carman
an opportunity to get by. On the very final lap a mistake form Rapp into
Surtees saw Carman dive by to lead the final half lap and claim third
and class two victory, two laps down on the leader.
“That was a fantastic race,” said Carman.
“We knew we would be closely matched and agreed to keep it clean,
and with ten minutes to go I thought there was no way past him - I couldn’t
believe it when I saw the chance.”
“I stayed in front of him for all bar the last
half lap - I’m gutted,” said a disappointed Rapp after a mighty
performance. Meanwhile, Paul Howells (993 Cup) came through to finish
eighth and win class three.
| Michelin
Porsche Open Champ incorporating Bill Taylor Memorial Race -
RACE 1 CLASSIFICATION |
| POS |
NO |
CL |
NAME |
NAT |
CAR |
TIME |
LAPS |
GAP |
MPH |
BEST |
| 1 |
11 |
1 |
Young/Westbrook |
|
Porsche
GT3 |
56:34.833 |
63 |
|
81.93 |
48.902 |
| 2 |
5 |
1 |
Chamberlain/Sadler |
|
Porsche
935 |
56:40.911 |
63 |
6.078 |
81.79 |
47.664 |
| 3 |
9 |
1 |
Harrison/Borgudd |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 RS |
57:36.133 |
62 |
1
LAP |
79.20 |
49.756 |
| 4 |
56 |
1 |
Cook |
|
Porsche
993 GT2 |
57:02.324 |
60 |
3
LAPS |
77.41 |
48.393 |
| 5 |
19 |
2 |
Rapp/Bemberg |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
57:18.139 |
60 |
3
LAPS |
77.05 |
51.820 |
| 6 |
3 |
2 |
Carman |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
57:01.061 |
59 |
4
LAPS |
76.15 |
51.368 |
| 7 |
16 |
1 |
Lewin |
|
Porsche
996 GT2R |
57:25.765 |
59 |
4
LAPS |
75.60 |
49.247 |
| 8 |
77 |
1 |
MacKenzie |
|
Porsche
965 |
58:03.286 |
59 |
4
LAPS |
74.78 |
51.517 |
| 9 |
79 |
3 |
Allen/Bussell |
|
Porsche
911 |
56:49.877 |
58 |
5
LAPS |
75.10 |
53.768 |
| 10 |
70 |
3 |
Hellier/Donneley |
|
Porsche
993 |
56:48.001 |
57 |
6
LAPS |
73.85 |
55.005 |
| 11 |
52 |
3 |
Bailey |
|
Porsche
964 RS |
57:09.734 |
57 |
6
LAPS |
73.38 |
55.780 |
| 12 |
40 |
3 |
Howells/Howells |
|
Porsche
993 Super Cup |
57:21.819 |
57 |
6
LAPS |
73.12 |
54.678 |
| 13 |
91 |
3 |
Archer |
|
Porsche
993 RS |
57:23.222 |
57 |
6
LAPS |
73.09 |
56.154 |
| 14 |
50 |
3 |
Waples |
|
Porsche
911 SC |
57:33.323 |
57 |
6
LAPS |
72.88 |
55.956 |
| 15 |
66 |
3 |
Oliver/Heeley |
|
Porsche
964 RS |
55:47.189 |
56 |
7
LAPS |
73.87 |
54.828 |
| 16 |
73 |
3 |
Winter/Campbell |
|
Porsche
911 RS |
57:13.098 |
56 |
7
LAPS |
72.02 |
56.275 |
| 17 |
29 |
3 |
McHugh |
|
Porsche
944 S2 |
56:39.369 |
55 |
8
LAPS |
71.44 |
56.423 |
| 18 |
31 |
3 |
Berry/Williams |
|
Porsche
911E |
57:07.195 |
55 |
8
LAPS |
70.86 |
57.123 |
| 19 |
25 |
3 |
El-Akabi |
|
Porsche
RS |
57:15.612 |
55 |
8
LAPS |
70.68 |
57.996 |
| 20 |
24 |
2 |
Firman/Masarati |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
56:39.806 |
54 |
9
LAPS |
70.13 |
50.436 |
| 21 |
1 |
3 |
Taylor/Taylor |
|
Porsche
Carrera RS |
57:09.674 |
54 |
9
LAPS |
69.52 |
58.443 |
| 22 |
6 |
3 |
Lillington/Parmenter |
|
Porsche
968 CS |
57:16.403 |
54 |
9
LAPS |
69.38 |
56.111 |
| 23 |
43 |
3 |
Reay-Young/Mifsud |
|
Porsche
944 Turbo |
57:24.369 |
54 |
9
LAPS |
69.22 |
57.872 |
| 24 |
21 |
3 |
Hilliard |
|
Porsche
944 S2 |
57:31.610 |
53 |
10
LAPS |
67.80 |
59.395 |
| 25 |
76 |
3 |
Bilton/Callan |
|
Porsche
911 SC |
57:31.121 |
51 |
12
LAPS |
65.25 |
1:01.921 |
| 26 |
46 |
3 |
Herbert |
|
Porsche
914-6 |
56:45.130 |
46 |
17
LAPS |
59.65 |
1:04.030 |
| Not
Classified |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
