The 2012 PCGB Club Championship
- Thread starter paulf968
- Start date
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Those are some really interesting observations Neil. I think the only thing missing from it is that our Mr F deserves a lot of credit for how quick he is driving and is now regularly mixing it with the class 1 cars. We saw something the same last year in the few races that Marcus drove where he was regularly out performing some of the class 1 machinery. And then at Silverstone at the end of year Chris D upped his game and drove brilliantly so that we had two class 2 944s mixing it with the Class 1 boys. So like last year, Paul is now showing how much difference the driver can make in the race. Well done that man! [
] As an outside the barriers observer and keen follower I have to say that it now looks like an odd decision to have 968s eligible for both classes dependent on specification. In the right hands the 968 is too quick for the 944s and other class 2 cars but can't compete with the most powerful class 1 cars. Similarly, the 3.2 boxsters don't appear to be on the same level playing field with class 1 911s. Baz has already eloquently described in detail why this is. In practice, it is quite clear that if drivers as good as Ben and Marcus can't keep pace with the class 1 911s at most circuits, that no one can (I'm excluding the likes of Vettel, Hakkinen, et al [] ). My outside the ropes observations are that with the appropriate regulations there could easily be three classes now....which would go something like: Class 1 - 996, 993, 964 Class 2 - 3.2 boxster, 968, 3.2 carrera Class 3 - 944, 2.5/2.7 boxster, 911SC (and earlier) Just my thoughts on what is (as I suspected at the start) a fascinating season. []Neil Haughey
New member
Steve it wouldn't surprise me at all if Kevlin was thinking along those lines. I had heard a rumour for example that the S2 would be eligible for class 3 in the near future. Only problem with that is one can't win the championship from class 3 going forward. I don't have a problem with that as long as some award is given such as a 'driver of the year' type award similar to that handed out by series with non-championship status. Mark Koerbele as an example got such an award for CSCC Future Classics the other year. No doubt Paul is driving brilliant, I have told him many times he is and has been doing a great job. Its easy to forget that consistency is king when adding up laps to make a race and a season to make a championship. A point on the point about Marcus and that S2 last year. His times were still a fair bit down on the fastest class 1 guys. Pete Morris at Donny for example 1 second a lap faster on a track EMC tell me is a good '944' track. IMHO that is a realistic difference, the best 968 on the day versus the best S2 on the day. Its utterly meaningless to compare the fastest in class with the midfield runners in another class but this seems to have become the mantra for justifying the current situation. The point I have made since the start of the year however is that I don't believe for a second that 30 Kg slows a 968 enough, in the case of Donny with a target of slowing the car down by about a second a lap. Maybe 3 or 4 tenths and thus far the results seem to bare this point out. The 60 Kg I mentioned months back probably would have been fair.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
I agree with the last bit Neil, I was just using Marcus' efforts last year as an example of how a good driver in a class 2 car can mix with an average driver in a class 1 car. Not doing the whole season last year, Marcus was also able to pick his circuits where he would be most competitive (i.e. Oulton as his home track and Donny where he could carry lots of speed through the corners). As you say, Pete and Marcus are probably closely matched, therefore Pete's 968 would always be quicker than Marcus' 944. And by the same note, now a 944 doesn't have much chance against an equally driven class 2 968. Hope you get back to racing soon mate. []
]Neil Haughey
New member
Cheers mate, should be out at Oulton. Really itching now to get back in the car after a couple of months in which sadly I have gotten rather used to not thinking much about racing myself. If I get through those last 3 race weekends problem free and have some good battles I will end the season happy.
StuartR16
New member
Wow only 3 meetings left, No more new driver briefings for me and no more excuses having raced this year at Oulton Park and last year at Castle Combe and Silverstone. There were a few surprised people at Croft to see my freshly repaired Boxster and I cannot thank Dave and his team from Strasse enough not only for turning it around in 3 weeks but also for the first class job they did. I had never felt so nervous before waiting in the holding area for Qualifying and not sure if it was for what happened at Donny or that I had never been to Croft before but that soon went as we got on the track. There is lots of room for improvement for me at Croft, mainly the whole stretch from tower to sunny in and I just could not get the hang of the hairpin, most of the time with power over steer and then near the end of the re start the car under steered on to the grass. The re start cost me a couple of places as before I was comfortably behind Paul Seagrave with Hugo and Ryan behind but actually those last few laps for me were the best racing of the day. (Short vid of the re start) http://youtu.be/Z1PKrPSonNo Had a fantastic time and can’t wait for Oulton Park
MarkK
Active member
Sorry about the restart,I had nowhere to go as the 993 was across the track at 90 degrees stopped,came around the corner on the right Alex went left onto grass I didn't have a chance....bang..[&o] My Car was seized solid and unable to move so that's why they had to get the tow truck and then crane out.[&o] Not a nice sight for me,but it could have been worse....I thought that was it for this year....should be out at Oulton if there are no delays with stuff.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Nice video Stuart, good to watch []
]Neil Haughey
New member
Unlucky Mark, horrible to be in a situation like that. I enjoyed watching your vid Stuart, its noticeable that your car rides very smooth as well. Incredible job the Yorkshire boys did to get you out again in time, I had a look at Alex's car last weekend the front end took a hell of a hit. I could have expedited my own repairs but fundamentally I race to a fixed budget that didn't include paying for extensive crash repairs.
paulf968
New member
Not long now until our return visit to Oulton ........ anyone on here making it over on 11th Aug for a quali session and the two 25 minute races? NB latest list of entries here: http://www.mgcc.co.uk/competition/Oulton_Park/Porsche%20Club.pdf will post a link to the timetable when it goes up
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Yes, myself and Oldtimer (John) will be there to cheer you all on. [
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