Thruxton 11/12 June 2011 Porsche Club Championship

Thruxton 11/12 June 2011 Porsche Club Championship

The beginning of our season has seen us developing the Porsche 968 and 944s2 to make them more competitive. Our visit to Donington Park in May highlighted some suspension issues on both cars and we were determined to get to the bottom of the problems we were having.

The 968 had upgraded suspension at Thruxton and we new that this, along with some tinkering of ride heights, would make it more competitive. After our 30 minute test we decided on a few minor adjustments to the shocks but otherwise we were ready for qualifying.
Mal’s 944s2 had quite a few problems, most of them had been highlighted by in-car footage at Donington. Adjustments to suspension, a rebuild of the gearbox and LSD, a new clutch and new brakes were all completed on the run up to Thruxton and we hoped that Mal would be able to have a much more controlled experience. The short test before qualifying confirmed that he was much happier with the way the car was driving – he was good to go and much happier.

Qualifying
Qualifying went reasonably well for Paul and Tim, although sharing a car for the weekend always makes this session quite difficult – just as the driver is getting a feel for the car and track they need to come in and change over so they can both qualify. This saw Paul qualify in 10th and Tim in 15th, they both hoped for better races. Mal did exceptionally well in qualifying putting his car in 8th, but more importantly, a class 2 pole position. The long hours put into the car over the last couple of weeks looked like it was paying off!

Race 1
Paul drove the first race and managed a creditable 6th. When the experience of the field is taken into consideration 6th should be considered a good result, especially as Paul hasn’t had a great deal of time in the car. However, Paul is always looking to improve time and position so we’re sure he’ll be pushing to get amongst the leaders at our next meeting.

Mal was doing well in his 944, although wheelspin off the line meant he had to concede the class lead early on to the more experienced  Dyer. Performance dropped off toward the end of the race and eventually he had to retire when his tyres were giving him “unusual” handling characteristics. This was a shame because he would have been placed 2nd in class if he could have made them last a few laps more.

Race 2
In complete contrast to the glorious sunshine on Saturday, Sunday was a very wet day. It was with some trepidation that Tim and Mal prepared to go out on the fastest circuit in the country in the pouring rain! We gave both cars a full wet set up (a rudder might have been more appropriate), with Tim going slightly more aggressive in his set up than Mal. Both cars got an exceptional start with Mal 5th (from 8th) and Tim 6th (from 14th!) after the first lap. By the end of the race, by virtue of some very brave overtaking Mal had reached an exceptional 3rd place overall (and class 2 win) and Tim was right behind him in 4th, even after a high speed excursion onto the infield at the fastest part of the circuit! These two had some great battles throughout the race with Tim being marginally quicker but just unable to get past the 944.

Overall we had a great weekend with both cars performing well. Our three drivers were happy with their cars and Mal was “chuffed to bits” with his 3rd place – even if he didn’t realise where he had finished!

Next outing – Rockingham July 16th