FROM THE DRIVERS SEAT -- CASTLE COMBE 27/08/2012 This event was the penultimate round of our championship, and I came into it wondering what would happen? and would it affect the standings much? Testing at Combe is on Thursdays so with races on a Monday few of us actually tested. I know Sumpter was out and allegedly he did 200 miles to hone his already impressive driving technique. In Class 2 Mark Koeberle was also out a week earlier and when I spoke to him beforehand there was a quiet confidence about what he'd achieved with his track time! My only preparation was viewing my race video from last year, this is really helpful and I had convinced myself I would be 'on it' as soon as we rolled out into quali - would it be enough? Firstly a word about the BBC weather forecast. I am hugely impressed by it's accuracy, it said rain around 9-ish which would stop in late morning, with another round of heavier showers in the afternoon. That is how it was. Quali was at 08:30 and was dry and rain followed immediately, Race 1 was around lunchtime on a wet but slowly drying track and Race 2 was a re-enactment of the Rivers of Babylon! QUALI Sumpter ran away with it in Class 1 with the two Hartech Boxsters in close order behind, Morris and McAleer queueing up behind. Yes, you guessed it, Mark Koeberle stole pole in Class 2 despite a last minute effort from Alex Eacock, I managed third but was over a second slower. There seemed no question that the races were going to be wet so we set about converting the car to a full wet set-up, something we'd become experts at this season! RACE ONE The track was almost fully wet and intermittent wipers were required. Getting off the line was fun, lots of wheel spin and bit of jostling as some made a better fist of it than others. Mind you visibility was not great after the long run into the first corner at Quarry - but that improved as the field spread out. In Class 2 Alex got the best start, then me and Mark close behind - Richard Higgins was also in close proximity in his 968. Soon Higgins got past me but slowed later as his engine was overheating (more on that later). Mark also got past and started the chase towards Alex but was unable to haul himself up there. It finished Alex, Mark and me, with Higgins still running but slowly. Out front in Class 1 it finished Sumpter-964, Morris-996, Demetriou-Boxster. RACE TWO Much wetter and I went for a gentle drag off the line - this worked wonders as the grid eased it's way around Demetriou who had complete clutch failure. I was away ahead of Alex, Mark and Richard but that was not going to last long as Alex squeezed past a couple of laps later. I had a bit of space for a while and then Mark attached himself close to my rear bumper looking for a way past, the rain then fell a bit heavier and then more on his spin. The long start finish straight has a kink in it half down called Folly and water was sitting in long lines which you do have to cross somewhere -- aquaplaning was starting to happen and rear ends were twitching! Having escaped a mild sideways moment myself I looked in the mirror and Mark was wrestling with his car, little bit left, a little bit more right and so it went on until he did 3 or 4 full spins, ending up in the infield with the relief of an undamaged car - phew! He gathered himself to finish 4th in class. Richard Higgins has had a nightmare couple of seasons with engine failures in his 968 often associated with overheating. In fact I sold him my best spare engine to get him out of trouble a few weeks ago and he still had problems with heat. Anyway after the first race lots of head scratching revealed that he had been using an aftermarket radiator, yes it was the right size BUT was now believed to be the culprit as it did not have the complexity of core to get all the heat out - bingo. His sister has a road going 968 at the circuit, so the rad was borrowed from that and off to Race 2 he went. He had a new lease of life now and was able to drive to the full limits of the car, yes he caught me with a couple of laps to go and that is how it finished Eacock, Higgins and then me. Yes Sumpter won again in Class 1, what a competitor. Morris also second with Proctor and then McCullagh home in his 968. It was miserable and wet after the races, plus the fact that I was exhausted. So I did not pack anything up, I tied down my car shelter, made myself a bit of a meal in my campervan, put the TV on and hunkered down for the night! Woke to a sunny morning, so everything could be packed away dry and I toodled back home. Off to Silverstone now on the 21/22nd Sept, I need to finish all three races and race well against the others in Class 2 if I want to challenge for the top spot ..............
] From a spectator's point of view it was a great day out. The Porsche races were easily the best of the day. Especially the battle between Mark Sumpter and Pete Morris in race 2.
