Croft circuit in Yorkshire paid host to our first round of the 2025 with three races over two days.

Friday testing

Will Cutler did a full 360 and recovered to continue in his Boxster. Dan Crego had to retire his 968 when he found that changing just a wheel bearing wasn't enough to fix that problem.

We welcomed back Steve and dad Ernie Cheetham, Ernie being one of those responsible for the creation of the 924 championship that was the grandfather of the series we have now. Stuart Tanton was another newcomer, sharing a newly-acquired 987 Cayman with Stephen Dean – both come from a bikesports background.

Saturday qualifying

We shared the track with some of the Roadsports cars for our 20-minute qualifying session in the rain. Steve Lloyd posted a very impressive P2 in his 968 with Ryan Mone’s sole 944 third. Steve Cheetham qualified 10^th after the car started to be dogged by a misfire.

Race 1

The first of our sprint races took place on a damp but drying track. Warren Allen’s Gulf-liveried Cayman surged to a an early lead. Steve Cheetham was carving through the pack from the get-go, grabbing 2^nd by only the second lap, meanwhile one of the two 924s, that of Finn Voar and Thomas Gray retired just after turn 1 on the with a separated throttle cable.

A gaggle of four Boxsters circulated closely together in their own battle. Rich Gravestock's

987 Cayman – also to be seen in Roadsports races on the same day – pitted with a PDK gearbox issue that required a “turn-it-off-and-on-again” reset before he was able to rejoin. The two 968s of James Carey and Steve Lloyd were also in a tussle of their own.

Drama in the closing second of the last lap as the Boxsters of Jamie McHugh, Will Curtler and Mike Curtler had a “Ashgood Sandwich” coming together exiting the hairpin, all cars suffering bumper damage and all drivers, ego deflation.

Warren Allen too the first of his wins of the weekend, finishing 16-odd seconds ahead of the chasing Cheetham, with Andrew Duce bringing his Boxster in third. James Carey won the SP3 class and newcomer Aiden Crockett brought his 924 home for an SP4 win.

Race 2

A sharp intake of breath was heard in the Croft pitlane at the sight of Roger Coy’s Boxster completing two full rolls after colliding with the barrier just after the chicane. The race was immediately red-flagged as marshals and medics descended on the stricken car, with Roger existing the shattered remains by himself. Whilst he made a visit to the medical centre to be checked over, and the somewhat crumpled car recovered, the rest of the entries were re-gridded for a restarted race that lasted a disappointing 5 laps.

Michael Goodwin, this time driving the 986 Boxster without his injured brother, had pitted with a front right brake issue – he was to join the restart from the pit lane.

Although Steve Cheetham was at the front, Warren Allen overtook him into turn 1 to again take the lead. Again we lost one of the pair of 924s, the same “college car” retiring when its alternator bracket broke and the car limped into the pit lane in a cloud of steam.

Allen was penalised 10 seconds for jumping the restart which meant at the flag Cheetham took the overall and SP1 win. Grant Jackson this time took P3 overall with Andrew Duce again fastest in SP2. Steve Lloyd brought his 968 home for the SP3 win just ahead of Ryan Mone’s 944.

Post race examination of Mike Goodwin’s Boxster revealed that the inside brake pad had been fitted backwards, so his SP2 4^th in Race 1 and 5^th in Race 2 became all the  more impressive – but of course led to some ribbing for his mechanic dad.

Race 3

A late start to the day meant a lie-in for all of the CALM posse, with our 40-minute pitstop race scheduled for a respectable 1pm start. We’d already lost Dan Crego’s 968 entry and Roger Coy’s scary crash had put paid to him and Jamie McHugh’s racing; Ryan Mone withdrew his 944 due to a family issue – we wish his wife well. The “college” 924 was also a non-runner after its alternator and resultant cooling failure on Saturday.

Steve Cheetham had the bit between his teeth and took the lead from the lights, which he held on to until lap 3 when Warren Allen went through; again the pair of 968s lapped closely together while the midfield was dominated by the large collection of Boxsters – Will Curtler landing a black and white track limits flag but no penalty. Jamie Nailard span his Cayman on lap 3 but recovered.

Andrew Duce was the first driver to take the mandatory pit stop; it was Steve Cheetham who pitted before Warren Allen, the team performing a perfect pitstop while one of Allen’s crew lost his stopwatch, snagged on the Cayman’s door mirror. Grant Jackson, driver of the “Black Pig” Cayman, just missed the end of the pit window and received a 60-second post-race penalty but kept hold of the SP2 third place by a mere half second. Rich Gravestock’s PDK issue resurfaced but this time he was able to restart while out on circuit, an action with attracted the Clerk’s rath, but fortunately no penalties.

Awards

All of the bespoke trophies – kindly produced and provided by Rich Gravestock – were handed out in the afternoon along with extra prizes for “Driver of the Weekend” which went to Steve Cheetham for his drive in Race 1; and the “Best Turned Out Entry”, awarded to the Cayman of Stephen Dean and Stuart Tanton, run by Tim Gray Motorsport.

Our next round – a single day event - takes place at Donington on Saturday, May 30th.