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Paragon Porsche Club Championship

Brands Hatch, Kent
Rounds Four and Five
May 3rd and 4th 2008

Duckman and White Claim Brands Hatch Wins

Gary Duckman and Ian White took overall wins as the Porsche Club Championship combined with the Porsche Open to support the prestigious A1GP final round with a big crowd packed into Brands Hatch over the weekend - May third and fourth. It was Duckman's first Porsche Club win, and he backed that up with second in Sunday's round behind White, in a race punctuated by Safety Car periods on an oily track.

Scott Kavanagh was another first time winner, taking Class Two on Saturday, while Trevor Lewis stormed through from the very back of the grid to claim the class on Sunday. Jeremy Clark took a Class Three double, after having to rebuild the front of his 944 after an off at Oulton Park two weeks ago.

Qualifying
White took pole after Friday afternoon's 30-minute qualifying session, continuing the run of quickest times he has set at each circuit the series has visited so far this season in his new 964 C2.

"This is my first time round the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in a Porsche," said White. "I have raced on the circuit before, but only in other cars."

Local racer Duckman was second quickest and led the 968 CS mounted runners, with championship leader Mark McAleer third and Ben Demetriou fourth, having suffered power steering failure in the session.

Kavanagh headed Class Two, having raced previously with the championship when it visited Brands at the end of last season, with Lewis second quickest. Jeremy Clark headed Class Three.

Race One
Released seconds after the Porsche Open runners had started, White headed the Porsche Club runners away cleanly, and held off Duckman through the first corner as the 968 nosed to the outside of the poleman. By the end of lap one White was over a second clear of his pursuers, Duckman heading McAleer, Demetriou, still running without power steering, and Richard Higgins.

White eased away in the early laps, Higgins coming under pressure from Brian Robinson who went past on lap four. The leading group had the slower Porsche Open runners in sight, but by lap ten were being lapped by the quicker Open cars, changing the gaps between them.

Duckman was able to close right up on White, the pair entering Clearways side by side at the end of lap 12, White nosing ahead on the straight to lead across the line and into Paddock Hill Bend. At the bottom of the hill White's car snapped out of shape, and the leader gathered it up but not before Duckman had dived past - White holding onto second.

Duckman stayed ahead during the remaining laps, White taking second ahead of McAleer, Demetriou and Robinson.

"I started catching Ian, then I think he had problems," said Duckman. "He went away quickly at the start and I had to defend from Ian and Ben. Then Ian got delayed by back-markers and I could see I was getting closer. He had a huge moment and I thought he was going to go into me but I just got past.

"That was the best race I have ever had, the car was fantastic, it felt good, and I was pretty confident at the end, it is my first Club outright win."

"I had a three second lead and lost ground as I caught some backmarkers, but that is the luck of the draw," said White. "I was pushing as hard as I could, and I could see them still there behind. I was on a tight line into Paddock, had too much lock, and the back whipped on me. Gary drove very well - it was close between us, and very clean, which makes it enjoyable. He won fair and square."

 
"I was getting a misfire from about the third lap in," said McAleer. "It would be ok for two or three laps, but then start happening again. It was intermittent - but was always doing it just were I didn't want it to on the track. Other than that the car was good, though right at the end at Dingle Dell the engine totally stopped - I coasted and got it going again."

Kavanagh claimed his maiden Class Two win, Lewis retiring with engine problems, while Clark took his second win of the season in Class Three.

"I had a bit of a lonely race," said Kavanagh. "I was trying to keep some of the Class one cars behind me as a buffer, but it was getting hot and my tyres were going off. Last year the car was so standard I drove it to the circuit, it is still overweight and we are working on it, but that was really enjoyable.

"We have spent the last ten days or so working on the car repairing after the damage we got at Oulton, and my thanks go out to EMC for their help with the car" said Clark. "The car still isn't right and needs more work on the set up, but I really enjoyed that race. The really quick guys are so much quicker, you have to be careful and sometimes you are in the wrong place at the wrong time for them through no fault of your own, but those guys are good and if you hold your line they are past."

Race Two
Sunday's race took place in front of a large crowd, and again White made a good start, but Duckman matched it and they went into Paddock Hill Bend together - White emerging ahead. McAleer was third, and closed on Duckman as White opened a slight gap.

