Porsche Club Championship - Races 7 and 8, Cadwell Park
James Neal showed his versatility by taking a double win at Cadwell Park this weekend, July 1st and 2nd, on two different versions of the challenging Lincolnshire parkland circuit. Championship leader Ian White had to settle for a brace of thirds, after giving best to Mark McAleer. In Class Two Marcus Carniel was unbeatable, similarly Alex Eacock in Class Three.
Qualifying
The first shock in store for the drivers was that the 1.476 mile club circuit was to be used for Saturday's programme, due to a lack of marshals to provide cover round the full circuit. Neal took pole in his 964 Carrera 2 by 0.157secs over Ian Oliver's 911 Carrera, with White's 911 Carrera sharing the second row with Class Two's James Hilliard (944 S2).
"It was slippery around the hairpin and I think some of the cars were grounding on the exit. I found the right line and even used first gear. It's my first pole and I was rather surprised to be quickest," said Neal.
Mark McAleer's 968 CS shared row three with Richard Lambert's class 2 911 Carrera, which was 3/100ths ahead of class rival Marcus Carniel's 911SC. Alex Eacock's 944 had Class Three pole by over three seconds.
Race one
All 16 cars that qualified made it to the grid, in hot and humid conditions. As the lights went out, Neal headed Oliver, White and Lambert into Charlies, before Carniel slipped into fourth at the Hairpin.
White emerged as Neal's closest rival on the second lap, after Oliver went missing. "It was all my own doing, I lost it at Park. I have speed, but maybe not racecraft," he explained. "He nearly took me out too when he came back over the track!" White replied.
By lap three the lead four began to pair off with White pressing Neal for the lead and McAleer shadowing Carniel in his attempt to regain third, lost a lap earlier. Hilliard made it past Lambert, as a queue began to form, while in Class Three the runners were in formation, with Eacock at the helm.
McAleer's persistence paid off when he retook Carniel a lap later and immediately latched himself back onto the tail of the lead pair. As White came under attack Neal was able to consolidate his advantage, while Carniel towed a four-car train for fifth back into contention.
But Neal had a new challenge to rebuff from lap nine, after McAleer bravely dived down White's at the Hairpin to emerge in second place. "It had to be done didn't it," said McAleer. A lap later a similar attack on Neal, not only failed but also almost handed second place back to White on the exit.
Carniel was able to increase his lead in Class Two, after a sort out exiting the hairpin on lap 10. Lambert clipped the barrier and took Hilliard with him, moving Ben Demetriou and Richard Harrison ahead, before Lambert regained his momentum. Hilliard dropped to ninth behind Marcus Holden's Boxster.
Neal held on to take his win by 1.144secs over McAleer, with White still pushing hard in third all the way to the flag. "That Hairpin was evil, everything felt heavy and the brakes didn't like it too," he said.
"The car wasn't suited but it was great," replied McAleer.
Carniel survived a late threat from Demetriou to take fourth and Class Two. "It got very hot and my brakes played up from the start," he explained.
Harrison and Lambert were next home, with Holden just holding off the recovering Oliver for eighth. David Botterill's 944 S2 completed the top ten, as Hilliard slipped to 12th behind Chris Milne's 911SC on the penultimate lap.
Eacock continued his Class Three domination, pulling out a nine second lead by the flag over Alan Newbold and Chris Berry.
Race two
The full circuit was back in use for Sunday's race, with the grid formed from race one's finishing order. Neal made full use of his second pole to head White, McAleer and Carniel into Coppice on the first lap, with Harrison and Lambert heading the next group.
Neal had already started to stretch the field when McAleer grabbed second into Charlies and quickly latched himself back onto the leader's tail. The lead trio circulated nose to tail with Carniel laying in wait from a solitary fourth. Lambert piled the pressure on Harrison for fifth, while Hilliard eased himself into seventh, well clear of Oliver.
Harrison succumbed to the pressure on lap four. "Lambert got me into the Hairpin, then I got held up and Hilliard came by too," he explained. While the lead trio continued to run as one, Carniel's hold on fourth started to look threatened as Lambert closed in and took Hilliard with him.
With time running out, McAleer and White were both looking to challenge, but Neal appeared to have everything covered. Their battle allowed Carniel and Lambert to close still further, while Hilliard kept Harrison at bay for sixth as Oliver closed on them both.
Exiting Charlies for the ninth time Lambert slowed and lost out to Hilliard on the run into Park. He tried to recover the place at Hall Bends, by which time Harrison was on his tail too.
White had managed to get alongside McAleer for second at Coppice a lap later, but his challenge was to end with third place, when red flags brought a premature end after Lambert's brakes failed at Park and he T-boned Hilliard. Neal therefore took win number two over McAleer and White, with Carniel clinching class two again over Lambert, who was still classified in fifth on countback.
"I had to defend a lot, Mark was very quick through Charlies and I think that was my toughest race of the year," said the double victor.
"I was pushing as hard as I could and it was starting to overheat," said McAleer.
"We were side by side at times, good clean racing," White commented.
"My brakes were vibrating from the start, it wasn't a good idea to bed in new pads," said Carniel.
Harrison, Oliver and Milne were next up, with Holden taking ninth having chased Botterill for much of the race. Eacock comfortably headed Newbold and Berry again in class three, while Demetriou completed the finishers after an early pit stop. Hilliard's car was extensively damaged in the red flag incident, but the driver was relatively unharmed. "My neck hurt a bit but otherwise I am OK," he said.
Race One: 1 James Neal (964 Carrera 2) 13 laps in 15m49.773s (72.73mph); 2 Mark McAleer (968 CS) +1.144s; 3 Ian White (911 Carrera); 4 Marcus Carniel (911 SC); 5 Ben Demetriou (911 SC); 6 Richard Harrison (Carrera); 7 Richard Lambert (911 Carrera); 8 Marcus Holden (Boxster); 9 Ian Oliver (911 Carrera); 10 David Botterill (924 Carrera GT). Class Winners: Carniel; Alex Eacock (944). Pole Position: Neal 1m11.876s (73.93mph). Fastest Lap: Neal 1m09.418s (76.55mph).
Race Two: 1 Neal 9 laps in 15m53.289s (73.85mph); 2 McAleer +0.290s; 3 White; 4 Carniel; 5 Lambert; 6 Harrison; 7 Oliver; 8 Chris Milne (911 SC); 9 Holden; 10 Botterill. Class Winners: Carniel; Eacock. Pole Position: Neal. Fastest Lap: McAleer 1m43.276s (75.74mph).
