Local racer Marcus Carniel dominated at Oulton Park, only headed through the very first corner of the first race on his way to two wins at his home circuit. Mark Sumpter and Pete Morris rounded out the podium on race one, with Mark McAleer and Morris once more chasing home Carniel in the second of Saturday afternoon’s two 25-minute races.

The Class Two runners once more had their own race in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge event, Richard Bennett taking his first class win in race one after an incident saw neither Tim Bates nor Chris Dyer in the final result sheets. In race two, Dyer returned to winning form to take the victory, clear of the chasing Bates.

Qualifying

Carniel topped the times on a damp track in qualifying, over a second clear of the rest who were headed by Mark Sumpter in his 911 SC. Series returnee Mike Clapham was third, with Mark McAleer alongside, having finally finished work on his 968 after the damage it received at Snetterton in the previous round at 3.30am on Saturday morning before driving down to Oulton Park in time for qualifying.

“I just found my own space on track,” said Carniel, “there was a dry line everywhere. I need a good start now, and then try to pull away.”

Race One

Sumpter made the best start of the two front row men and headed the field through Old Hall, before a mistake at Cascades saw Carniel slip through and Sumpter defending hard from the pack. Carniel had a handy gap at the end of lap one ahead of Sumpter, McAleer, and the flying Kevin Harrison, up from eighth on the grid.

By the end of lap two Harrison was into third and closing on Sumpter, setting a brace of fastest laps as he moved closer. Pete Morris also deposed McAleer, in turn also setting fastest lap as the battle for second closed up.

Just as Sumpter was starting to look threatened, the battle for third intensified and he was able to ease away again, Morris looking inside Harrison into Old Hall on lap seven. With Carniel clear at the front and Sumpter opening a gap, Harrison was under pressure from Morris and McAleer, before slowing and finally pitting as gearbox problems hit his 964 C2.

It was a well-deserved third win of the season for local man Carniel, Sumpter taking his best finish of the year and Morris rounding off the podium. McAleer was fourth, one of a number of runners to find Oulton Park hard on his brakes.

“I enjoyed that! I messed up the start and thought I was going to get mugged by everyone,” said Carniel. “Mark Sumpter made a mistake in Cascades and I was able to get through. I pulled a gap initially, and then it was a case of getting to the end. I could see other people’s pit boards to know what the gap was. I just had to manage the tyres, this is a demanding circuit on tyres and brakes, that’s half the job done today!”

“I made a really good start,” said Sumpter, “then I think I just underestimated the amount of grip I had in the first corner. I was on brand new tyres, and nearly lost the car completely in cascades – I had to do some heavy blocking on the way into the Shell hairpin. Once the car had some grip I was able to pull away, but had to nurse the brakes a bit. Good fun, and we are really getting there with the car.”

“I got stuck behind Mark McAleer,” said Morris, “but the rear-engined cars had the legs on me today. I had a good battle with Kevin Harrison, but think he had a problem. A great race and thoroughly enjoyable.”

Tim Bates headed the Class Two runners in their race, with championship leader Dyer in close attendance and Richard Bennett, his car rebuilt after a big off in testing on Friday, running third. Bates opened a gap, only for Dyer to close it back down again, and the two were close together going into lap eight when they touched, Bates spinning off into the Old Hall tyre barrier. Dyer took the flag but was later excluded, Bennett thus taking his first Porsche Club class win ahead of Anthony Oliver.

“The team did some fantastic work just to get me back racing, the rear of the car was a mess yesterday,” said Bennett. “I need to thank everyone who helped, especially the Strasse team who had the engine mounts we needed. It’s nice to win, but I really want to do it on my own merit.”

Race Two

Carniel took the double in race two, making the best start and then opening a gap that he then controlled. Behind, Clapham was second on the grid, having missed race one with an oil leak, but was soon out as more problems hit, and McAleer was second, ahead of Sumpter and Paul Follett.

Follett lost ground on lap six, as Sumpter closed on McAleer and took second on lap eight, only for McAleer to lance back past as they started lap 10. What was building into an exciting battle was ended when Sumpter pulled off with a driveshaft failure a lap later, elevating David Botterill to third, with Pete Morris right behind him.

Carniel took the flag for the win, with McAleer secure in second, but on the last lap Morris found a way past Botterill to claim the final podium spot. With Botterill fourth, Follett claimed fifth.

“I messed up the start, even more than the first time,“ said Carniel, “I had to go as wide as I dared to hold on in the first corner. The car feels tired now, the brake pads were new for race one and are worn now, and I didn’t really dare let up the whole race. I can’t complain about the weekend, pole and two lights to flag wins is always the dream and it’s nice to pull it off so close to home.”

“The car was good now we have the brakes sorted after race one,” said McAleer, “I had a good battle with Mark Sumpter who was going well but I just couldn’t get close enough to Marcus to put a challenge in. It’s a great result after all the work we put in to get the car here.”

“My car was getting hotter and hotter,” said Morris, “but I was getting blocked, finally got clear, and got past David Botterill on the last lap. I had a poor start, spun the wheels, and lost places right there. I’m glad to get third again, a good weekend.”

Dyer took the lead on the opening lap of the Class Two race, with Bates behind ahead of Oliver and Bennett. Dyer opened a gap that he then managed for the rest of the race, never letting Bates close enough to mount a challenge. As Dyer took his eighth win of the season, Bates claimed second in his battered 911 SC and Bennett claimed third.

“I was determined to make a good start and had a game plan for that race,” said Dyer. “The car went well here today, the handling has been fantastic and we have done a lot of work on the suspension.”

Porsche Club Championship Class One Race One: 1 Marcus Carniel (964 C2) 13laps in 25m48.503s (81.36mph); 2 Mark Sumpter (911 SC) +2.952s; 3 Peter Morris (968 CS); 4 Mark McAleer (968 CS); 5 Richard Ellis (993 C2); 6 David Botterill (964 C2); 7 Paul Follett (968 CS); 8 Adam Dawson (993 C2). Fastest Lap: Morris 1m57.620s (82.39mph).

Class Two Race One: 1 Richard Bennett (944 S2) 12 laps in 25m00.224s (77.51mph); 2 Anthony Oliver (944 S2 ) + 1 lap. Fastest Lap: Tim Bates (911 SC) 2m00.170s (80.64mph).

Class One Race Two: 1 Carniel 25m49.338s (81.31mph); 2 McAleer +2.235s; 3 Morris; 4 Botterill; 5 Follett; 6 Miles Maserati (968 CS); 7 Ellis; 8 Dawson. Fastest Lap: McAleer 1m57.677s (82.35mph).

Class Two Race Two: 1 Chris Dyer (944 S2) 13 laps in 26m30.621s (79.20mph); 2 Bates +2.703s; 3 Bennett; 4 Oliver; 5 Paul Seagrave (944 S2). Fastest Lap: Dyer 2m00.155s (80.65mph).

Next Races: August 30th, Castle Combe, Wiltshire.

For Further Information: Paul Jurd

Paul.jurd@kone.com

O7713 477418