ICONIC PORSCHE’S RACING REVOLUTION
Why the 911 is a track star again
Although never seen in the UK, the singlemodel 2.0L Cup run by the Frenchbased Peter Auto organisation is, on paper at least, an unlikely winner. Generally, onemake race series for period cars are not an easy concept to bring to fruition and when the cars are both rare and valuable it’s an even more off-the-wall premise.
Modern one-make categories are usually based around marketing campaigns for new models and tend to come and go like the weather. However, through its widely-franchised domestic Carrera Cups and Formula 1-supporting Supercup, Porsche is the most committed manufacturer in this type of racing. Fittingly, though not through factory backing, the German brand also sets the mark in period one-make racing.
The short-chassis two-litre, flat-sixengined Porsche 911 is now a very desirable road car and finding enough pre ’66 racing versions to fill a grid seemed a tall order. These days, road-going cars are selling for around £120,000 and it is that escalating car value that has driven most of the Category 1 911s out of special stage rallying. Indeed, some former rally cars have been rebuilt for use in the race series, where the hard-to-replace bodyshells are less at risk. Fully race-ready cars come in at the topside of £200,000.
This era of 911 is not otherwise wellserved in historic racing. Though eligible for race series like Masters Gentleman Drivers, the GT and Sports Car Cup and the Guards Trophy, class results were the best that was available and the 911 is a bit short of breath against TVR Granturas and MGBS.
The catalyst for the 2.0L Cup was the John Aldington Trophy race run at the Goodwood Members’meeting in 2015. To honour the memory of the man who first brought the Porsche marque to the UK, a race was announced for pre-1966 two-litre 911s. Despite some doubt over the number of cars that could be attracted, a decent entry was assembled and a field of 22 cars finally lined up at Goodwood in March, five years ago.
British touring car racer Andrew Jordan was the class of the pack and dominated the race from pole. Mark Sumpter headed the pursuit until a quick spin elevated a fine battle between Mark Bates and Phil Hindley to second. While Jordan danced his car around in a glorious display of knife-edge car control, Bates held on in exalted company to take second from Hindley as Sumpter salvaged fourth.
Lee Maxted-page was on the grid that day and, along with fellow Porsche specialist James Turner, became a prime UK mover in turning one race at Goodwood into a season-long championship under the wing of historic race promoter Patrick Peter. By 2018 the concept was ready to launch with a pilot series of three races. Stand-alone races were run at Spa in May, Dijon in June and Paul Ricard in September and all were won by the Anglo-scottish pairing of Oliver Bryant and Andrew Smith. Of the 33 cars at Spa in May, more than a dozen were Uk-based and there was an additional high-profile chance for the 2.0L Cup contenders to race within the one-off Porsche Classic race at the 2018 Le Mans Classic.
A full six-race 2019 schedule started at Circuit de Barcelona-catalunya in April, when Sumpter chased Bryant/smith to the flag. A record grid gathered at Spa in May when 38 cars lined up as the mercurial talent of Andrew Kirkaldy ensured a solo victory in Sandy Watson’s car. Sumpter shared his 911 with his old racing mate Mike Jordan to take second and a month later at Dijon it was another UK clean sweep of the podium as Smith and Bryant won again from Kirkaldy/watson and Sumpter/andrew Jordan.
Smith and Bryant sealed a third win from four races at the Hungaroring in July as Sumpter and Andrew Jordan led the chase, while at Monza in September Richard Cook and Harvey Stanley arrived in style to win. The title race came down to the season finale at Paul Ricard in October. Sumpter went solo and sat behind leader Rory Butcher (in the car of William Paul) in the first half of the race before going on win by 26 seconds in a 35-car grid.
The regular weekend format is a 90-minute race with a mandatory twominute pitstop. Driver changes are optional and drivers are graded either as gentleman or elite, rather in the style of modern GT racing. The elite drivers are those with a significant career in modern or historic racing and they attract a 20s penalty for each race, which is added to the pitstop time. All cars must have an FIA Historic Technical Passport and the season entry fee, for the five races planned for 2020, is the top side of £10,000. The original schedule for this season took in races at Paul Ricard, Spa, Dijon, Monza and Estoril, so the financial commitment is significant and there are some long-haul trips for cars run by UK teams.
As boss of leading independent Porsche dealer Paragon Porsche, Sumpter won the 2019 title. “I do have the old Lotus Cortina that I take out now and then, but I’ve really got to race a Porsche. I’ve always been in awe of the Porsche Supercup and if I were a young driver with backing, that’s what I’d do. I love one-model race series and this is as close as I can get: I call it the 1965 Porsche Supercup!”
Sumpter says that the 2.0L Cup ticks a lot of boxes. The venues visited are all current or former grand prix circuits and control tyres and strict scrutineering ensure a level playing field.
“I love it: it is really good fun,” says Sumpter. “The shape of the car and the big tracks we race on make it very difficult for one car to get away as you tend to tow people along. But, despite being close, the racing is very sensible
and the Peter Auto organisation is strict on driving standards.
“If you cause an accident and someone else’s car is damaged, they invite you to pay the cost of the damage to the other car. It’s only an invitation, but if you don’t pay, you probably won’t be invited back to race again. It’s happened a couple of times, and the drivers involved did get their chequebooks out.”
His major rivals last year were Smith and Bryant, who also contested the Sixties Endurance races on the Peter Auto package in 2017 in the same car. “They were the people to beat and we got there in the end. They had been ahead of us in tyre preparation,” Sumpter adds.
Sumpter was particularly pleased to be fastest all weekend when he drove solo in the final race of the year at Paul Ricard.
“It has taken a while for the organisers to settle on a formula that works for the cars, but that’s done now. I do free practice on old rubber and then qualifying and the 90-minute race on one new set. The fronts would go again. If your winter preparation is done properly, the cars should run very economically and you can do other things with the cars like Tour Auto or the Cento Ore.”
Sumpter regularly shares with Mike or Andrew Jordan, and all three are classed as elite drivers, which means a total of 40s added to their pitstop.
“It is quite a long time to be held and the safety car can mess it up for you,” Sumpter adds. “At one race last year, Andy had 40 minutes to try and make up 40s, which was a big challenge. It’s good to race with Mike, 20 years after we did British and FIA GT together.
“The gentlemen and the elite drivers each have their own podiums. The Peter Auto package is very good and the entry fee includes testing and hospitality. It’s a lovely place to be – it’s like being in the middle of a big car show!”