Race Report - Races 11 and 12: Brands Hatch, 18/19 September 2004Richard Chamberlain was the star of the Michelin Porsche Open Series at Brands Hatch over the weekend (18/19 September). In

both very wet and dry conditions, he romped clear of the pack in his 935 as Rupert Lewin (996GT2R) gave chase.Craig Rapp (911GT3 Cup) was top man in class two in both races, while John Allen (993 Supercup) and Wayne Jackson (944 Turbo) shared the class three wins and Tim Bevan (944) and James Clare (924S) emerged on top of class four.Race oneHaving planted the 935 on pole in a dry qualifying session, Chamberlain headed the field into Saturday's horribly wet race. Lewin was slow off the line and slipped to fourth behind Rapp and Henry Firman (911 GT3 Cup) as series returnee Stuart Scott (911GT3 Cup) also made a slow start.While Chamberlain romped clear, Lewin set about moving back into second and by the end of lap two the 996 blasted ahead of Rapp as they charged past the pits. Further back, Jackson and Ragdan El-Akabi (Carrera RS) were running close at the head of class three.By lap eight, Chamberlain was over 10 seconds clear, but that soon changed as the safety car appeared. Gerald Harrison (911GT3RS) and Frank Cortes (944) had gone off into the gravel at Druids and the safety car ran four laps while the stricken cars were moved.Chamberlain knew he had to push hard from the re-start, but two backmarkers were between the 935 and Lewin, so Chamberlain was able to rush clear as Lewin had to wait until the start line before he could surge ahead of the slower cars.Rapp settled back into third place away from the green, but it was Firman who lost out most as the pack re-shuffled. While Firman was caught in traffic, Scott nipped ahead to claim second in class. "I just got hemmed in at the start," admitted Firman after chasing Scott all the way to the flag. But victory had gone to Chamberlain in style. "The first couple of laps were very slippery. I just didn't want to take any risks and throw it off!" Rapp, meanwhile, was a secure class-winning third behind Lewin. "It was very horrible out there; I just tip-toed around trying not to fall off."While kicking himself for losing out to Scott, Firman at least took fifth overall ahead of Tony Brown (964RSR) after Brown spun at Druids mid-race. Class three went down to the wire as Jackson fell away with a distinct lack of grip. That left El-Akabi ahead but Allen was closing all the time. Heading into the penultimate lap, Lewin came up to lap and then El-Akabi went wide into Paddock to give the faster car room. Allen spotted his chance and ducked inside to follow Lewin through as El-Akabi ran wide and skimmed the gravel."I got bogged down at the start," explained Allen. "Then I just followed Rupert down the inside. Ragdan was just trying to keep out of his way!" With Alex Eacock absent, Bevan had a clear run to class four from Clare and Charles Winterhalder (944).Results – 24 laps:1 Richard Chamberlain (935) 25m16.280s (69.91mph); 2 Rupert Lewin (996 GT2R) 25m34.718s; 3 Craig Rapp (911 GT3); 4 Stuart Scott (911 GT3); 4 Henry Firman (911 GT3); 6 Tony Brown (964RSR); 7 John Allen (993 Supercup); 8 Ragdan El-Akabi (Carrera RS); 9 Tim Bevan (944); 10 James Clare (924S). Class winners: Chamberlain; Rapp; Allen; Bevan. Fastest lap: Chamberlain 54.656s (80.76mph).Race twoConditions were much better on Sunday with sun and blue skies overhead as Chamberlain set a searing pace that left Lewin as the only un-lapped runner. Chamberlain led for all bar the first 200 yards when a quick starting Rapp burst through from row two to lead for a few seconds. Class two winner Rapp ran third throughout and was well clear of Brown who came back well from an early spin. It was only late on that Brown wrested fourth spot from Firman who shadowed him to the flag. Scott rounded out the top six, unable this time to win his friendly battle with Firman.Jackson was relieved to have a dry race and overcame Allen to claim Class three, but with under a second blanketing them after 27 laps of racing, it was almost too close to call. El-Akabi completed the top three in class.However, it was the battle for Class four honours that focused the attention, with Clare and Bevan trading the lead on countless occasions. It looked to have ended when Bevan suddenly slowed going up into Clearways and peeled into the pit lane.In fact, his engine had cut out as a result of having knocked off an electrical switch on the dashboard as he changed from fourth to third gear. Realising his error, he picked up speed in the pits and drove straight through to chase after Clare. Just 1.6s covered them at the flag with Bevan left wincing at his error. Results – 31 laps: 1 Chamberlain 25m15.502s (90.34mph); 2 Lewin 25m50.251s; 3 Rapp; 4 Brown; 5 Firman; 6 Scott; 7 Wayne Jackson (944 Turbo); 8 Allen; 9 El-Akabi; 10 James Clare (924S). Class winners: Chamberlain; Rapp; Jackson; Clare. Fastest lap: Chamberlain 47.720s (92.50mph).The Michelin Porsche Open Series resumes at Castle Combe on 2 October.