Vaguely Porsche related newsHot off the press for 911virgin towers

It`s hard to believe but young Emily is now 2 years old. Born 22-11-00 you`ll see her running round the yard from time to time. Here she is trying to look like her father ! One of her birthday presents was a Boxster which she is learning to clean in the hope we can have her earning her keep fairly shortly. And no - we aren`t that silly, it`s a little plastic one with pedals. (Click on the photo for larger image)

This is an annual race and traditionally the last race of the season in memory of much loved Porsche enthusiast and racer Bill Taylor. Bearing in mind the last time Henry raced here 6 weeks previously was his first ever race he actually did rather well. The previous day`s practice was cancelled due to torrential rain and qualifying was a wet affair, the end of which saw our intrepid leader placed 8th on the grid out of 50 or so drivers !

(Click on the photos for larger images from the race)

The race it`s self saw Henry take a gamble on tyres opting to run wets which, it turned out was the wrong decision. At the start he was left standing struggling to select any gears and when he did eventually get rolling he was the second to last car. The next two laps were, and it pains me to admit it, awsome ! He overtook cars two at a time in some cases to get back up the field. Just as at Donnington the tyres soon reached the limit of their adhesion and lap times were well down with him being the only car on wets. Lap 20 saw 3rd and 4th gears decide to pack up and go home for an early bath so sadly the race was over and car 22 rolled into the garage. But just for a brief moment there was some light at the end of the tunnel. we may yet make a racer out of the old git yet !

Once again a damp qualifying this time using the Dunlop Formula R01 tyres normally run in the dry. The circuit retained a lot of water and so Henry was well off the pace and started from the back of the grid of the wet tyre shod cars. The race was a full wet affair and a good start away from the lights saw him gain 2 places. There was a bit of confusion as some cars went their own way off the banked first turn but they all met up again at the first hairpin left hander! By some fluke of luck our noble leader found himself 2nd in class and had built up a good lead over the 3rd placed car when Mr Chamberlain`s 935 gave up the ghost in the middle of turn 6 and the race was red flagged. 

The re-start meant all the poor boy`s efforts were to no avail as the cars were bunched back up. Once again he managed to fend off the 3rd placed car to finish 2nd in class and get a cut glass trophy. Future employment prospects permit me from using words like lucky, old and git or mentioning the fact that there were only 5 cars entered in the class. Our apologies in advance for your being forced to admire said trophy on your next visit. I can assure you as well, that rumours of a Christmas DVD and video featuring Henry`s driving are all lies, even Help the aged refused to stock it saying it wasn`t worth the shelf space !

Qualifying was in the wet and as if that wasn`t bad enough oil on the whole of the circuit made the whole thing look like Swan Lake on ice. Richard Chamberlain (faster than a speeding bullet), qualified 5 seconds slower than the middle group on the Porsche club track day. They got the calendar out to time our dear leader ! It carried on raining right up to the race when it dried out completely, half the field were on wets, the other half on dry tyres. Needless to say Happening boy opted for the wets and so was sliding round the corners sideways on tyres that really wished they hadn`t got up that morning, (the wet tyres get too hot in the dry and lose grip and rigidity). 

Just to add a dash of spice they had combined the Open with the last championship race of the Classic series. The classic drivers were on a mission to decide championship standings. Number 22 took it`s first racing "kiss" from one of the classic cars who shall remain anonymous but we know who you are Barrie !! At the end of the day 6th in class was nothing to be too ashamed of and a lesson learned in having the confidence to run dry tyres in drying conditions. Click on the little photos for larger images.

Well the boy finally popped his racing cherry ! Qualifying saw him go round the national circuit in 1.07 which for a first visit to the track wasn`t too embarrassing. The race it`s self saw a good start and by lap 2 Henry had found a hole in the field and was keeping pace. Lap 3 saw the race stopped for a shunt at Beckets. The re-start found our intrepid leader in a battle for the whole race with a brace of Aston Martins and a little Elise nibbling at his heels. The Astons whilst weak under braking and cornering thundered up the straights and undid all the poor chap`s hard work each lap. Position changed 3 or 4 times each lap for the whole race with literally inches between the cars at times and a happy bunny emerged out of the car after the chequered flag had dropped. A first lesson in race craft well learned. Next stop Donnington park on October 12th......Click on the photo for a larger image

Sunday saw a gaggle of cars searching the local villages for clues, the locals being a little surprised by the sudden influx of Porsches. The Coussey`s were the overall winners in their 911 Turbo 2 even if they did cheat by substituting a scampi for the required chicken nugget. The track day it`s self was a great success. Track sense organised the day, Tom and Henry were giving laps in the 993 and 944. The winner of the James Dean challenge shield was Deepak Madan in his 993 Cabriolet. His 3 spins should have seen him taking an early bath but as 1 happened when he was under instruction he was allowed it for free! For many it was their first venture onto a race track and all vowed to return. (click on the photo for a larger image)

This is it. The 911virgin.com race car for 2003. As raced by the Jones brothers in 1997, 1998 and early 1999. The car is a standard 993 with the addition of some aerodynamic aids as allowed in the Porsche cup in 1998. It`s got Penske adjustable suspension. At the moment the car is very heavy (even retaining electric windows!), as even in this trim it had to carry penalty ballast in 1998. If the driver improves we`ll look at reducing the weight / increasing engine power to get closer to the allowed class 4 limit of 4kg per 1 bhp.(click on the photo for a larger image).

