The cancellation of Croft delayed our season start until the May Bank Holiday when we assembled for two sprints at Anglesey Circuit. It was worth the wait, as we had 18 competitors running in recently reorganised class structures – effectively laying down new class records in three out of four classes.
Unlike the recent Easter Bank Holiday that had enjoyed Mediterranean type temperatures, this weekend endured northerly artic winds and an unseasonably cold track surface. So cold in fact, that the practice sessions and early timed runs were often too slippery for tyres that never had time to warm up. It stayed dry and bright, however, and the sprint times began to come down with most drivers putting in faster times later in the day on both rounds.
In Class P1 both drivers were strikingly consistent over the day with Peter Taylor taking his 718 Boxster to a two-lap 123.17 finish on the National circuit. Taking first in class, David Dyson drove his 991 GT3 to a fastest time of 119.26, a hundredth of a second off the 119.25 record he set last season in a 991 Turbo S.
Taking third place in Class P2, Darren Slater (Cayman S) fought the slippery track surface more than once with a spin in his second run – he finished the day with third place in 127.14. With just 0.35 of a second separating the fastest two in class, Karl Lupton (944 Supercharged) took second place in 123.27 while Andy Fagan (Boxster S) presented a masterclass in speed and consistency over the day to finish in first place in an impressive 122.92.
The largest class this season is Class P3 with eight drivers running at the Anglesey rounds. It was a close battle over the day between the two drivers with mid-70s 911s in the Championship. Taking third place in his modified 3.2 Carrera, Geraint Evans’s fastest time was 129.20. With a margin of just 0.41 seconds over Geraint’s time, Ian Wadsworth took his 911SC/RS into second place in 128.79. Neatly cutting his timed runs down over the day Graham Rose (968-engined 924S) created an amazing final time of 123.51 to convincingly take the class win.
Driving the only early 911 in the Championship, Martin Leach drove his 911 E 3.0 to third place in Class P4 in 130.81 despite a fuel feed problem early in the day. Although driving two very different Porsches, Wayne Eason (Boxster) and Stephen Jory (944) were incredibly close in their times throughout the day although it was their first timed runs that decided the outcome. Wayne finished in second place with 127.92 while Stephen bettered that by just 0.31 seconds for first place in 127.61.
Round 2. The International Circuit
The following day brought marginally warmer temperatures, but it remained relatively cool but dry throughout the day.
Martin Leach took third place in P4 with a time of 104.93 in his first timed run. Although even closer in their times on Sunday, it was Stephen who took second place this time in 101.97 with just 0.13 seconds between him and Wayne. Wayne and Stephen both had their best runs at the end of the day with Wayne taking the class win in 101.84
The speed margins of the fastest three narrowed in P3, with Ian Wadsworth creating his best time on the final run for third place in 103.49. Entered in Sunday’s round only, Nick Wadsworth made the most of his time in the car he shares with father Ian. Bettering Ian’s time by just over a second, Nick took second place in 102.45. It was again a relatively large margin that Graham created in P3 as he created a sub-100 second time of 99.63 for first in class.
The timed runs started well for Darren Slater in P2 with his first timed run of 102.38 earning him third place before an ‘off’ after Turn 1 on his second timed run damaged his Cayman and ended his day prematurely. Karl Lupton consecutively bettered his times through the day to finish with a second-place time of 97.72. Also saving his best till last, Andy Fagan has clearly got used to driving in slicks and put in another excellent performance for first place in 96.46.
Peter Taylor is a consistently quick driver in his factory standard 718 Boxster and his final run was no exception. Peter finished the day with a time of 97.95, 2.27 seconds behind class winner David Dyson. David’s fastest time earned him the class win and fastest Porsche on the day.
The next round is at Loton Park on 8th and the 9th June.