The Silverstone Grand Prix circuit hosted three rounds of the Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli this weekend, September 21st and 22nd, and championship rivals John McCullagh and Tom Bradshaw matched each other win for win as the weekend progressed – until a second place for Bradshaw in the final race handed his rival the advantage heading into the final rounds in two weeks time.The weekend featured an Invitation class for cars not eligible for the Club series, Mike Donovan taking the first two wins and Mark Chilton the final victory. All drivers were racing for the Bill Taylor Memorial trophy awarded to the most consistent racer on handicap over the three races – which was won by final Club race winner Pete Morris, who also sponsored the races via his PMC Midlands company.QualifyingRichard Ellis was quickest of the Club runners in Saturday morning’s qualifying session – his first pole on the series. Behind his Strasse 993 C2 was Bradshaw’s Boxster and Mark McAleer. McCullagh was again was quickest of the Class Two runners, clear of Mark Koeberle and Jonathan Evans.“I really like the GP circuit,” said Ellis, “and the car felt strong. I was hoping for a good result and now I have to put it into practice in the races!”Donovan headed the Invitation class runners, his 997 GT3 Cup just outpacing Paul McLean’s 993 GT2 R.Race OneRain began falling as the cars headed out onto their green flag lap – catching the entire field on slicks and a dry set up. As Mike Donovan led the Invitation field away, there was a 25-second delay before the Club field were released, Ellis leading them away but losing out to Bradshaw as the field arrived at Becketts for the first time.Bradshaw then pushed hard in the slippery conditions, starting to close the gap on the more powerful Invitation runners who were having to be careful in the wet. Behind, a battle was brewing for second in class, McAleer also getting past Ellis early on and heading a group of Ellis, Morris and Kevin Harrison. Places were changing in this group regularly, Ellis getting back into second, and they were joined mid-race by the charging Mike Johnson, up from the back of the grid after missing qualifying due to a broken engine mount. Their dice came to a head into Village near the end of the race, a dive from Johnson down the inside taking him past everyone and briefly into second, only to go wide and the others moved back past. Onto the Wellington Straight McAleer challenged the out of position Ellis, only to go wide himself and onto the plastic ‘grass’, spinning out and putting Ellis back in second from Morris and Johnson.Bradshaw started to close on Donovan for the outright lead at one point, but was more than happy to bring the Hartech Boxster S home second overall but crucially first in the Club championship. Ellis led home Morris and Johnson, with McCullagh’s 968 CS next up, fifth overall of the Club runners and heading Class Two, having battled with the Class One runners in the latter part of the race.“It was very slippery out there, if you were greedy with the throttle the car was going to bite you back,” said Donovan. “It was just hero to zero weather if you locked up it wasn’t going to come back and you had to be cautious and find where the grip was, it felt like an hour-long race, not 25-minutes!”“I was enjoying the race, especially when I was going through the Invitation class runners,” said Bradshaw. “I was the quickest car at one point, but having a mid-engined car really works on a wet and fast-flowing circuit, the car changes direction well, but we were on full dry settings so it was horrible, but maybe not as horrible as it was for some of the others.” “Tom got past me at Becketts, I was leading and first to find the conditions and had a big slide,” said Ellis. “Later on Mike Johnson dived down the inside, I thought it was Mark McAleer to start with as it was a white 996, but I didn’t turn in and let him go straight through, then Mark took advantage but he spun.” “We were battling for any position between second, third and fourth,” said Morris. “It was exciting when Mike Johnson slid past and then Mark McAleer spun and I gained the place. Richard drove really well, his car was very sideways at times.”“I was keen to make sure I got quickest lap as well as the win,” said McCullagh of his late-race pace. “The conditions were tricky for everyone and I had to make sure I was one of the drivers who stayed on the track.”Race TwoIt was a dry track for Saturday afternoon’s race and again Donovan led the Invitation class runners off, with Paul McLean’s 993 GT2 in close attendance, the pair trading places at the front in the early laps. The Club field were again released after a delay and Bradshaw made the best start, McAleer pushing hard early to try to stay with the flying Boxster.As Bradshaw extended his lead McAleer came under pressure from Ellis, who went by, Morris in turn closing on McAleer. With Bradshaw able to pull away for the win to keep his title challenge on track, Ellis continuing his fine Silverstone form with another second place ahead of McAleer and Morris.Donovan’s dice with McLean came to an end as they sliced through the backmarkers, Mclean tipped into a spin at the Loop by another car and having to retire with damage that would put his car out of the rest of the meeting. That handed Donovan his second win of the day, the team then electing not to contest race three.