Michael Schumacher has shown us that even the might of Ferrari can`t win races without a good driver and that sadly is where we struggle, having to rely on the fumblings of our noble leader behind the wheel. He`s done a few track days in the past but this will be his first foray into competitive motor sport. On the plus side his new race overalls really do look the business and all the top Le Mans drivers wear the same nomex socks ! He may well surprise us - just don`t hold your breath.(click on the photo for a larger image).

Spa is a bit special. Set high up in the mountains it weaves it`s way up and down over 4 miles or so of rolling Belgian countryside. The F1 drivers say it`s their favourite track in the series and it ain`t hard to see why. Some fairly spectacular machinery and equally well qualified drivers saw the noble leader christened with fire in the little RS, some of the single seater race cars were taking no prisoners! 2 days of heaven (although the heavens themselves stayed closed for both days which is virtually unheard of in that part of the world), organized by RMA. Some superb in car camera footage for anyone sad enough to want to see it !! Click on the little photo for a big piccy (Clive from Paragon about to be overtaken - again !!)

What a day! It rained buckets then the sun beat down, then it rained buckets, then the sun beat down, then it rained buckets some more. As usual we had the RS and the 944 shod with the Dunlop D98`s (soon to be replaced by the D01 - although Dunlop are crap Re: stock availability so who knows when they`ll actually arrive!). They did time us and the combination of driving rain and slick like tyres meant we were well down the field - then the sun shone !!!!! Drying tarmac and warming tyres meant for some flying laps. Our noble leader even managed to overtake a balls out Tiff Needel driving an Autocar reader`s varioram 993, ( will he ever stop going on about it ?). More rain meant sliding around again but what a circuit to practice wet weather 911 handling on. Even their noble leader Jonathan Palmer flew in by helicopter for the day. Most enjoyable.

Last Easter saw the introduction of Cream Eggs to our bag of goodies in the sales office. This year we`ve gone one better. Not only have we managed to pinch a brand new second hand drinks machine off the painters we`ve also (for a limited time only mind), decided to offer those 70`s classics Wagon Wheels to keep you going while you count out the money. You try getting that from your local main dealers !

Our noble leader was out in the USA in February keeping the young Mark Sumpter from Paragon (dodgy cars dealers somewhere in Sussex !), company whilst he competed in the Rolex 24 hour. It was their first attempt at the race, one of the most demanding tarmac trials in the world. Unlike over half the feild they managed to complete the event despite the usual mechanical gremlins racing throws up. Valiant efforts by the Eurotech pit crew at 3.00am saved the day. Well done to Mark, Graham, Mike and David. We are thinking of entering one of the diesel Range Rovers for next year`s event, a couple of 200 litre oil drums full of diesel in the back and a steady 85mph should prevent the need for time wasting pit stops, the spare drivers could kip down on the back seats. What was that thing about the Hare and Tortoise

Following on from Bedford we`re off to Goodwood Friday 14th December for the day and we`re trying out some interesting tyres. Dunlop Formula R`s. Whilst being road legal they claim to perform as close to slicks as is possible. The benefit is not having to take a spare set of wheels with you to the track (and carrying the car on a trailer). Let`s see how they fare ! (click on the small picture to see it enlarged)

We`ve sorted out a couple of trackday cars for next year and they had their first outing at Bedford Autodrome on the 28th November. Click on the small photos for larger images of each car.

The first is a 944 lux, 2.5. Stripped out with a roll cage but standard engine. We`re running that to show you how much fun can be had for less than £5k. It won`t blow cars away on the straights but we think you`ll be surprised on the bends. We`ve already killed a few giants with it. It`s superb fun and throughout the year we`ll outline little changes we make.

The second car is a 964 RS. Again not the fastest car in the world on a straight but fairly nimble round the bends. The first trip out saw a bit of experimenting with tyres. As with the 944 we`ll keep you posted of any work we do to the RS. If you see us on the circuit and want a ride in either of the two cars just ask.

Thanks to Mark Sumpter of Paragon for allowing us to steal a couple of his old tyres - incidentally look out for him at the Deytona 24 hour race Jan/Feb 2002 - Le Mans next ?????

Little Emily is one year old. Born on 22-11-00 she thankfully shares none of our noble leader`s looks or miserable temperament. She is however a chip off the old block in other ways though - she dribbles most of the time, often has a rather strong smell, sleeps for a large part of the day and is always nibbling women`s breasts. Click on the photo for a couple of other photos of our next chairman.