Two dramatic Apex Tubulars Porsche Open races at Spa yielded two different winners - Paul McLean winning an incident packed race one on Saturday while Rupert Lewin and co-driver Markus Paltala drove through from the back of the grid to claim Sunday's 50-minute race. Mike Donovan kept clear of trouble to take two second places, while Steve Rance twice took fourth and Class Two victory while Mark Chilton dominated Class Three.

QualifyingLewin and Paltala used the mighty horsepower of the 996 GT2 to take pole by over five seconds, Spa letting the potent machine stretch its legs during Friday's . Peter Cook was next up with his GT2 while Mike Donovan was first of the newer 997s in third overall and first in Class Two. Chilton headed Class Three ahead of the Jarman family 993.

Race one

It took two goes to get the first Porsche Open race of the weekend underway, the field using the Formula One grid that leads to a tight hairpin before the run down the hill to Eau Rouge. Track conditions saw drivers making late decisions on tyres, with differing choices being made.

Paul Hogarth looked to go through a gap between Lewin and fellow-front row starter Peter Cook, Hogarth and Cook touching and Hogarth's 997 spinning out the race. "I got a push from behind and went into Cook," explained Hogarth.

Lewin rapidly opened a gap at the front, before Ray Dias went off heavily on the exit from Eau Rouge and was out, his car heavily damaged. That brought out the Safety Car which circulated for three for three slow laps, finally releasing the field with just three minutes remaining.

As the field took off, Cook made a quick start, but collided with Lewin at the hairpin, putting them both out the race.

"The steering arm was damaged in the first incident," said Cook, "and it was touch and go whether I was going to carry on, then on the restart, it failed completely and I had nowhere to go."

"We went with intermediate tyres and the car felt like a dream," said Lewin. "I had the race under control by the second lap but then the Safety Car picked up the Club cars rather than the Open leader, and at the restart I had to choose which way to go at La Source. I went wide, but got hit and there was a lot of damage to my car."

Rance and Colin Ingram lost out in the confusion, McLean taking the lead to be chased home by Donovan. Rance slipped to fourth with a lap to go as Gerry Harrison moved into third.

McLean's victory came despite clutch problems that plagued the car all weekend. "That was a good run by Paul," said team-mate Peter Fairbairn. "We decided just before the start to go out on slicks."

"I was on slicks and got a decent start," said Donovan, "avoided the incident at the first corner, then again avoided the one at the restart. The GT2 was just too powerful for me and I couldn't get near him - the conditions made that a challenging race."

Fourth for Rance still gave him the Class Two win, despite damage from the incident that put out Lewin. "I was hit from behind and also hit Rupert," said Rance. "I did one lap at 80% and nothing fell off, so I went back to race pace. I lost a place to Gerry Harrison, but when I got out the car at the end I couldn't believe the damage when I saw it myself."

A strong drive from Mark Chilton saw him take Class Three and eighth overall with his 928 GTS.

Race TwoRace Two was dominated by Lewin and Paltala, despite the pair starting form the back of the grid. Superb work from the team - with help from local specialists - saw the GT2 repaired after the damage in Saturday's race, and Lewin was quickly on the pace, moving up to fourth when he handed over to Paltala as the pit window opened.

Paltala continued at unabated place, the car claiming a comprehensive victory.

"I just tried to take as many people as possible," said Lewin, "and we wanted to hand the car over to Markus at the first moment possible and he did the job, he was a real pro. It was great of the team to get the car back together and I have to think them for their effort, and for the help we had from locals. "

Mike Donovan took his second runners up slot of the weekend, while Fairbairn and McLean brought Saturday's race winning car home third.

"I led off the line, and was able to lead the middle part of the race," said Donovan, "but Paltala was very quick and I just had to lat him pass - it was a satisfying weekend."

"We took someone's advice and changed the set-up for Sunday," said Fairbairn, "and that made the back loose and we were sliding lots. We then lost time when the clutch that had been giving us a problem all weekend saw us stall at the change, but Spa is a great circuit and it is great to race here."

Rance once gain claimed Class Two and fourth overall: "The car felt good today despite running with a broken hub, I pushed hard for the first four laps and when I saw I couldn't stay with the lead cars I just controlled my race from there. I've had four wins and a second now and it is going well, I'm pleased with the weekend."

Chilton again claimed Class Three.

Apex Tubulars Porsche Open Race One (30 minutes) 1 Peter Fairbairn (GT2 RS) 30m55.013s; 2 Mike Donovan (996 GT3) 30m56.668s; 3 Gerry Harrison (996 GT3 RSR); 4 Steve Rance (996 GT3); 5 Paul Winter (996 GT3); 6 Henry Firman (996 GT3); 7 Colin Ingram (996); 8 Mark Chilton (928 GTS); 9 Peter Jarman (993); 964 RS). Class Winners: Fairbairn; Rance; Chilton. Fastest lap: Fairbairn 2m36.283s (100.23mph).

Race Two (50 minutes) 1 Rupert Lewin/Markus Paltala (GT2 RS) 50m18.599s; 2 Donovan 50m54.155s; 3 Peter Fairbairn/Paul McLean (GT2 R); 4 Rance; 5 George Brewster (997 GT3); 6 Firman; 7 Ingram; 8 Harrison; 9 Andrew Tate (997 GT3); 10 Chilton. Class winners: Lewin/Paltala; Rance; Chilton. Fastest Lap: Lewin/Paltala 2m25.348s (107.77mph).

Next rounds: Silverstone, Northants. July 27th / 29th