Brands Hatch 16 August 2008

Brands Hatch 16 August 2008

Porsche Open Series

Two 30 Minute Races

Weather: Fine but overcast

This meeting was to be a 1 hour race with the drive being shared by Paul and Tim but due to reorganisation it ended up as two 1/2 hour races. Paul and Tim decided they would share the car with Paul going out in the first race and Tim taking the second.

We had an early start Saturday morning and none of us were particularly bright after travelling up the night before and a somewhat bizarre evening in a local Indian restaurant (Complete with Elvis impersonator!).

Qualifying for us was the first session of the day and both Paul and Tim had to qualify. Racing on the Indy circuit makes for short lap times and it can be quite hard to find space to put in a quick lap. Paul had quite bit of traffic and cold tyres but Tim took over during a temporary red flag period and qualified the car in 4th so all was well and we were looking forward to the first race.

The first race saw some close racing with Paul having a close battle with a class 1 968 RS Turbo that hadn’t been seen before this season. Towards the end of the race Paul was pushing hard for third place and was unlucky to find himself beached in the gravel on the outside of Clearways. His first DNF this season – but if it was easy everyone would do it! (Wouldn’t they?)

We cleared the car of gravel ready for Tim to take it out in our next race. Tim has limited time in the car but he did exceptionally well getting a first in class and third overall. Unfortunately he was brought in for weighing at the end of the race so missed his podium, which was a shame. He was pretty satisfied with third anyway and we were all pleased for him too.

All that was left to do was pack up the truck and wait for the end of the meeting so we could get out – having the garages does have its downsides, although I’m sure we would have been grateful if it had been raining as forecast.