The second round of the 2023 season was a three-race double-header at Anglesey with an impressive grid of 29 cars.
Steve Hewson once again landed pole in the Saturday morning qualifying session in his PDK 718 Cayman 0.47 seconds ahead of the Boxster of Patrick Scharfenegger & Stephen Cunniffe. Richard Harman, bringing a 944 Turbo to us, was third and was set to appear in Steve’s mirrors for the first two races. Making his first appearance of the season in his now heavily modified 924 was John Jones, having made the trek from one island to another. And this weekend we were joined by our first 911 – an impressive 1973 LHD slope-front driven by Ken Van Hauen. Another returnee was Garry Goodwin, pairing with his brother Michael; and past winner of the BRSCC Porsche Championship Graham Heard brought his bright liveried 986 Boxster.
The drivers of three of our cars, including the McHughs and the Cregos, were keen enough to take part in the 45-minute Roadsports race earlier, making the most of the dry sunny conditions.
Race 1 (15 minutes)
Stephen Cunniffe chose to run his Boxster topless in the first of our three races. Philip Waters found his 924 had no 1st gear and had to start in 2nd – for the rest of the weekend. As the lights went out, Cunniffe lost out with a poor start allowing Hewson to pull away. Garry Goodwin and #44 Sam Callahan battled for position, but the latter’s tired tyres started to lose grip. Hugh Peart lead the SP4 924s class, ahead of Philip Waters and John Jones.
Cunniffe’s bad luck continued with a spin, knocking him out of the top 10 but he soon started to regain lost places. Philip Waters grabbed the 924 lead from Hugh Peart with only a couple of laps remaining. Andy Baker span on the exit from the last corner, resulting in a cloud of smoke that made the commentators think his engine had let go. Meanwhile, Heard’s Boxster started emitting oil smoke on gear changes. Paul Simpson also span onto the grass from the last turn, robbing him of an overall third and the SP2 win.
Hewson took the overall win, 3.8 seconds in front of Harman’s 944 Turbo with Christian Walker’s Boxster third. Hugh Peart took the 924 win.
Sunday: Race 2 (15 minutes)
The grid for the second of our two sprint races was based on the results from Race 1, meaning it was Steve Howson’s Cayman and the 944 turbo of Richard Harman on the front row. Graham Heard returned, no longer emitting oil smoke. Jamie McHugh nudged the back of Sam Callahan’s Boxster and put his own car out of shape in the process.
The #199 Boxster of Patrick Scharfegger (left) went wide on the exit of the last corner, quickly followed by a spin by Mike Curtler who was lucky to avoid contact from the following cars. Andrew Peck – a retirement from Race 1 – made good progress through the field in his white 968.
Metin Yilmaz’s right headlight started to make a break for freedom from his Boxster, while #72 Mike Curtler got a tad close on the exit of the hairpin, only to go into a drastic spin as he braked for the final corner. Gary Martin’s Boxster disappeared into a cloud of tyre smoke after his spin in the closing lap.
John Jones – celebrating with much enthusiasm – took his first SP4 class win ahead of Phil Waters and Hugh Peart, who all spent the entire race “soooo close” together. All 29 cars finished the race.
Harman said later “I couldn’t quite get close enough to Steve Hewson in his blistering 718 Cayman, but I was trying hard! We had an excellent race and it was good to push Steve along a bit”. With Hewson taking the win, Harman this time was a mere 1.48 seconds adrift after 15 minutes of racing.
Race 3 (40 minutes)
The final of our three races included a compulsory pit stop with each car having to be stationary for 60 seconds – although very few cars were shared with a second driver. Everyone knew Saturday’s sunshine couldn’t last and the weather had started to turn misty and damp as the lights went out. The supercharged air-cooled 911 of Kenn Van Hauen was the only non-starter.
Christian and Jon Walker and Paul Simpson were nose to tail as they all chased 2nd overall and the SP2 class win. Paul Hick’s silver Cayman went nose-first into the tyre barrier exiting shortly after turn 1, leading to a safety car deployment just before the pit window was to open. The long lead Hewson had achieved promptly vanished, with Harman’s 944 turbo back on his tail. Paul Simpson pitted just before the pit window opened but made the mistake of existing the pitlane against the red light to re-join, earning a disqualification post-race.
Just three cars continued to circulate for the final lap of the safety car, meanwhile Jon Jones retired his 924. Christian and Jon Walker then took over the lead in their Boxsters, with novice Andrew Duce third. Scharfeffer’s Boxster span exiting Church, but quickly recovered to re-join. Steve Hewson was on a charge back to the front, putting in a fastest lap with 6 or 7 laps remaining.
With rain just starting, the #20 Yilmaz Boxster was flagged in by marshals for its worsening oil surge and retired. Jon Walker and Paul Simpson were neck-and-neck in their thrilling battle for 2nd as the front three closed on Hugh Peart’s 924 to lap him. With 3 laps left, Hewson took Peart and Andew Duce’s Boxster to put him 4th. Graham Heard’s Boxster slowed to a retirement while Patrick Scharfeffer span for a second time as the track became wetter. Minor contact between Walker and Simpson allowed Hewson’s Cayman through to take 2nd, then on the final lap, the lead. Simpson saved his Boxster from a big slide exiting the final corner to give him 3rd behind Walker.
Awards
As well as trophies for the top three in each class and top three overall, extra awards went to James Harvey for “Best Turned-Out Entry” – sponsored by our new partner ROWE Motor Oils – as he’d worked tirelessly to get and keep his car on the grid. And to Dan Crego as “driver of the day” – sponsored by our leader Phil Waters – who not only drove brilliantly but also helped countless other drivers fix their cars over the weekend.
James Harvey wins the award for”Best Turned-Out Entry” – sponsored by our new partner ROWE Motor Oils
JDan Crego is awarded “driver of the day” – sponsored by our leader Phil Waters – presented by Ellie of SW Engineering and Andy Lowry
Full results are available via the 750MC website calendar.
Full coverage of Saturday‘s and Sunday‘s races are on AlphaLive’s YouTube channel. Photos are courtesy of Jon Elsey – his full gallery from the weekend is now on his website.