Toyo Tires Porsche Racing Driver’s Championship – Sixth Round – Brands Hatch – 22/23rd August, 2015

The sixth round of the Toyo Tires BRSCC Porsche Championship returned to the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch this weekend for a double header event. The several hours between qualifying on Saturday morning and race one on Saturday evening provided considerable downtime for the drivers; however Karl Rossin would have been thankful for the long waiting period after his engine blew in qualifying, and he needed until Sunday afternoon to fit a new one after borrowing from a fellow driver.

With temperatures reaching 30 centigrade on Saturday, qualifying got off to a blistering start when, after just two laps were completed, the session was red flagged after Karl Rossin’s engine failed on the straight just before Paddock Hill. Dumping its oil along the Brabham Straight, he tried to manoeuvre his way off the track only to be clipped by one of the Race Boxster’s. With a fellow 924 taking evasive action to avoid the #41, Rossin was eventually recovered and qualifying resumed.
Ed Hayes posted the fastest time on lap nine to take pole for the first race, 0.32 seconds faster than Garry Lawrence who took second. Adam Southgate made up the top three, with Rick Styrin having to settle for fourth in his second event of the season.

With the temperature only increasing throughout the day, driver’s and spectators enjoyed several hours of rest before the evening’s race at the picturesque Kent circuit. Karl Rossin and his team worked tirelessly throughout the day, after sourcing a spare engine from one of the fellow 924 camps. Southampton-driver John Cleland, after rectifying his overheating problem, was hit with an electrical fault causing loss of power just half an hour before the start of race one. Despite rapid throttle body and air flow sensor changes, the fault seemed to be wiring, not engine related, and he was forced to retire from the weekend.

With Karl Rossin and his team still working on fitting their engine, he was unable to participate in Race one. Rick Styrin got off to a blistering start, surging away early on, with Ed Hayes hot on his tail, with the two drivers exchanging places. Despite a strong start from Garry Lawrence, an early spin on the run up to Druids put him to the back of the Boxster grid. Drivers Nick Hull, Richard Avery and Garry Goodwin enjoyed a terrific battle in the middle of the Boxster race, with the three drivers repeatedly exchanging positions.

found himself with a DNF after leading the race. Angus Archer also scored a DNF in the Boxster’s after just seven laps and he required a new centre radiator from on-hand sponsor Jasmine PorschaLink UK.

Hayes to take the race win, keeping the Yorkshireman at the top of the Driver’s table. Andy Hack’s fine driving rewarded him with second, with Adam Southgate making up the final podium place. Garry Goodwin’s fine performance earned him sixth place, just ahead of Nick Hull, with Richard Avery taking fifth.

After the race, a charity raffle for the PDA’s adopted charity CMT United Kingdom went down brilliantly, with prizes donated by series sponsors Toyo Tires, Jasmine PorschaLink UK and among others, Maplin CEO, John Cleland.

Heavy rain on Sunday morning was a stark contrast to Saturday’s weather, and it persisted until half an hour before the start of race two. Karl Rossin and his team worked well into the night, and were up early Sunday morning, to ensure he was able to compete in race two.

An early surging start from Rick Styrin saw him take an assailable lead, with Ed Hayes behind in second. Richard Avery found himself unlucky not to take the race win, after an inspired on-track performance saw him move past the opposition on his way to catching Styrin, who was unchallenged in first place. Avery weaved his way through the competition, breezing past Ed Hayes into second and surging on towards Styrin, who was forced into a tactical shift after realizing Avery was well positioned to sneak ahead. The two battled right up to the penultimate lap when Avery made a move, sensing a now or never chance, and overshot himself at Druids to bed himself in the gravel trap leaving Rick Styrin free to take the race win.

Two distinct class battles occurred in the Boxster’s, with the battle for the top spot between Styrin and Avery, and a battle at the back between Garry Lawrence, Adam Southgate and Nick Hull, with each driver exchanging positions throughout the race. Garry Goodwin posted another good performance to take a second sixth place finish, with Avery and Hack both scoring DNF’s, the latter with electrical problems.

In the 924’s, Adam Croft again fell short of a race win, after he and Niz el-Chamaa battled throughout the race. Niz eventually pipping Adam to the top spot. David Jones’ third place finish gave Jamie Callender a second forth of the weekend, with Karl Rossin posting a solid fifth place finish after fitting a new engine.
Although he didn’t win anything in the charity raffle, Garry Lawrence surely won the best prize of the weekend after proposing to his partner after the second race, while on camera. Congratulations, Garry!

With only six races left spread across two events the Championship titles are still there for the taking. The next round see’s the Championship return to Croft in the North East on the 12th and 13th of September.