Oulton Park 2019

10/9/2019

The weekend of 30 August saw the last race of the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship at Oulton Park. Our team headed north with little preparation required - the car was on form from Snetterton.

Testing on Friday was dry and Ben put in some comfortable laps and a good benchmark for Saturdays races. He was also able to take the Hatfield car for a few laps, which showed him how much difference the extra 60kg made to our car - we had just as much power, but getting out of the corners at top speed was a challenge.

Saturday 31 August was Race Day and the weather was overcast but dry. Ben set out for qualifying and was leading the pack for the first few laps, closely followed by Matt Bird and Will Heslop. But then Will overtook on the last lap to take pole position followed by Matt. For the first time this season Ben would be starting on the second row.

As the cars sat in the holding area for Race 1, the heavens opened - all the cars had on dry tyres, so we decided not to change them. The officials decided that the race should start by following a pace car for two laps, followed by a rolling start.

Will got off to a great start and had a comfortable gap out front. Ben was quick on the first lap, passing Matt, before hunting down Will. Taking the lead, he kept his cool to lead for the rest of the race. This was the greatest of victories as the points from this race confirmed Ben and the Bournemouth team as Champions for the year.

The tracks dried out for Race 2 - the final race of the season. Ben led from the start, with Will on his bumper. Matt was also on the hunt, but he looked a little off the pace. With a few laps to go, Will pulled off what was described by the commentators as the ‘move of the weekend’. (Unfortunately, this occurred on the opposite side of the track, so we will have to wait for Amazon Prime to show it in the highlights.)

Ben was quick to react and stayed with Will at the start of the last lap. Two more corners and Ben passed Will again, taking the inside line. As he passed there was contact and, unfortunately, Will ended up on the grass - when he returned he fell back to third. Matt was able to hold second for the rest of the race while Ben took victory, making it two out of two to finish the season.

As all the Boxsters returned to the paddock, Ben and Will had to visit the Clerk of the Course to decide if action was required regarding the incident. It was ruled a racing incident, so the finishing positions would stand.

With the news that the Championship will continue next year as the ‘Porsche Classic Boxster Cup’ we, and the other Centres, can compete again – this time also against members of the public. We look forward to it and we thank the Porsche Club and Porsche Cars GB for a thrilling season

Photo credit to Dan Webster, Racing 38, for the use of the three wheels off the track photo.

A vlog can be found on our YouTube Channel and click here to follow our journey.

Please contact us on info@porschebournemouth.co.uk if you would like more information.