As in recent years, our final round of the season was at the historic Shelsley Walsh hillclimb in Worcestershire. Although relatively warm there was a mix of heavy and light showers throughout the day particularly during the practice sessions. By the time the track dried in the afternoon, the competitor times began to pick up and they all put in quicker times for the final run.
Nine competitors entered this round with Peter Taylor (718S Boxster) being the sole competitor in Class P1. He had to leave early so only completed one timed run and, despite the damp and slippery conditions, he finished with 39.26, securing the class win and coming sixth place overall in the Championship.
Barrie Powell and Andy Fagan made up Class P2, with Barrie’s factory standard 944 Turbo perhaps not the ideal Porsche for a slippery hillclimb but, nevertheless, he finished with 40.24. Andy Fagan (slick-shod Boxster S) has always been a championship contender and he led in the points for most of the year, even as we went into the Shelsley round. Despite winning 11 out of 12 class wins and providing some of most ‘on the edge’ driving in the Championship (and moving up a class with slicks), he had not accumulated enough bonus points to clinch the title and he finished in second place overall.
Six drivers competed at Class P3, with the fastest three all finishing within less than a second of each other. It was great to see two of the most experienced championship competitors finishing closely together in P3 with Geraint Evans (Carrera 3) taking a time of 35.95 for third place and finishing fifth in the class. Ian Wadsworth (Carrera SC/RS) finished fourth in the class after a final fastest time of 35.45, just half-a-second ahead of Geraint. The FTD at Shelsley went to Justin Mather after a fantastic final run of 35.11 to secure, not only the P3 class win, but also, for a second time, the title of overall Porsche Club Speed Champion. Justin finished the season with a final point tally of 163.80 while Andy Fagan was one point behind at 162.80 for second place while, in third overall, was Stephen Jory with 161.77.
Congratulations to Justin on a fine win after achieving eight out of nine class wins this season in a very competitive class. In joining the Championship, Justin was ‘out of the box’ quick and, after accumulating years of experience, he is an even more formidable competitor and almost unbeatable throughout this year.