4 Porsches and their eager drivers gathered on the 9th of April 2022 for the third round of the CALM All Porsche Trophy race at Thruxton race circuit. For many of the drivers, this would be their first outing on what is now considered the fastest circuit in the UK, rewarding those competitors who show not just the most skill, but bravery too.
There was a fantastic turnout of spectators at the circuit and we were very lucky to be sharing the weekend with the BARC British Truck Racing championship. As well as the many regular faces, we also welcomed a new driver to the grid. Pip Hammond in his white 924 car number 111 joined us for his first race in the CALM All Porsche Trophy, however Pip is no stranger to this car, having won the BRSCC 924 Championship in 2017 with the same car.
The Porsches started the day off with qualifying commencing at 9am for 25 minutes, giving the drivers the challenge of a few laps to learn the circuit before starting to put in some hot laps to move their way up the field. The lap times very quickly started to come down as the drivers got more and more comfortable with the circuit. James Harvey in his SPDA Boxster looked set to take pole, but an unfortunate incident at the end of the session meant that both he and Karl Rossin were unable to start the race.
Due to James Harvey’s retirement, Sam Callahan found himself sitting on pole with Rob Hardy starting in second and the 924 of Chris Valentine and David Hornsey starting third! Tom McHugh who was the fastest class 3 car qualified 5th overall, with the class 1 car of Bale and Hicks starting from ninth.
The sun was shining over the track as the cars lined up on the grid after their green-flag lap getting ready to start the race. A small drama as the lights were about to go out for Sam Callahan, who seemed to be unable to shut his door before the race commenced, but managed to sort it just before the race started.
The lights went out and the cars set off on their 40 minute race – the longest of the weekend. Everyone got away cleanly and it was looking set to be a Boxster-dominated race as the front 3 began to pull away from the rest of the field. Further back, Pip Hammond had managed to get his 924 up to fifth, chasing down the 944 of Tom McHugh. Unfortunately the 944 suffered a mechanical failure 15 minutes into the race and was forced to retire.
In class 4, Hammond looked well set to finish the race at the top of his class as he extended his lead over the rest of the 924s, however an unfortunate coming together with Darren Constant’s 924 at the pit entrance meant that he had to retire the car at the half way point. After the pit stops had all been done, Rob Hardy’s Boxster in second place was pushing hard to catch Sam Callahan in pole, however Sam managed the gap well and was able to secure himself the win with Rob following him over the finish line, the two separated by only a couple of seconds.
Dan Crego running in fourth after the pit stops managed to chase down Brian Richardson in his number 13 Boxster S, and pass him on the inside going into church corner to put his 968 up into third place overall and break the dominance of the Boxsters in the top three podium positions.
The SP2 Class was won by Sam Callahan who finished first overall, followed closely by Rob Hardy in second. Daniel Crego managed to get his 968 from 8th on the grid up to 3rd overall and first in class. Class 4 was won by Chris Valentine and David Hornsey in the number 88 924, followed by Ivor Mairs finishing second in class and seventh overall. Class one was won by Bales and Hicks in their lovely Porsche Cayman. Fastest lap of the race was awarded to Dan Crego in the number 35 Porsche 968.
Overall winners 1st – Sam Callahan – SP2 Boxster S 2nd – Rob Hardy – SP2 Boxster S 3rd – Dan Crego – SP3 968
Words by Dan Crego; all photos provided by official series photographer Sean Mulcahy.
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