The Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli visits Oulton Park on Saturday (August 31st) with championship tensions high as just four races remain for the Club Championship contenders – while the Classic Restoracing Championship title will be settled this weekend.
All points scored will be crucial for the Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship field. Simon Clark currently heads class one on 293 points, thirteen ahead of double champion Pete Morris, while Pete’s son Ross leads class two with 292 points.
Clark has taken three wins so far in his County Classics Cayman S in a tightly fought season, and will be eager to add to his points haul today. Pete Morris won the opening race of the season in his 997 C2S, and since then consistent finishing has seen him scoring well and he will be part of the lead battle.
Two wins for Chris Dyer, including one last time out at Snetterton, see him third, and he has gone well at Oulton Park before in his Strasse Cayman. Third, in his first season in class one, is Jake McAleer, who took his debut win at Brands Hatch in early July, heading home his father Mark, who sits fifth in the points with one win.
Maximum points from the first three races of the season put Ross Morris to the top of class two and in the overall championship battle, but an influx of quick fellow Boxster racers this season has seen him having to work hard for points in recent races. James Coleman has won four of the last six races, but missed the opening two rounds so only sits sixth in the class points, while fellow newcomer Toby Barlow took a fine first win at Snetterton last time out.
Kevin Molyneaux joined the series this season and has been a consistent points scorer to sit second, but just three points clear of Steve Freeman, now in his second season of racing. Angus Archer took a second-place finish at Snetterton, and has been on the pace all season, and could be another to watch out for today, while Matt Kyle-Henney has now been able to remove his novice cross from the rear of his Boxster – and narrowly missed out on a class win at Brands Hatch in May.
Ben McLoughlin has headed the Classic Restoracing Championship points all season and holds a 59-point lead having won six of the eight races, but in recent races he has faced his stiffest challenges. Matt Bird handed him his first defeat at Brands Hatch in early July, while last time out the ever-improving Will Heslop took his first win at Snetterton.
A feature of the series is that it is the car that scores the points rather than the driver, so Heslop sit second in the points with the quick Christian Short also having raced the pink Porsche Centre Wolverhampton car. The title is in theory still possible, but it will take a perfect weekend and element of luck to pull off.
Next up is the Porsche Cambridge/Lancaster Bodyshop Boxster raced by James Cannon today, which showed its pace in the wet at Snetterton with a fine second place for Paul Blakesley. Josh Morris took the title last season, with McLoughlin last year ineligible for points, and he is back out in the blue Porsche Centre Bolton and will be keen to remind everyone of his pace at what is his ‘home’ venue.
The Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli field qualify at 09.50 and have races at 13.45 and 16.50. The Classic Restoracing Championship have their own races at Oulton Park, and qualify at 08.55, with their final pair of races of the season at 11.45 and 15.35. All races are of 25-minutes duration.
Pictures: Gary Hawkins