ROL SPORTSCAR CHALLENGE
Rockingham, 12 April 2003
Pre-race favourite Richard Chamberlain came through to take what was ultimately another comfortable victory, but not before receiving a warning shot of future encounters. Rupert Lewin placed his stunning, brand new, Porsche 996 GT2-R on pole at the first attempt.
As the lights went green, third placed Pete Morris got the jump on the front row, grabbing the lead as he dived up the inside into turn one. However, his place in the limelight was short lived as pirouetted into the infield scenery, allowing the majority of the field by, before he collected the car and rejoined.
As the race settled, Chamberlain led, pursued by Lewin, with David Ellis (Porsche 996 GT3) and Andy Shepherd heading class B. Shepherd’s AC 428 Frua was undergoing further work following its Silverstone outing, so his trusty Cobra was rolled out after a long lay off. "The old girl had a rub down with a copy of the Sporting Life yesterday. That's all the prep she's had!" he commented.
In Class A, Andy Green (Morgan Plus 8) and Josh Sadler (Lotus Elise) came flying round the banking side by side to the start-finish line embroiled in a good tussle. Meanwhile, John Griffiths retired his Porsche 935R suffering from a lack of power, ultimately traced to a detached turbo pipe.
What was probably the battle of the race raged between the Porsches of David MacMillan and Paul Howells. Having traded positions several times, the encounter, and Class A, was finally decided in Howells’ favour. Ty Watkins (Porsche 930) spun into retirement at the hairpin around half distance suffering minor bodywork damage.
Forging through from last on the grid was Lewin’s team-mate, John Bussell, in their Porsche 911 Turbo also known as “Animal”! A storming drive through the field to third overall allowed him to claim Class B honours. On such a glorious day, there was no better way to conclude than by enjoying a cool drink in the paddock courtesy of Cobra Beer. Our thanks to Cobra for their most welcome refreshment, and to Andy Shepherd for hooking us up.
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