Race Report: Toyo BRSCC Porsches, Croft, 12-13 Sept 2015
15th September 2015
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.
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Toyo Tires BRSCC Porsche Championship
http://www.porscheracingdrivers.co.uk
Track Days / Test Days / MotorsportDays.com
