Oulton Park hosts the third race weekend of the Porsche Club Motorsport season, as the club continues its 40th anniversary season with a return to Oulton Park, scene of many memorable races over those four decades. All three race series are in action, the Porsche Club Motorsport Championship and Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championships with Pirelli sharing the grid for two races, while the Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Boxster Cup fields have their own two rounds.
In the Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli former double champion Mark McAleer won the opening race at Donington Park in April, but since then series returnee Simon Clark has won the next three races in his 997 and is the man to beat. The 2020 champion, Clark is back in the series after a year racing elsewhere and right on the pace, though Mark McAleer was a winner at Oulton Park last season and has been second to Clark in recent races.
Jake McAleer has taken three podiums to date in his new for 2024 997 and was on course for another at Brands Hatch in race two before retiring. That let James Caley through to take his maiden podium finish of the season, while Pete Morris, another former champion, has taken two fourth places and is due a podium.
There have been some great battles in the middle of the top ten with 2024 champion Paul Simpson, now in the new Cayman S.2, while Jim Bryan has been pacey in his 996 and in the thick of it. Add in Chris Dyer and Bill Caley as previously race-winning Cayman racers plus several others, and two great races are pretty much guaranteed.
The Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championship with Pirelli is dominated by the Boxster S and has so far seen a pair of double winners, Angus Archer taking two wins at Donington Park in April, while Andrew Porter was the man to beat at Brands Hatch last month. Porter heads the points courtesy of two seconds at Donington, while Brand Hatch saw two first time podium visitors, Jamie Callendar second in race one, and a flying Shiraz Kahn was alongside Porter as they crossed the line at the end of race two.
Third in all four races to date has been Darren Labbett, a consistent performance and he will be in the lead battle. Jess Wilkinson stepped up from the Boxster Cup this season and is gaining pace as she adapts to slicks, while Jason Brown is another new face for 2024.
The Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Boxster Cup has provided some great racing so far this season, with each of the four races throwing up a different winner, three of them taking their first ever Boxster Cup wins.
Ryan Charters won the first race at Donington Park in April, successful on his first outing in the series, while Wayne Gregory, an employee of series sponsor Woods Foodservice, claimed the second win of the day. At Brands Hatch series regular Perry Darling finally took his first outright win, while race two saw another new for 2024 driver, Graham Heard, win for the first time.
Star of race two at Brands Hatch was Sarah Thomson, who slipped down the order early on but then charged back through to lead and take the flag first, only to be hit with a track limits penalty on the final lap. Another lady racer on form is Faye Noble-Evans, third in the championship last year, who was third in race one at Brands Hatch and is having another consistent year.
Darren King is a former race winner who missed the 2023 season and has already claimed a podium finish this year, while Oulton Park sees the welcome return of Vikram Sudera, another quick racer. Mike Thompson has been runner-up in the championship more than once and was second in both races in 2023, so will be one to watch for in both rounds.