Charles Winterhalder and Mike Clapham clashed on the exit of Surtees on lap four, and with other cars spinning on what was now an oily track, the Safety Car was scrambled to tidy things up. Released again on lap seven, the field managed one lap of racing before finding themselves in the queue behind the car again, an Open runner off at Paddock Hill Bend.

With drivers aware of the state of the track, Robinson was the quickest Club driver on the track, going past McAleer and closing on Duckman in the final laps. White had enough in hand to take the win, with Duckman just holding off the experienced Robinson to claim second.

"I was trying to find a line round the circuit free of oil," said White. "Gary made a cracking start, I only got past him on the run up the hill. An enjoyable race though, you always enjoy a win!"

"I was disappointed I couldn't beat Ian into Paddock Hill Bend," said Duckman, "he got a really good run across me and went ahead. So I tucked in behind me and tried to do the same as yesterday - but this time the Safety Cars played into his hands and let him nurse his tyres. The oil was disastrous, it was hard to know where to put the car - but it has been a fabulous weekend for us, and we had lots of sponsors and guests here."

"Oil doesn't bother me," said Robinson. "I could see where the line was and that was ok. Another couple of laps and I could have been right up there, it was an enjoyable race, just a shame that the Safety Car kept coming out, it was fun while it lasted."

"The engine was still missing - but just on the start finish straight," said McAleer. "We put loads of fuel in to make sure it wasn't that, but we don't what the problem is right now."

In Class Two Lewis was climbing through the field, having started at the back of the grid due to his non-finish on Saturday, and in the final laps was right with class leader Chris Dyer. Saturday winner Scott Kavanagh retired after a clash at Graham Hill Bend, Lewis finding a way past Dyer on the final lap to take the class win.

"My car was good on the fast corners at the back of the circuit, and that was letting me catch people," said Lewis. "I finally took the lead into Hawthorns on the last lap. We were side-by-side but I had the inside and went past. It makes up for the disappointment yesterday."

Clark made it a Class Three double, staying clear of Sarah Bennett-Baggs.

"The circuit was tricky - oil on and off line," said Clark, "and even when I was sliding around today I knew I had to keep it on the circuit. The car was handling great, I was running with Class Two cars and it's great to take two class wins after all our work."

Porsche Club Championship, Race One:

 

1 Gary Duckman (968 CS) 26m33.416s (125.5kph);

2 Ian White (964 C2) +1.297s;

3 Mark McAleer (968 CS);

4 Ben Demetriou (968 CS);

5 Brian Robinson (968 CS);

6 Richard Higgins (968 CS);

7 Ian Oliver (911 Carrera);

8 Peter Erceg (968 CS);

9 Ed Hayes (968 CS);

10 Chris Stannard (968 CS).

Class Winners: Duckman; Scott Kavanagh; Jeremy Clark (911 2.7). Fastest Lap: Duckman 1m43.348s (129.0kph). Pole Position: White, 1m43.769s (128.9kph).

Race Two:

1 White 13 laps in 26m06.981s (110.6kph);

2 Duckman +0.656s;

3 Robinson;

4 McAleer;

5 Demetriou;

6 Higgins;

7 Stannard;

8 Hayes;

 9 Erceg;

10 Trevor Lewis (944 S2).

Class Winners:  White; Lewis; Jeremy Clark. Fastest Lap: White, 1m45.134s (126.8kph). Pole Position: Duckman.

Oulton Park, Cheshire

Round Three April 19^th 2008 

White Takes Oulton Park Victory 

The 964 C2s dominated at Oulton Park, championship returnee Marcus Carniel taking an early lead before Ian White moved ahead to take the win in the 30-minute race. The ever-rapid Brian Robinson came through for second ahead of Mark McAleer, Sarah Bennett-Baggs taking her second Class Three win of the season. 

The Class Two Club runners shared the track with the Porsche Open field, Mike Clapham taking the win there ahead of Fraser Robertson. 

Qualifying

White was on pole after Saturday morning's qualifying session, Carniel taking up the other front row slot in his first run in his new 964 C2.  

"I love this circuit," said White. "It's very busy and you can't relax for a moment, but it's great to drive in these cars." 

