Official Race Report from Paul Lawrence

Wins apiece for Lewin and Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain and Rupert Lewin took a win each as the Michelin Porsche Open Series concluded at Croft over the weekend (24/25 September). Meanwhile, double class wins fell to Paul Livesey, Mike Johnson and Charles Winterhalder.

Qualifying

Chamberlain (935) blasted to pole by a substantial margin on Saturday at one of his favourite tracks. Lewin (996 GT2R) chased, but gear selection problems in his H-pattern gearbox would dog his progress all weekend. Local veteran Brian Robinson (993RS) was third on a welcome return to the series, while Livesey headed class two in his 944 Turbo from Mark Stephenson (911GT3 Cup).

Race one

Chamberlain's race was over almost before it started as gearbox failure at the start put him out. Undeterred, he drove back to Cambridgeshire to fetch a spare gearbox and was back at the circuit early on Sunday morning in time for the team to have car ready for the second race.

Chamberlain's demise left the way open for Lewin to romp to victory, heading Robinson home by 18s. "I'm delighted to get my first win at Croft, but I'm having problems going down the gearbox into fourth and I was having to use third at Clervaux and Tower, which is not ideal," explained Lewin.

Behind Robinson, Livesey battled ahead of Gerry Harrison (911GT3RS) after a couple of touches, with Stephenson fifth and class winning Johnson (911SC) a strong sixth. Further back, Mark Chilton was delighted to score his first race finish with tenth place in his 928GTS and Mick Eickmeyer was also elated to finish his debut race in his 911S.

Race two

A mighty effort from the Chimp Tune crew had Chamberlain's car ready to sit at the back of the grid for race two. Suitably fired up, Richard stormed through the pack to take second place by the end of the opening lap as Lewin stretched clear in the lead.

Now Chamberlain set about reeling the leader in, but a spin at Tower hindered his progress. However, by the end of lap eight the cars were nose-to-tail and when Lewin struggled to find gears on the exit of the Hairpin, Chamberlain was able to sweep ahead past the pits and into Clervaux. "Everyone worked very hard," said Chamberlain after winning by 17s. "I was very worried as the car was oversteering badly and the spin at Tower was my own silly fault. But this was a team effort, so thanks to all of them."

"Awful gearbox problems," confirmed Lewin, who also clipped the back of a 944 at the Hairpin mid-race. "If I'd had a gearbox that worked I'd have been able to keep him behind me for longer!" Robinson bagged third as Harrison got the better of Livesey this time after another battle. An ailing car in the closing stages almost dropped Livesey back into the clutches of Stephenson as Johnson again topped class three and Winterhalder won class four once he had shaken off Peter Garrod (944).

Johnson's spectacular style earned him the appreciation of the crowd at the complex. "You have to have a bit of fun," he said with a grin. Meanwhile, Winterhalder had worked harder for class four spoils than he had the day before. "I had to push a lot harder to get away from Peter," he admitted.