The Festival of Porsche at Brands Hatch on September 3rd sees all of Porsche Club Motorsport’s track racing series on show, as well as the Porsche Club Motorsport Speed Championship – their hillclimb and sprinting category. It will be a busy day at the famous Kent venue, but one that should be a great demonstration of the depth of Porsche racing.
The Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli has two races with the title battle in full flow and close racing in each of the two competitive classes. Class two’s Oliver Chatham heads the overall championship table after ten rounds, but with four races of the season remaining there are plenty of points still available.
Former double champion Pete Morris heads the class one points and has one win to his name in his 997, the most modern 911 variant allowed in the championship. A strong weekend from James Caley at Silverstone in July included a race win and that sees him second to Morris in the class points, a 997 one-two at the top of that table.
Third is Chris Dyer in his Cayman S, a race winner here on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit last season so definitely a potential front-runner. Three wins in the last four races has seen Mark McAleer, another former double champion, move up the points table to sit fourth.
Championship leader Chatham took his third win of the season at Silverstone, but has had to work hard in the races in a very competitive class two that is dominated by the Boxster S. It is tight at the top with triple race winner Paul Simpson just 21 points behind and second overall in the title battle.
Another driver to watch for will be Angus Archer, a winner at Brands Hatch before, Carl Hazelton was on the podium at the opening round at Donington Park and sits third in the points and is due another top three finish.
In the Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup the driver in form so far this season has been Jonny Lovell, with seven wins under his belt from the nine races to date, only missing out in the opening race of the season at Donington Park and the most recent one at Silverstone.
Vikram Sudera heads the chase having taken two second place finishes and always seems to have an entertaining race with some great battles. Closing in though is twice series runner-up Mike Thompson, who claimed his first win of 2023 at Silverstone at the end of July.
Faye Noble-Evans, wife of 2022 Boxster Cup champion Pete Evans, sits fourth in the points in her distinctive black and pink Boxster, and is overdue a podium finish. Another quick lady is Sarah Thomson, who led here at Brands Hatch last season and her car is one of those still wearing a livery linked to Porsche’s extensive racing past, as was required on the cars in the early days of the championship.
Unusually the day sees two 25-minute races and one for 20-minutes for the Boxsters, making up for a race that was cut short at Oulton Park after a long delay for circuit repairs, so with the biggest points haul of the season up for grabs three strong finishes from Lovell could see him all but seal his maiden title.
Brands Hatch sees the final outing of 2023 for the Eden Race Drive Porsche Open Cup and 911 Challenge fields. The Open Cup and 911 Challenge is a series of races rather than a championship, so although no points are scored drivers will still be competing for race honours.
Archie Hamilton has taken four wins in the five races to date in his 991 GT3 and he has been pushed hard in recent races and had his first defeat at Silverstone at the end of July. Jodie Sloss in a 991 GT3 made her Open debut at Oulton Park in July and quickly got up to pace and will be chasing a strong finish in today’s three races in her 991.
Hasi Peto-Dias has been a regular but today shares his 992 GT3 with Jassim Al Thani, while also sharing cars are Kevin and Charlie Bird and David Harrison and Nathan Luckey, while Mark Cowne makes a welcome return to Porsche Club racing and Peter Challis also entering for this final race all in 997 GT3's.
The 911 Challenge has for several seasons now provided a home for all Porsche 911 models from the very earliest cars from 1965 right up to the 993 that was the last of the air-cooled 911s. The bright yellow RSR of David Burke has been a race winner in the past, and faces the likes of regular James Neal and Neil Harvey, who do a race apiece in the former’s 964, and the always entertaining Mike Johnson’s 911 SC.