Behind the lead two were the quickest of the 968 CS runners, Brian Robinson heading Ben Demetriou, Gary Duckman and points leader Mark McAleer. Dave Roberts headed the Class Three runners in his 944, 16^th overall. 

Race One

Carniel made the best of the start for his first race in his new mount, holding off White who was briefly on the grass through Old Hall. Demetriou was third, with McAleer into fourth and setting an early fastest lap in his chase of the leaders.  

On lap two White looked outside Carniel into Old Hall, then went past going into Cascades, Carniel losing ground on the rest.  Demetriou moved into second, but McAleer was closing in, and went past at Old Hall on lap seven after trying a move there the lap before. 

White survived a brief out of shape moment at Knickerbrook on lap eight to stay clear at the front, while Robinson was finding his pace and went past Demetriou and set fastest lap in his pursuit of McAleer, who lost ground on oil put down by early Class Three leader Roberts, who retired trailing smoke. 

Robinson took second, with McAleer third and Demetriou took fourth despite slowing at the end with a fuel problem.  

"This is such a technical track, it has everything, but for once I didn't make a good start," said White. "I had a tussle with Marcus, then the oil made things hard, the car was squirming under me, but my gap was decent and I held on." 

"This is a superb driving circuit," said Robinson, "and there is life in the old dog yet! The car was going really well, I was running out of brakes but that was my only problem." 

"I got a good start said McAleer, "I think I could have held second but I went off on someone's oil down at Cascades. Ben was quick today, and Brian was too far ahead, but it's points in the bag.""  

In Class Three Bennett-Baggs had been battling with Roberts for the class lead, and his demise saw her left clear of the closing Adrian Stock.

"There were places where I could catch Dave," said Bennett-Baggs, "then I made a mistake out of Lodge and he got away. I was trying to put pressure on him, then I could see his car smoking, I'm surprising myself, that's two wins on the trot." 

The Class Two runners had a fine race at the end of the day, Fraser Robertson taking the early lead ahead of Trevor Lewis. Clapham soon found his pace and worked his way to the front, leading from lap five onwards.  

"That wasn't an easy race," said Clapham. "Fraser kept coming back at me, and the Open guys were quicker than us on the straights, but some were slower in the corners. It could be the luck of the draw where they caught you."

Porsche Club Championship Classes 1 and 3: 1 Ian White (964 C2) 15 laps in 29m43.338s (81.51mph); 2 Brian Robinson (968 CS) +4.690s; 3 Mark McAleer (968 CS); 4 Ben Demetriou (968 CS); 5 Gary Duckman (968 CS); 6 Marcus Carniel (964 Carrera 2); 7 Paul Livesey (968 CS); 8 Richard Higgins (968 CS); 9 Ed Hayes (968 CS); 10 Ian Oliver (911). Class Winners: White; Sarah Bennet-Baggs (911). Pole Position: White 1m 56.973s (133.33kph). Fastest Lap: Robinson 1m56.315s (83.31mph) Starters: 20.

Donington Park, East Midlands

Rounds One and Two

March 24^th 2008

White Makes Perfect Start to Season at Donington 

Ian White made a storming return to Porsche Club Championship action with two wins in his new 964 C2, the 2006 champion chased home in each of the races by last year's winner Mark McAleer. Trevor Lewis and Mike Clapham shared Class Two honours, while in Class Three there were two debut winners - Jeremy Clark and Sarah Bennett-Baggs.(pictured) 

Thirty-four cars qualified at Donington with 17 of them in Class One, promising a great season's racing.  

Qualifying

Each race had its own qualifying session, the second shared with the Porsche Open runners who would be racing alongside the Club competitors. White pipped McAleer to pole in the first session by mere hundredths of a second, the latter hampered by the loss of his bonnet fixings part way which saw him only do three quick laps. 

"There was not much grip out there," said White. "It's only my second time in the car and it can go quicker, but that's the first point of the season in the bag."

Richard Bayston was quickest in Class Two just ahead of Lewis, while Jeremy Clark headed up the Class Three runners. 

In second qualifying it was White again ahead of McAleer, with Lewis and Clark once more heading the other classes. 

Race One

White made the most of his rear-wheel drive traction to make the best start, McAleer initially slow away but recovering to second by the end of the first lap. White was already a second clear, and gradually opened his advantage as the race progressed and they encountered back markers. 

