2013 BRSCC Porsches meeting 4 Snetterton

Boxsters Battle at Scorching Snetterton
The series' return to the Norfolk circuit saw us share the bill with the British Superkart Grand Prix and FIA/CIK European Kart Championship under the BARC -- so the paddock was awash with officials and media from all over Europe. Forecasts predicted hot weather and that's exactly what arrived, with temperatures approaching 30C for the Saturday and little respite for the second race on the Sunday.
We had the largest number of drivers registered to race that the series had seen for many years and in theory expected a grid of 31 cars, including the return of two very popular drivers from previous seasons: Sean Siddall, who has moved from a 924 into a Class A "Race Spec" Boxster like mine; and Andrew Hannington, who hired a 924 for one of two "guest" appearances with us this season.
In the briefing on Saturday, drivers were admonished for the damage seen at the last round, Zandvoort, and both the PDA and BRSCC emphasised that the series is expected to be contact-free. Fortunately the warning proved mostly effective, although there was still some damage with Marc Mackenzie's Boxster being one of the biggest sufferers after a heavy sideways impact with the barrier at the Montreal hairpin.
Echoing the weather, Rick Styrin set a scorching pace in Qualifying of a shade under 2:12 but JM Littman, Steve Boyles and Jonathan Greensmith all showed considerable pace and promise for Class A. Rebecca Jackson was looking to grab a Class B championship lead over Julian Brown in the knowledge that Bernie Printy would miss this round; accompanying them on the grid was newcomer Michael Goodacre. In the 924s, Andrew Hannington proved he hadn't lost his racing touch grabbing P3 in Qual with Hen Sharpe and Alastair Kirkham both looking quick.
Race 1 on the Saturday afternoon saw an epic battle between Littman and Boyles for the Class A P2 spot - Boyles led for nearly the entire race, with Littman close on his tail, grabbing P2 in the final lap behind Styrin who took both the win and fastest lap. Sean Siddall, in his first ever race in his new-build Boxster, took a credible 10th.
Julian Brown's Boxster fell victim to a blown engine, ending a three-way battle between himself, Rebecca Jackson and Chris Valentine. Jackson took the win ahead of Michael Goodacre. The 924s saw the retirements of Peter Smith and Hugh Peart early on, with David Jones making it to lap 6. Alastair Kirkham took the win over Hen Sharpe's fuel-starved car and Andrew Hannington landing third.
Hopes for a slightly cooler race on the Sunday were partly dashed by even higher humidity. Nick Hull's Boxster headed straight to the pits with mechanical failure before the off and Richard Matthews 924 was also a non-starter. Once again Peter Smith and David Jones were non-finishers in the 924s. Hen Sharpe and Alastair Kirkham swapped places in Class C with Hannington again P3. Rebecca Jackson only had Michael Goodacre to take a second win of the weekend, leaving her to narrowly head the Class B table.
The Class A Boxster battle this time was between JM Littman and Jonathan Greensmith with JM desparate for a second podium of the weekend, but a spin towards the end meant Greensmith retaining P3 behind Steve Boyles with Styrin taking his second win.
Just three weeks away is Round 5 of the 2013 Championship at the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit and its already looking highly likely that the event, for the first time in our history, will be over-subscribed."