Restoracing Round 5: Oulton Park

06/9/2019

Over the last weekend of August, the Porsche Centre Cardiff Restoracing team made the long journey from Wales to Oulton Park for the final round of the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship 2019. The team arrived at Oulton Park on the Friday but their cherished Fletcher Aviation Boxster was nowhere to be seen - the transporter towing the Boxster had broken down en route. They dashed to collect the Boxster and towed it with their Cayenne.

Unfortunately for novice driver Scot Adams, this meant that the first two practice sessions had already taken place by the time they were ready to get the car out on track. While Scot and the team were collecting the car, Glasgow’s Boxster suffered irreparable damage, meaning they were out of the weekend’s racing, and Hatfield ensured an engine failure which they hoped to fix before the races began.

Porsche Centre Cardiff tried to make up for lost time, but the difficult track proved a real challenge for Scot. In his first practice session, Scot spent a third of the time in the pit lane and in the second the Boxster span off the track. The final race day loomed after a shaky start at Oulton Park for team Cardiff.

Qualifying

There were 13 cars on the grid for qualifying as Glasgow were out and Hatfield’s car still didn’t have an engine in it. The sun wasn’t shining, but the rain was holding off.

The long track was taking about 2 minutes for the drivers to complete and Scot set strong lap times in ninth place until he took a pit stop and dropped back to 13th place. Fortunately before the end of qualifying two other cars returned to the pits, leaving Scot starting in 11th place for the first race.

Race 1

The rain couldn’t hold off any more and, as the Boxsters lined up in the holding pen, the heavens opened. Scot and the team decided to keep the slick tyres on and let the rain pass rather than changing over to wets. The slippery and bumpy track was proving a challenge for even the most confident of drivers and no one risked overtaking for the first few laps.

The competition started to heat up as the Wilmslow Boxster overtook Cardiff but Scot kept on his tail and stole back tenth place. Chester had to retire from the track and Scot moved into ninth place. Scot’s confidence was clearly growing as he made some good challenges on the Elite Motors Boxster with the Gulf Livery.

The Gulf Boxster let Cardiff ahead into eighth place and Scot managed to hold on until the end of the race. Scot’s friends and family, who had travelled at 5am to support him, celebrated as if it was a first place victory.

Race 2

The Porsche Centre Cardiff team had an issue. The Boxster had two warped brake discs threatening their participation in the second race. In the spirit of Restoracing, Porsche Centre Swindon leant them their spare discs so that the Welsh team could compete in the final race. This team spirit was also seen in the holding pen when the teams pulled together to help Hatfield jumpstart their car for the final race. Throughout the competition this year, a sense of ‘Team Porsche’ and unity has always been present.

The previous race saw an oil spillage on the track, so the teams waited until they had the all clear. Unfortunately, when the final race started, the Shorade and the Nottingham Boxsters hit the remnants of oil and spun off of the track.

Scot got up to 11th place and tried to close the gap with Hatfield. The Nottingham car spun again when it tried to gain back a position from Shorade. Shorade advanced quickly and overtook Scot just before he overtook Hatfield.

Scot picked up speed and had the Porsche Centre Leeds Boxster in his sights, but Hatfield managed to close the gap and overtake Scot he had the chance. Cardiff defended their 12th place position as the Porsche Swindon car dropped back three places, leaving Scot in 11th place as the chequered flag waved.

The final points for the season leave Porsche Centre Cardiff in tenth place overall for the 2019 Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship.

Porsche Centre Cardiff have shown true team spirit this season and supported new driver Scot brilliantly. Scot and the team have performed fantastically when facing new tracks, tricky conditions, all types of weather and very long drives from Wales.

We thank every member of the team for making this race series a success and we look forward to what 2020 will bring for the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship. Please call 02920 606520 or email for more information on our events.