Good things come to those who wait and, for followers of Porsche Club Motorsport, the competitive debut of its new 911 Challenge race series more than lived up to expectations with a strong grid promising excitement aplenty in the coming season.
It’s been a lengthy journey from initial concept to racetrack, but the smiles on the faces of drivers and organisers after that first race at Donington Park proved the 911 Challenge is very much a winner.
The day was particularly sweet for the Club’s Chris Pruden, who put together the original idea back in 2018. “I was inspired by my memories of watching Porsche Club racing at the Birmingham Superprix in the late 1980s,” he said. “I wanted to create an affordable series for those air-cooled cars, especially for the 911 SC, as I have one myself. When the opportunity came to get involved with the running of Porsche Club Motorsport in early 2020, we could really work on making it become a reality.”
The development process began with consulting car owners and preparers and, from those early ideas, the scope of the new series evolved to include models such as the 914, the 964 and the early two-litre 911s that have proved popular in racing in recent years. The Club was not only able to use its own expertise, with long-time motorsport consultant Steve Kevlin and Porsche Club Championship technical scrutineer Terry Cox working on honing the regulations, but also benefited from the experience of Porsche race preparers, including Paul Robe from Parr in West Sussex.
After a long information-gathering process, the format was chosen. The 911 Challenge would have three classes: a fully open class one, thus including pure race cars such as the iconic 911 RSR; class two providing a home for G-bodied 911s, with set minimum weights; and class three, open to cars from 1965 to 1977. The structure was designed to ensure that every entrant had the opportunity to be competitive and have someone to race, as well as attracting a broad swathe of eligible Porsches.
Inevitably, there were challenges on the way. The G-bodied cars, the 911s manufactured between 1978 and 1989, have risen greatly in value in recent years, so owners had to be sure they were racing in a competitive series but also one that was well policed and a home for the gentleman racer, if required.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has limited international travel and the need for an ATA Carnet post-Brexit when taking a race car abroad (which means either posting a bond for 40 per cent of its value or taking out insurance to cover the same) means many UK-based cars that had previously been racing in Europe are seeking a domestic home. In particular, many British two-litre 911s that had been racing in historic meetings across Europe could now slot perfectly into the 911 Challenge, which roared into life on 10 April.
The one-hour opening race at Donington featured a compulsory pit stop, with several cars coming in to make a driver change, and provided great racing to start the series in style. Early leader was the 911 SC of Tim Bates, with Neil Harvey’s similar model in second and a contest for third between Rainer Becker in his very original 1974 911 RSR and the 964 N/GT of Nathan Luckey.
Way down the order was the pole-sitting 911 Turbo of Miles and Piers Masarati, but Miles began to gain places and was running in second when he pitted. Piers took over and the highlight of the remainder of the race was his pursuit of the leader. From more than 20 seconds down, he relentlessly closed in on Bates, driving past to take the lead only to overshoot the chicane and drop to second again. But a lap later, he made the move stick and went on to claim victory. Bates was a fine second while Becker brought his great-sounding RSR home in third to round off the podium finishers.
“I got in and it felt like it had no brakes. I knew I had a big chase on, and finally caught Tim, but I hadn’t pumped the brake pedal enough going into the chicane and went straight on,” said Piers Masarati. “We will be doing more of these races – it’s nice to race on a grid full of Porches.”
“I really enjoyed the race,” reflected Bates. “I knew I had to push hard early on and get as big a gap as I could. Piers got past me and we were both leaving our braking to the last minute. He seemed to overrun the corner and I was able to nip back past. But he was always going to get me!”
“I hadn’t raced for a while, so was being careful early on,” said Becker. “There was a good battle in the first part of the race, but it was all very fair. I had a fantastic time – great to be on the podium.”
The cars were centre of attention in the Donington paddock on race day, with the Porsche Club Motorsport team approached by drivers whose Porsches could potentially be eligible. Building from that interest and subsequent enquiries, 993-model cars will be included for the next meeting at Snetterton on 5 June, and onwards, giving the series a full sweep of the air-cooled cars.
“We were delighted with how the day went,” said Chris Pruden. “More importantly, all the competitors had a great time. It has been a long process but thanks to the superb help of everyone involved and the support of the Porsche Club Motorsport board, we pulled it off.
“The three-year plan now is to introduce in September our Historic Cup Series for 996/997 R, RSR Cup Cars for the 2022 season and then our Transaxle Grid launch in September 2022 for a series in 2023. We then hope to run an all-Porsche race weekend with these and the current Club and Boxster Championships with the 911 Challenge.”