The front two stayed in that order race long, Demetriou holding a strong third in his new 968 CS.  

"I'm back!" joked White after the race. "It's the first race and there is far more to come from the car, we have only done half a day's testing and it is still loose in places. It's a real rear-engined 911 so I made a great start today 

"I just seemed to catch the slower cars wrong," said McAleer, "I think we were very even on pace, the traffic just slowed me down, but we have another race to come." 

"I enjoyed that - I'm really pleased to be in the top three in my first Class One race," said Demetriou. "I couldn't stay with their pace, but there is a lot to come from the car yet. It's great to be on the podium." 

A strong start from John Williams saw him slot his 1972 Carrera RS into fourth on his return to Porsche racing, though the newer cars found a way past and he became caught up in an entertaining scrap with David Botterill. Closing from behind was Gary Duckman, who had qualified only 22^nd, and finally fought his way past the pair to take fifth behind David Holroyd, Botterill sixth ahead of Williams at the flag. 

Lewis and Bayston fought over the Class Two lead in the early laps before the latter retired, leaving Lewis to take the win and 11^th overall. 

"I enjoyed that" said Lewis, "I stayed clear of the Class One cars and it's great to take a class in first time out, I can go and relax on holiday tomorrow now." 

Clark stayed clear of Dave Roberts to win Class Three. 

Race Two

White again made a strong start in race two, Livesey taking second into the first corner with McAleer third. Duckman was starting further up the grid this race and was soon in the mix, taking fourth on lap two and setting off after McAleer. 

White was again making the his way through the traffic on the busy circuit - 36 cars starting the race counting the Porsche Open runners - able to stay clear of the rest to record his second win of the day. McAleer found a way past Livesey on lap six, the Club front-runners having to be careful as the leading Open cars lapped them.

Duckman took third from Livesey a lap later, and Demetriou claimed fourth on lap 10 with a dive down the inside of Livesey at Redgate. The lead group stayed in that order till the end, McAleer setting fastest lap in his pursuit of White. 

"I've never won at Donington before in all my time with the Porsche Club," said White, "I've always had bad luck here and I was hoping today things would go right today. It was tricky out there with the Open cars, but it is a great start to the season." 

"I thought I got a good start, but Paul Livesey got an even better one," said McAleer. "Once I got past him Ian was already too far in front, and again he seemed to make the best of the traffic. The car has had no running between last season and now, but it felt good." 

"I was closing on Mark McAleer and got caught behind two Open cars," said Duckman, "by the time I was past them he was gone." 

Mike Clapham took Class two victory, ahead of Chris Dyer and Charles Winterhalder, while Sarah Bennett-Baggs won Class Three on her first meeting with the Porsche Club. 

"It was a bit hectic to start with," said Clapham, "you have to be careful racing the Class One guys in case someone from your class is closing in." 

"That was good," said Bennet-Baggs, "the Open cars were going past me cleanly and it's been a big learning curve today but I'm pleased with a first and a third."

Paragon Porsche Club Championship, race one: 1 Ian White (964 C2) 18 laps in 24m42.051s (85.58mph); 2 Mark McAleer (968 CS) +9.687s; 3 Ben Demetriou (968 CS); 4 David Holroyd (968 CS); 5 Gary Duckman (968 CS); 6 David Botterill (964 C2); 7 John Williams (Carrera 2.7 RS); 8 Paul Livesy (968 CS); 9 Tom Segrue (968 CS); 10 Adrian Grieves (968 CS). Class winners: White; Trevor Lewis (944 S2); Jeremy Clark (922 2.7). Pole position: White 1.22.067 (85.86mph). Fastest lap: McAleer 1m20.987s (87.00mph). Starters: 33.

Paragon Porsche Club Championship, race two: 1 White 25m06.142s (968 CS); 84.21mph; 2 McAleer +5.737s; 3 Duckman; 4 Demetriou; 5 Livesey; 6 Williams; 7 Botterill; 8 Holroyd; 9 Segrue; 10 Richard Higgins (968 CS). Class Winners: White; Mike Clapham (944 S2); Sarah Bennett-Baggs (911 SC). Pole position: White 1m22.106s (85.82mph). Fastest lap; McAleer 1m12.232s (86.82mph). Starters: 36.

Jurd Paul