Porsche drivers “not happy” at having to share a grid with Alfa Romeo competitors at Croft meeting
Racers in the BRSCC Porsche Championship are “not happy” to share a track with the Alfa Romeo Championship, having raced together for the first time at Croft last weekend.
Due to low grid sizes – particularly among the Porsches, where just seven took part – the two championships ran together. They also shared the track in qualifying for Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park earlier this season.
“I don’t think anybody from our paddock or the Alfa paddock’s happy about it,” Porsche Boxster driver Andrew Porter said.
Porter was running second in Croft’s opening race but had to retire when he broke an arm in his wheel hub running wide over a kerb at Clervaux when lapping an Alfa.
“Nothing against any Alfa drivers but we shouldn’t be racing where a different championship can affect our own,” Porter added. “We haven’t raced together, they don’t know how quick we’re going to be coming and lapping them and how we drive.
“I really do think the BRSCC should be doing more to get drivers into our championship. Something has to be done or they’re going to lose the drivers they do have.”
Porsche championship coordinator John Broadley confirmed there are “ongoing discussions” with the BRSCC about the series sharing a grid.
“We’re not happy about it and I suspect the Alfa guys probably aren’t happy about it as well.
But it is a solution that gets both classes out racing,” Broadley said.
In addition to Porter’s incident, Peter Smith’s Porsche 924 was taken out late on in the same race when he was hit by Richard Thurbin’s Fiat Uno, which was competing in the Alfa championship and was struggling with its steering.
Alfa drivers were more open about sharing with the Porsches. “Club racing has to be affordable, you can’t have a race of six cars like the Porsches would have done and still expect to pay a reasonable amount for your entry fees,” Thurbin said. “You either get the grid numbers up or start amalgamating. It’s simple economics.”