“I got a good start than pulled a gap and tried to protect the tyres,” said Bradshaw. “The race went to plan, no major dramas and the car didn’t miss a beat so we are in good shape for tomorrow.”“It’s turning out to be a good day, we are quick in the dry and the wet,” said Ellis. “I didn’t make the best of starts and that let the others get ahead, and it was hard getting back up to second, by which time Tom had disappeared.”“That was hard work,” said McAleer. “I tried to stay with Tom early, then Richard went flying past and had the pace to go away. That left me to have a good dice with Pete Morris and we had good fun.”With the lead positions settled, the battle for seventh in the Club series saw Class Two leader Jonathan Evans heading a train of cars – at the tail of which was championship leader John McCullagh, charging through from the back of the field after a first lap delay. Knowing he had to match Bradshaw’s result, McCullagh picked off his rivals to head the class – and take his second class win of the day.“There was a tangle at Becketts on the first lap which I had to avoid and I rejoined last,” said McCullagh. “I had to charge through and get the lead back, and Jonathan Evans was doing really well under pressure from a group of cars. Once through them I was just running on my own – that was a hard race, it was tough to get back through the field.”“I got a good start,” said overall winner Donovan, “the brakes weren’t good for the first few laps, then it was a good scrap with Paul McLean. He got by and I got back at him, and it was just shaping up to be a great race when he had a problem.”Race ThreeSunday morning’s race saw Paul McLean move to the front of the Invitation class runners as the field moved away, Chilton taking time to get up to speed and close in on him for an entertaining lead battle. When the Club runners were released, it was Bradshaw who led them away, with a hard-charging Mark McAleer determined to try to stay with the leader.As Bradshaw managed to inch away at the front, McAleer found himself under pressure from Morris, who finally found a way past down the inside into Becketts and set off after Bradshaw. The EMC Motorsport 996 was the quickest car on the track, and started closing in on the leading Boxster, Bradshaw finding himself under pressure after his recent race supremacy.Morris’ pace paid off, and the 996 moved ahead through Copse, Bradshaw giving chase but unable to stop Morris taking the flag and breaking his seven-race winning streak. McAleer claimed third, while Ellis, who had ran fourth of the Club runners for much of the race, retired with a gearbox problem.“I had new tyres and had lots of grip,” said Morris, “and was able to get right with Tom down the pits straight and through Copse, then get by. I took a couple of laps to get the tyres come in nicely, then pushed on when they were ready, and it worked a treat!”“I knew Pete had new tyres on so I was wondering when he was going to come through,” said Bradshaw. “Mark McAleer and I had pulled away, and when I saw Pete coming through I knew we were in trouble, but it was nice to have a bit of a race. It was enjoyable, he drove really well and that was good fun.”That let Marcus Carniel up to fourth, who had battled with Kevin Harrison and Johns on for much of the race, while just behind them on the road was Class Two winner McCullagh, gaining valuable points over Bradshaw. The duel for the overall win was finally won by Chilton after a close and evenly matched battle with McLean, out in a 993 RSR after the demise of his 993 GT2 in race two..“It’s been a good weekend,” said McCullagh, “the car has gone well in all conditions and we’ve pulled it off. I got a good start today, stayed clear of the other Class Two cars, and brought it home for the points. Near the end I was dropping the revs and concentrating on finishing. I need to get a map now – I’ve not been to Snetterton before.”“Paul McLean and I were both on old tyres so there was a lot of sliding about, but it was a good battle,” said Chilton. “It was more luck than judgement that we didn’t touch at times, we were both so out of shape and we had a very similar pace.”Porsche Club Championship, Round 13: 1 Mike Donovan* (997 GT3 Cup); 2 Tom Bradshaw (Boxster S) +20.456s; 3 Paul McLean* (993 GT2 R); 4 Richard Ellis (93 C2); 5 Peter Morris (996 C2); 6 Mike Johnson (996 C2); 7 Sam Mowle* (Cayman S); 8 John McCullagh (968 CS); 9 Kevin Harrison (964 C2); 10 Marcus Carniel (Boxster S). Class Winners: Donovan; Bradshaw; McCullagh. Fastest Lap: Johnson 2m44.970s (79.87mph).Round 14: 1 Donovan*; 2 Mark Chilton* (993 GT2); 3 Bradshaw; 4 Ellis; 5 McAleer; 6 Morris; 7 Peter Fairbairn (993 RSR); 8 Carniel; 9 Harrison; 10 McCullagh. Class Winners: Donovan; Bradshaw; McCullagh. Fastest Lap: McLean 2m12.881s (99.18mph)Round 15: 1 Chilton*; 2 McLean* (993 RSR) +0.589s; 3 Morris; 4 Bradshaw; 5 McAleer; 6 Colin Mowle* (Cayman S); 7 Carniel; 8 Harrison; 9 Johnson; 10 McCullagh. Class Winners: Chilton*; Morris; McCullagh. Fastest Lap: Chilton 2m22.476s (92.49mph).*Invitation class runners, not eligible for points.Next Rounds: Snetterton, Norfolk, October 5th.