Race Report: Toyo BRSCC Porsches, Croft, 12-13 Sept 2015

15th September 2015


Race-Report--Toyo-BRSCC-Porsches,-Croft,-12-13-Sept-2015-motorsport-days

Standing water was the biggest threat to both visibility and safety as

the cars sat in the Croft assembly area ready for 20 minutes of

qualifying for the penultimate round of the 2015 season. A road sweeper

was deployed to remove as much of the worse puddles as possible but the

rain continued as seven Class A Boxsters and 4 924s ventured forth – Niz

Elchamaa missing from Class C after having had his helmet stolen

overnight. Karl Rossin capably demonstrated to the rest of the pack just

how treacherous it was by spinning at Hawthorn on the out lap.

Rick Styrin took pole in the TF Motorsport 986 with Adam Southgate a

mere 0.3 seconds behind and with a simlar gap to Richard Avery in third.

In the 924s Adam Croft was again out front leading Linda Warren a

career-best 2nd and Karl Rossin third. Richard Avery had to clean and

dry out the inside of his Boxster after his fire extinguisher was

accidentally triggered – fortunately a spare was available.

Heavy rain again soaked the track as the clock ticked down to the first

race of the weekend but luckily the clouds parted and sunshine and

rainbows greeted the 13 cars as they assembled in the pit lane. Rick

Styrin led from pole but the most exciting racing was to take place in

his mirrors.

Due to his late qualifying, Niz El-Chamaa was forced to start from the

back of the grid and an early spin from him meant Linda Warren was able

to say ahead right until the final lap when she spun and lost her lead;

you could tell Niz was on a charge, though, as he posted the fastest 924

lap. Adam Croft took the class win and a battle between Karl Rossin and

Alfred Piesinger eventually led to Alfred taking 2nd in the

newly-completed white Victoria Garage car; Karl was less than 1.5

seconds behind in third.

Ed Hayes had a very bad start and spent most of the race playing

catchup. Adam Southgate first encountered a failing 2nd gear at the

start but was later forced to take all of the slower corners in 3rd – he

and his team, aided by Angus Archer, swapped to a spare gearbox from

series sponsors Jasmine Porshalink for Sunday’s races. Nick Hull went

wide twice in his battle with TF Foundry team mate Garry Lawrence for

4th place but eventually Nick’s 987 locked up and sailed into the turn 1

gravel, where Southgate was relatively lucky earlier, skipping across

the gravel and dealing the tyre wall just a glancing blow.

Phil Grayson had received his 18″ wheels just in time for the first race

but admitted the car still hasn’t been set up correctly since its

upgrade from Class B. He finished in 6th behind Ed Hayes’

uncharacteristically poor 5th and Angus Archer in 7th.

A big crash at Turn 1 in race 2 led to deployment of the safety car

while Garry Lawrences’s Boxster was recovered from the gravel, its right

rear wheel only just still attached to the rest of the car. Ed Hayes’

Boxster had also picked up damage to his right front, the door skin

pushed back and the wing left in contact with the wheel, requiring him

to quickly pit and fix it. Nick Hull’s 987 suffered front and mirror

damage and was again a DNF.

In the 924s, Niz El-Chamaa grabbed a win over Adam Croft – already

looking to close out the 924 Championship this weekend – although Adam

effectively equalled Niz’s point score with a fastest lap point. Linda

Warren’s cooling system again failed her and she pulled into the pits

emitting steam and coolant, one of the newly-fitted after Brands Hatch

hoses having come adrift. Philip Grayson’s bad luck continued with a

failing exhaust and flashing engine management light warning of more

problems to come later. Karl Rossin and Alfred Piesinger were neck and

neck for many laps before Karl tried a risky move down Alfred’s inside

at the Hairpin, but he locked up and sailed into Alfred’s left door

causing him to spin.

After the race, our Championship clerk Andy Holley called both Adam

Southgate and Karl Rossin to his office to hand both drivers

disqualifications for “driving in a manner incompatiable with general

safety” – that’s Blue Book-speak for causing avoidable contact. At this

late state in the season, zero points from this race, together with

penality points, could prove crucial to both drivers’ final Championship

standings.

Phil Grayson retired his Boxster before the start of Race 3 after a

serious missfire, later diagnosed as a possibe failing IMS bearing.

Garry Lawrence’s 986 just made it out to the grid, and only then because

Jasmine Porshalink had been able to supply the needed replacement hub

and suspension components to repair the damaged he suffered at Clervaux

earlier that afternoon. Some may have expected him to take it fairly

easy, Garry wasn’t having anything of it and a massive battle ensued

between him and TF team mate Richard Avery for 2nd, Rick Styrin again

having taken the lead – even from the reverse grid. Richard led and

defended for much of the race but Garry finally got the better of him to

take 2nd and he pair had driven so hard they finished only 3.4 seconds

behind Rick.

Another great battle was taking place between the 924 front-runners: Niz

El-Chamaa was determined to get another win over class leader Adam

Croft, and the series’ resident Austrian Alfred Piesinger joined the

fray. Niz ran wide at The Complex and clobbered a tyre barrier with his

left-rear – it did little to dampen his pace but in the end Alfred took

2nd with Niz nearly 9 seconds back. A little further back in Class C and

Linda Warren finally got the better of Karl Rossin and beat him across

the line to take 4th.

Statistically Adam Croft is now uncatchable in the Class C Championship

table – even if Alastair Kirkham makes an unexpected return and wins all

three races, the dropped scores factor means Adam’s adjusted total would

still beat him. Either Niz or the returning Philip Waters could

theoretically leapfrog Karl Rossin to take second place, but I fully

expect all three to take their battle to the last of three races at

Silverstone on 17-18th October. In the Class A Boxsters its even closer,

with their Championship still open to no less than four drivers – Ed

Hayes’s relatively poor showing this weekend severely dented the safety

cushion he could have built up over Richard Avery, Garry Lawrence and

Adam Southgate.

Join us for the thrilling final round of our 2015 season on the

Silverstone International circuit on 17-18th October.

Photo captions:

1D3_08428.jpg – Ed Hayes demonstrating just how wet it was during Qualifying

1D3_08456.jpg – Adam Croft secured the 924 Championship title over the

weekend

M2D_62047.jpg – Adam Southgate launched his Class A Boxster into the

Clervaux gravel trap in Race 1.

1D3_08798.jpg – Rick Styrin took three wins again this weekend

1D3_08819.jpg – Garry Lawrence leads a gaggle of Class A Boxsters in Race 3.

1D3_08849.jpg – The three-way battle for the 924 class win in Race 3.

Toyo Tires BRSCC Porsche Championship

http://www.porscheracingdrivers.co.uk

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