Donington Park hosts the final two races of the 2022 Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli and Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup seasons this coming Saturday, October 29th, which means that both overall and class championships are up for grabs and every point could prove vital. Drivers can count their best 12 scores from the 14-race season but with bonus points for starting each of this weekend’s two races, it is more than likely it will take the very last race to settle the titles.
In class one it is former double-champion Pete Morris who has the highest points score, having taken four wins in his Strasse-run 997 C2S, but he also has potentially the most points to drop heading into Donington, a circuit he won at in the opening race of the season. Kevin Harrison sits second with two wins so far in his 996 C2 and is another with two good scores to drop.
Third in overall points in the class is 2020 champion Simon Clark, who switched to a 996 C2 this season and won race two at Donington back in April. Clark missed the Brands Hatch meeting earlier in the year so is in the unique position of having two no scoring rounds already – thus will count every point he scores today and if the dropped scores are factored in already has a better score than Morris.
Cayman racer Chris Dyer sits fourth in the points table and with bonus points on offer today for starting the final two races and low number of points to score, is still not out the mix if everything goes his way.
Colin Tester heads class two and has the best overall score to date in what has been a consistent season with five class wins in his Supatune Motorsport Boxster. Even with dropped scores he has a handy advantage over his class rivals, headed by Andrew Porter who has got quicker as the season has progressed and took his maiden Porsche Club win at Brands Hatch last time out.
Third in the class points is Paul Simpson, who also won last month at Brands Hatch, and with less points to drop he moves ahead of Porter once that scenario is factored in. Angus Archer sits fourth and while yet to take a win, a top-three class points finish is still on the cards and he will be pushing hard to score every point.
With points for pole position and fastest lap as well as a starter bonus and those vital finishing points, the situation will be dynamic over the day and possibly even changing lap by lap in what should be a great finale to an exciting Porsche Club Championship season.
In the Porsche Club Boxster Cup Pete Evans has had a strong season and looks to be in control at the head of the points table in his United Racing Boxster, but a lot can happen in two races and he will have to show the pace he has demonstrated in recent rounds to be sure of taking the championship. In his second season Evans took until race four to take his maiden win, but has now won six times and holds a useful points advantage heading into Donington Park of 32-points, drivers counting their best 12 Scores from the 14 races.
Mike Thompson has been Evans’ main challenge in the points all season with his Porsche Centre Bolton car, but his challenge has fallen away in recent races and he will keen to put his season back on course at Donington. Third and fourth in the points are two drivers who prove the ethos behind the series, both relative newcomers but race winners this season and regular frontrunners. Darren Labbett has taken wins in his first full season while team-mate Darren King won on just his third time out in a shortened Brands Hatch race and has finished on the podium in subsequent races.
One of the joys of having a field that features drivers at the start of their careers is seeing them complete firsts. At Snetterton in June Sarah Thompson became the first female racer to take pole position in the series, and she led her first race laps at Brands Hatch last time out. Vikram Sudera stood on a podium for the first time in the Donington season-opener, and returns today after a mid-season absence, and to pick just one more example, Shiraz Khan was delighted with second place at Silverstone in just his fourth ever race.
Joining the Boxster Cup runners for their own race will be cars from the 911 Challenge. This is open to a wide variety of air-cooled Porsches which means some classic and potent Porsches have a home to race with Porsche Club Motorsport.