On Sunday the 31st of July, 21 race-ready Porsches arrived at Snetterton Circuit to take part in the 40-minute CALM all Porsche trophy race. The weekend was lining up to be interesting, partly due to the constantly changing weather conditions and also the large mix of cars on the grid, 924s, 944 Turbo, 968s, Boxsters and a Cayman, a lineup that would make for fantastic racing for the drivers and the spectators. We also welcomed quite a few new faces to the CALM family this weekend including James Charalambides, James Caley, Fernando Getino, Gary Martin, John Westbrook and Mike Curtler.
As the drivers were called up for qualifying there was a last-minute panic as the rain started to come down, with some drivers choosing to opt for wet tyres, and some rolling the dice keeping on their racing slicks in the hope of the rain stopping, or at the very least a dry line appearing. Qualifying had proved to be tricky as the rain was persistent throughout our session. With many of our experienced newcomers tiptoeing around trying to keep the cars from spinning and sliding off sideways. Attempts were made to find grip wherever possible, sometimes more successfully than others. In the end, it was the number 60 car of Calum Lockie and Roger Coy which claimed Pole position, after Calum managed to put their SP3 class 968 in the top spot, breaking the Boxster dominance at the front. James Caley qualified top of the SP1 class, claiming the second spot on the grid overall. The number 91 car of the Archers’ taking 1st in the SP2 class, 3rd overall. Neal Blakes qualified top of the SPDA class and would start 7th on the grid, with James Charalambides clinching the top spot of the class 4 924s. An impressive first outing for his team and the car, complete with Road Registration plates!
After lunch, the weather had improved somewhat, but as the drivers lined up in the assembly area for the green flag lap, the skies darkened and once again rain fell. Despite this, the Marshalls proceeded and the cars set off on the green flag lap, desperately trying to get some heat into their tyres and brakes, whilst also trying to ascertain the condition of the circuit.
Once the green flag lap was completed, the drivers lined up on the grid, waiting for the lights to go out, or flag, due to ongoing lighting problems at the circuit, and the race got off to a great start for most. Jon Walker got off to a flying start, taking his car up from a grid position of 4th, into 1st by the second corner. Karl Rossin also had an awesome start, making up 7 places in short order, and the starters were happy that no jump start had occurred. As the drivers came round the track through Palmers for the first time, there was a swift reminder that the surface was far from ideal and very damp, Roger Coy lost the back end of his 968, and wound up spinning front first into the barrier.
The 51 car of the Walkers had extended a nice lead in the opening stages of the race, and soon after the pit window opened, Jon headed for the pit lane to hand their leading car over to his son. Christian duly set off, and once all of the pit stops had been completed it was a 2 horse race for first across the line, with the other contender being Sam Callahan in his SP2 Boxster S. The 2 drivers were racing each other for every inch of the circuit, with neither one wanting to yield yet doing well to give each other room and be respectful drivers. They continued to switch positions for the remainder of the race with the briefest of paint rubbing coming through Brundle, but both managed to keep their cars on the track. After a very eventful 35 minutes and in the closing stages of the race, Sam Callahan’s Boxster S suffered a mechanical failure, and he was forced to retire from the race. So close yet, that is racing.
In fact, there was a higher rate of attrition, with only 11 out of the 21 cars that started the race, crossing the chequered flag after 40 minutes. In the end, it was the Father-Son number 51 Boxster shared by the Walkers that took 1st overall, and first in class 2, with the number 54 car of Neal Blakes taking 2nd overall and first in class SPDA. Stephen Archer and Felix Archer finished 3rd overall and 2nd in SP2. SP3 was won by Daniel Crego in the number 35 968, finishing 5th overall and SP4 was won by the 924 shared by Karl Rossin and Gary Cambell, despite having to respond to an Orange and Black flag for fluid spotted coming from the car forcing a pit stop and a quick resolution that many an F1 team would be proud of.
The fastest lap of the race was impressively done by Calum Lockie in his 968 shared with Roger Coy, after they managed to repair the car and get it back out on track after Roger Coy’s initial contact with the barrier, the indispensable Duct tape coming to the rescue quickly for them.
The next round is at Anglesey, with initial interest and entries looking good, no doubt in some part due to the excellent amount of track time available at a very low entrance fee. We are looking forward to seeing you all there – if you haven’t raced Anglesey before, you are in for a real treat with the Coastal circuit being one of the most loved circuits by the drivers!
Overall Winners
1st – #51 Jon WALKER/Christian WALKER – SP2 Boxster S
Words by Dan Crego, with some of Seah Mulchay’s excellent photos – for the full collection visit his Flickr page. Full result sheet on 750MC’s website (PDF document).
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