58 |
2 |
Masarati/Masarati |
|
Porsche
911 Turbo |
45:21.505 |
44 |
D.N.F. |
71.39 |
54.786 |
| |
4 |
1 |
Livesey |
|
Porsche
993 GT2 |
30:32.426 |
32 |
D.N.F. |
77.12 |
51.986 |
| |
10 |
2 |
Brown |
|
Porsche
964 RSR |
27:02.798 |
26 |
D.N.F. |
70.76 |
52.257 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Fastest
Lap |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
5 |
1 |
Chamberlain/Sadler |
|
Porsche
935 |
47.664 |
25 |
149.04kph |
92.61 |
|
| |
24 |
2 |
Firman/Masarati |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
50.436 |
11 |
140.85kph |
87.52 |
|
| |
79 |
3 |
Allen/Bussell |
|
Porsche
911 |
53.768 |
42 |
132.12kph |
82.09 |
|
| RACE
2 CLASSIFICATION |
| POS |
NO |
CL |
NAME |
NAT |
CAR |
TIME |
LAPS |
GAP |
MPH |
BEST |
| 1 |
5 |
1 |
Chamberlain/Sadler |
|
Porsche
935 |
40:15.801 |
49 |
|
89.56 |
47.711 |
| 2 |
56 |
1 |
Cook |
|
Porsche
993 GT2 |
40:55.933 |
49 |
40.132 |
88.10 |
48.099 |
| 3 |
3 |
2 |
Carman |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
40:40.573 |
47 |
2
LAPS |
85.03 |
50.697 |
| 4 |
19 |
2 |
Rapp/Bemberg |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
40:41.187 |
47 |
2
LAPS |
85.01 |
50.780 |
| 5 |
10 |
2 |
Brown |
|
Porsche
964 RSR |
40:24.505 |
46 |
3
LAPS |
83.78 |
51.195 |
| 6 |
9 |
1 |
Harrison/Borgudd |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 RS |
41:08.958 |
46 |
3
LAPS |
82.27 |
51.170 |
| 7 |
24 |
2 |
Firman/Masarati |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
40:37.674 |
45 |
4
LAPS |
81.51 |
52.087 |
| 8 |
40 |
3 |
Howells/Howells |
|
Porsche
993 Super Cup |
40:52.388 |
44 |
5
LAPS |
79.22 |
54.515 |
| 9 |
47 |
3 |
Jackson |
|
Porsche
944 Turbo |
40:44.996 |
43 |
6
LAPS |
77.66 |
55.515 |
| 10 |
52 |
3 |
Bailey |
|
Porsche
964 RS |
40:51.864 |
43 |
6
LAPS |
77.44 |
55.744 |
| 11 |
79 |
3 |
Allen/Bussell |
|
Porsche
911 |
40:55.748 |
43 |
6
LAPS |
77.32 |
55.206 |
| 12 |
66 |
3 |
Oliver/Heeley |
|
Porsche
964 RS |
41:01.595 |
43 |
6
LAPS |
77.13 |
56.091 |
| 13 |
50 |
3 |
Waples |
|
Porsche
911 SC |
41:08.940 |
43 |
6
LAPS |
76.90 |
55.889 |
| 14 |
70 |
3 |
Hellier/Donneley |
|
Porsche
993 |
39:17.371 |
42 |
7
LAPS |
78.67 |
54.601 |
| 15 |
29 |
3 |
McHugh |
|
Porsche
944 S2 |
41:12.406 |
42 |
7
LAPS |
75.01 |
57.192 |
| 16 |
25 |
3 |
El-Akabi |
|
Porsche
RS |
40:17.439 |
41 |
8
LAPS |
74.89 |
57.563 |
| 17 |
21 |
3 |
Hilliard |
|
Porsche
944 S2 |
40:27.690 |
40 |
9
LAPS |
72.76 |
57.694 |
| 18 |
76 |
3 |
Bilton/Callan |
|
Porsche
911 SC |
40:17.323 |
39 |
10
LAPS |
71.24 |
1:00.481 |
| 19 |
46 |
3 |
Herbert |
|
Porsche
914-6 |
41:03.969 |
36 |
13
LAPS |
64.52 |
1:05.717 |
| Not
Classified |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
16 |
1 |
Lewin |
|
Porsche
996 GT2R |
30:51.762 |
35 |
D.N.F. |
83.47 |
49.337 |
| |
75 |
1 |
Griffiths |
|
Porsche
935 |
6:03.578 |
3 |
D.N.F. |
36.61 |
1:06.478 |
| |
77 |
1 |
MacKenzie |
|
Porsche
965 |
|
0 |
D.N.F. |
N/A
|
|
| |
6 |
3 |
Lillington/Parmenter |
|
Porsche
968 CS |
|
0 |
D.N.F. |
N/A
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Fastest
Lap |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
5 |
1 |
Chamberlain/Sadler |
|
Porsche
935 |
47.711 |
4 |
148.89kph |
92.52 |
|
| |
3 |
2 |
Carman |
|
Porsche
911 GT3 Cup |
50.697 |
40 |
140.12kph |
87.07 |
|
| |
40 |
3 |
Howells/Howells |
|
Porsche
993 Super Cup |
54.515 |
20 |
130.31kph |
80.97 |
|
|