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Motorsport

01 Oct 2024

Photos by Gary Hawkins

Three Championships to be Decided at Snetterton

Round Seven October 6th, Preview by Paul Jurd

Snetterton on Sunday 6th of October hosts the final rounds of the Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli, the Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championship with Pirelli and the Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup which means extra points for contesting the final rounds, four tense exciting races, and championships to be decided. In each series the points leader has a small advantage over the rest, but with dropped scores to take into account and bonus points at the final meeting everything is still to play for and everyone will be racing hard right until the final chequer flag of the season.

Four wins in the previous four races has seen Simon Clark move to the top of the Porsche Club Motorsport Championship, to now sit ten points clear of long-time leader Mark McAleer before dropped scores. Both are former champions so know what it takes to win the series, and although Clark has less points to discount once dropped scores come into effect, that does mean he can’t afford another low score in the final two races.

Also in with a shout is Jake McAleer, son of Mark, twice a race winner this year and a former class champion. Like the lead two he races a 997 C2S, lead Cayman S runner is fourth placed Bill Caley, the only non-997 racer to take a win so far this season. Plenty of other racers will be keen to do well though, James Caley always goes well at Snetterton.

The AM Championship has been the domain of the Boxsters and Angus Archer’s three race wins and consistent finishing see him with a lead of 14-points over Darren Labbett. Archer won the opening races of the season at Donington Park and has been in the mix ever since, while Labbett has had a remarkable run of podium finishes before taking his first win last time out as the series returned to Donington Park, Archer with a slightly lower tally of points to drop heading into Snetterton.

Jason Brown sits third in the points in his debut Porsche Club Motorsport season, having claimed a win at Oulton Park in May, and could be a factor once dropped scores come into play. Fourth in the points is Jess Wilkinson, another driver in her their first season of AM Championship racing having stepped up from the Boxster Cup. She sits twenty points clear of race-winner Jamie Callendar but has more points to drop.

Wayne Gregory tops the Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup points heading into this weekend and has taken four wins, more than any other driver. In all the series the best twelve scores from the 14-races count, and Gregory is in a strong position with less points to drop than his closest rival.

Twenty-eight points separate Gregory and second place Ryan Charters, counting every score to date, and that gap grows if dropped scores are factored in. Charters has taken two wins, including one last time out at Donington Park as Gregory claimed two second place finishes, and their rivalry will be one to watch in both the 25-minute races.

Darren King sits third in the points, team-mate to Gregory in the Unique Racing squad and a strong starter in the races. Like fourth placed Ben Grewcock, King has yet to win a race this season but has been consistent, while Grewcock has shown real pace on drives up the order and both will be contenders.

Aptly this is the 40th anniversary of the first race series that Porsche Club GB ran and that opening took place here at Snetterton in April 1984, so the Norfolk circuit is a fitting venue for the championship deciders.