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Motorsport

18 Sep 2024

Photos by Gary Hawkins

Porsche Club Return to Donington Park GP Circuit

Round 6 Donington GP 

Testing conditions and the full Donington Park Grand Prix layout challenged the Porsche Club Motorsport racers on Sunday 15thSeptember, but they responded with some great action across all the series as they took on the long layout for the first time for several seasons. Simon Clark took both Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli wins while Jamie Callender and Darren Labbett shared AM Championship honours and two entertaining Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup races went the way of Ryan Charters and Darren Labbett.

Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli & Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championship with Pirelli

Race One

Simon Clark led the field away at the start of the first race of the day and pushed hard right away, coming round almost two seconds clear at the end of the opening lap. Mark McAleer led the chase, with son Jake close behind and another father and son duo, James and Bill Caley, in the next two slots.

At the midpoint of the race the McAleer’s were starting to close back in on Simon Clark’s 997, reducing the gap to less than a second, as light rain began to fall and combined with some fluid on the circuit from a damaged car the surface became tricky. Clark was able to extend his lead and claim his sixth win of the season, Mark McAleer heading home Jake with the Caley’s filling the next two positions.

“I wasn’t disappointed when the rain came!” joked Simon Clark, “but it wasn’t the rain that made it slippery, it was all the coolant down on the track. My windscreen was telling me one thing about the conditions, but the level of grip I had said something else, and it was much less than I expected. Fantastic to take the win in these conditions.”

“We were good in the dry but when it got wet and then the fluid went down it didn’t work for my car,” said Mark McAleer. “If it had stayed dry, I think we were starting to close back in on Simon, a race of what might have been!”

The Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championship runners had a hectic few opening laps, the order shuffling behind the Boxster of early leader Shiraz Khan. Steve Clark, making his series debut went past Khan on lap three, while Jamie Callender was also on the move up the order and was into second by lap five.

After a lap behind Clark Callender was ahead, and as track conditions worsened the order became more static, Callender able to ease away despite a problem with his front brakes. It was a second win of the season for Callender, Clark holding onto second with championship leader Angus Archer claiming important points in third.

“That was a great battle,” said Callender. “There was a lot going on in the first couple of laps, but by the time I got into first I was comfortable and exactly what I wanted, the car felt great. I pretty much did the race on just three working brakes which made things interesting, happy to win.”

“It’s my first race for four years,” said Steve Clark, “and those were tricky conditions for my first drive the Boxster. A nice clean race and I really enjoyed it, it got a little tricky though in the slippery conditions.”

Race Two

It was fully wet for their second outing of the day, with the race distance slightly shortened, but again it was Simon Clark who led into the first corner, this time Jake McAleer slotting into second with James and Bill Caley third and fourth at the end of lap one. Simon Clark again opened up a slight lead as Jake McAleer in turn moved clear of James Caley, but they were greeted by the safety car at the end of lap three with a car stopped by the edge of the track.

Racing resumed at the start of lap six, Simon Clark again going well in the conditions, the rain easing and the track starting to show a drier line. The leader stayed clear until the end to record his fourth win in a row, Jake McAleer second from James Caley after a challenging twelve laps.

“There was some pressure on me there, our guests today kept saying how good I was in the wet before the race,” said Simon Clark. “I love the car moving round under me and the conditions were perfect for that. I really didn’t want to see the safety car as I lost all my lead, but I pulled away again and it was good fun.”

Once the order settled in the AM category filed it was Darren Labbett leading from Steve Clark and Archer, who had the rest of the category in close attendance at the end of lap one. The lead pair opened a gap, Carl Hazleton fourth behind Archer before losing that position to Brian Richardson.

Labbett stayed clear to claim his first win of 2024 in front of the many guests who had cone to support him, Steve Clark making it two runner up spots on his series debut, Archer again third. A great battle behind saw Khan pip Brian Richardson for fourth.

