Sept 11th
RACE ONE
Qualifying was challenging! First of all the track was moist and drying so tyre choice was crucial. Add to that Andy Ruhan’s big off after one lap which brought out the safety car and you are left with a very short session in heavy traffic to set a decent time. Not everybody got it right, as a result the grid looked a bit unusual. Toby Tarrant-Willis was on pole with Alex Martin and Danny Winstanley right behind. But at the rolling start Alex Martin and Danny Winstanley got the jump on Tarrant-Willis and these two carried on where they left off in previous rounds.
Until disaster struck when Craig Wilkins spun in traffic and clouted his gear box spraying oil all over the track. The ‘slippery surface’ flags went out, but even so the pack arrived at the spot and suddenly there were cars everywhere and out came the safety car again. The unlucky Andy Ruhan was left with nowhere to go and arrived in the gravel damaging the rear quarter of his Porsche. He wasn’t alone.. Sarah Bennett-Baggs also exited into the gravel along with Chris Bentley and David Fenn.
When the safety car came in and racing resumed the battle for the lead raged on until the final lap when Danny Winstanley was forced to pit with a damaged gearbox, leaving Alex Martin with what turned out to be a comfortable win . Toby Tarrant Willis had a ‘moment’ during which everybody missed him and he rejoined way down the field. But during the incident Marco Pullen squeezed through a tiny gap and emerged intact running third and leading Group Two ahead of Nick Foster! Don Grice was next to arrive in the gravel traps narrowly missing the parked Ruhan car! Just behind him Leon Price was having a great drive back from a low grid position. It had been a very hectic race with all sorts of drama but it was Alex Martin who took the chequered flag in Group One, Marco Pullen in Group Two and Tom Andrew in Group Three.
Group One
1st Alex Martin #87 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
2nd Leon Price #88 Ferrari 430 GTC
3rd Gary Eastwood #6 Ferrari 430 GTC
Group Two
1st Marco Pullen #13 Ferrari 360 GTC
2nd Nick Foster #52 BMW CSL Coupe
3rd Colin Broster # Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
Group Three
1st Tom Andrew #7 KTM XBow
2nd David Botterill #8 Porsche 944 Turbo
3rd Dan Norris-Jones #73 Lotus Exige
RACE TWO
Once again Toby Tarrant-Willis was back on pole and determined not to let Alex Martin get ahead at the start. Unfortunately Tarrant-Willis was rather too enthusiastic at the start and was penalised 10 seconds. Despite this he put up a great fight fending off the charging Alex Martin but that all ended when Martin just touched the Tarrant-Willis Porsche and spun him off. The resulting damage to Tarrant-Willis’ Porsche put him ouit of race. This later earned Alex Martin a 20 second penalty which dropped him down to 6th in the results. Danny Winstanley in his TVR had replaced the gearbox but all was not well and eventually he fell into the clutches of the ever improving Gary Eastwood in his Ferrari 430 GTC. Eastwood’s team-mate Leon Price was sidelined after just five laps when an engine oil seal failed and he was left with no clutch.
In Group Two Marco Pullen in his Ferrari 360 GTC was having a great race and keeping up with the faster Group One cars and eventually coming 3rd overall and winning his class ahead of Nick Foster in his BMW CSL Coupe. The drive of the day came from Andy Ruhan who, after his off in qualifying, had started right at the back of the grid and he when Alex Martin was dropped down the results Ruhan was rewarded with a 3rd in Class and 5th overall! Colin Broster put in another excellent performance in his Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car and came home 3rd in Group Two.
In Group Three Tom Andrew had a relatively straight forward race to win the class ahead of Sarah Bennett-Baggs in her BMW E46. Once again Dave Botterill bought his amazing Porsche 944 Turbo home 3rd in class.
Group One
1st Gary Eastwood #18 Ferrari 430 GT
2nd Danny Winstanley #78 TVR Tuscan
3rd Andy Ruhan #6 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Group Two
1st Marco Pullen #13 Ferrari 360 GTC
2nd Nick Foster #52 BMW CSL Coupe
3rd Colin Broster #15Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
Group Three
1st Tom Andrew #7 KTM XBow
2nd Sarah Bennett-Baggs #72 BMW E46
3rd David Botterill #8 Porsche 944 Turbo
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS OVERALL
1ST Keith Webster #10 BMW M3 E46 261 points
2nd Marco Pullen #13 Ferrari 360 GTC 253 points
3rd Alex Martin #87 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 252 points
GROUP POINTS
GROUP ONE
1st Alex Martin #87 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 252 points
2nd Gary Eastwood #18 Ferrari 430 GTC 225 points
3rd Leon Price #88 Ferrari 430 GTC 195 points
GROUP TWO
1st Keith Webster #10 BMW M3 E46 261points
2nd Marco Pullen #13 Ferrari 360 GTC 253 points
3rd Michael Symons #31 BMW M3 E46 228 points
GROUP THREE
1st Tom Andrew #7 KTM XBow 217 points
2nd Dan Norris-Jones #73 Lotus Exige 195 points
3rd David Botterill #8 Porsche 944 Turbo 175 points
The next round is Brands Hatch on September 18th/19th
