Races 13 and 14, Croft, North Yorkshire - 23rd and 24th September 2006
McAleer Wins on Track as White Takes Title
Yorkshireman Mark McAleer was a double winner as the Porsche Club Championship visited his home circuit of Croft, but caution in tricky conditions made sure Ian White left the North East as Class One winner and the newly crowned 2006 overall champion.
A first and second place in Class Two was enough to see Richard Lambert win that class title and take second overall.
QualifyingAs has often been the case this season, McAleer's 968 CS and White's Carrera battled it out for pole. McAleer finally secured the place by 0.473s, while the next of the Class One cars was James Neal's 964 C2 in seventh.
Richard Lambert's Carrera just edged out Fraser Robertson's 944 in Class Two to score the point for pole and keep the pressure on White in the points table, and Volker Eickmeyer was the only Class Three runner in his 911.
Race OneMcAleer and White ran as one until Tower corner on the opening lap, before White decided to back off and conserve his title aspirations.
"I wasn't going to risk anything," explained White, "and Mark got me around the outside of Clervaux at first. When we went into Tower side by side I decided I had better let him go!"
By the end of the 13-lap race the gap had opened to over two seconds, with White well clear of Class Two winner Lambert, who also picked up the point for fastest lap to keep himself in championship contention. Marcus Carniel's 911SC just held off Robertson for fifth and second in Class Two, with James Hilliard's 944 third in that class and rounding off the top six.
"That went according to plan more or less," said White after the race.
With Eickmeyer retiring on the second lap, there were no Class Three finishers.
Race TwoMarcus Holden was absent from Sunday's grid, the race the final round of the season and now the title decider. A heavy shower had made the track extremely slippery and as the lights went out it was Carniel that led the field off the line and into Clervaux, with White second and Robertson slotting in behind.
McAleer moved into third out of Tower after Robertson had the first of many spins on the greasy track, while Lambert, Dave Botterill and Neal led the rest. McAleer started to close on White into Sunny on lap two, and exiting the Hairpin White slowed and let his rival charge past to set off in pursuit of leader Carniel.
Lambert followed through and kept the lead pair in sight as White eased up in fourth and waited to be crowned champion. "All I had to do was finish the race," he explained.
McAleer found his way past Carniel through Clervaux on lap four, but Carniel immediately retook into the chicane. As their lead started to grow, Neal started to make inroads on White for fourth.
With grip at a premium Carniel got sideways out of Tower on lap seven and allowed McAleer and Lambert to close again. But it was the penultimate lap before McAleer found his way through to clinch win number two out of Clervaux.
"I knew Ian didn't want to get involved. If I hadn't had a bad Silverstone this could have been my championship," rued McAleer, who had retired with a driveshaft problem from the Silverstone race two weekends ago.
Neal and Oliver completed the top six, with Botterill and Hilliard completing the top four in Class Two. Eickmeyer once again failed to make the finish in his Class Three 911.
Result Race One: 1 Mark McAleer (968CS) 13 laps in 21m13.059s (77.200mph); 2 Ian White (Carrera) +2.873s; 3 Richard Lambert (Carrera); 4 Marcus Carniel (911SC); 5 Fraser Robertson (924); 6 James Hilliard (944); 7 David Botterill (924 Carrera GT); 8 Ian Oliver (911 Carrera); 9 James Neal (964 C2); 10 Marcus Holden (Boxster). Class Winners: McAleer; Lambert. Fastest Lap: McAleer 1m36.681s (78.195mph).
Result Race Two: 1 Mark McAleer 10 laps in 20m04.486s (62.765mph); 2 Marcus Carniel +2.763s; 3 Richard Lambert; 4 Ian White; 5 James Neal; 6 Ian Oliver; 7 David Botterill; 8 James Hilliard; 9 Chris Milne; 10 Fraser Robertson. Class Winners: McAleer; Carniel.