“It was my first win of the year, I have had poles, fastest laps so I wanted a win before the end of the season,” said Labbett. “I love these conditions, I thought I had lost everything when the safety car came out, but I was able to pull away again.”

“Our race was good but I didn’t have an answer to Darren in those conditions,” said Steve Clark. “I made a brilliant start and got into the lead, I just couldn’t hold on!”

Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup
Race One

Having qualified in the dry it was a wet track for the first Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup race of the afternoon, and though Scott Evans had his Boxster on pole, it was Ryan Charters who led at the end of the first lap. Evans pushed hard to close back in on the leader, Wayne Gregory running third, which became second as Evans lost ground on lap five.

The safety car was out at the start of lap six with a car off at McLeans corner, and they were finally released to go racing again with just under four and half minutes left on the clock. Charters again opened up a gap and took his second win of the season, Gregory second while Perry Darling held off a challenge from Faye Noble-Evans in the latter laps to claim the final podium slot.

“The car was really good, and my dry tyres are pretty worn so a wet race was great,” said Charters. “I really didn’t want to see the safety car but it all worked out well.”

“The conditions were tricky, the spray early on was unbelievable, you couldn’t see anything,” said Gregory. “Despite the conditions it was a good clean race, though I was really under pressure from Perry right at the end.”

Race Two

It was still a wet track for the second race though the rain had stopped, and a great start by Perry Darling from fifth on the grid saw him leading from Gregory and Charters. Darren King was right with Charters, and they were joined by Mike Thompson and for a series of laps it was a superb five car battle at the front of the pack.

Charters got inside Gregory on lap four at the Melbourne hairpin but Gregory made the better exit, and King in turn found a way past Charters only to lose the position again a two laps later. Darling held on to take his second win of the season, championship leader Gregory more than happy with the points haul for second, as Charters claimed third.

“They kept closing in and I thought I had to push more but then at one point got sideways down the Craner Curves!” said Darling. “I really enjoyed it though and it is a great day, nice to take that second win.”

“I’m happy with where I finished, I was pushing for the lead, but he got away and then they were pushing me from behind,” said Gregory. “Two seconds is great today, great points for the championship with two races left.”

Porsche Club Motorsport Championship with Pirelli
Race One: 
1 Simon Cark (997 C2S) 15 Laps
2 Mark McAleer (997 C2S) +9.933s
3 Jake McAleer (997 C2S)
4 James Caley (997 C2S)
Fastest Lap: Mark McAleer 1m 39.474s (90.01mph).

Race Two
1 Simon Clark (997 C2S) 12 Laps
2 Jake McAleer +5.182s
3 James Caley
4 Bill Caley (Cayman S)
Fastest Lap: Clark 1m 50.123s (81.31mph).

Porsche Club Motorsport AM Championship with Pirelli
Race One:
1 Jamie Callender (Boxster S) 15 Lap
2 Steve Clark (Boxster S) +6.670s
3 Angus Archer (Boxster S)
4 Jess Wilkinson (Boxster S)
Fastest Lap: Callender 1m 44.520s (85.67mph).

Race Two:
1 Darren Labbett (Boxster S) 12 Laps
2 Steve Clark 7.819s (Boxster S)
3 Angus Archer (Boxster S)
4 Shiraz Khan (Boxster S)
Fastest Lap: Labbett 1m56.535s (76.83mph).   

Woods Foodservice Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup
Race One:
1 Ryan Charters (Boxster S) 11 Laps
2 Wayne Gregory (Boxster S) +1.953s
3 Perry Carling (Boxster S)
4 Faye Noble-Evans (Boxster S)
Fastest Lap: Barrington Darcy 2m01.115s (73.93mph).

Race Two:
1 Darling 12 Laps (Boxster S)
2 Gregory +1.156s (Boxster S)
3 Charters (Boxster S)
4 Mike Thompson (Boxster S)
Fastest Lap: Darling 1m54.630s (78.11mph).

Final Races: Snetterton, Norfolk, October 6th.
 
Watch all races here!