Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship 2019

The Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship returns

Porsche Centre Swindon is back for the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship 2019 after securing second place in the 2018 series. Our driver, Porsche-trained Technician Ollie Coles, is thrilled to be behind the wheel of our restored 986 Boxster with Coca-Cola Livery once again, and 2019 promises to be even bigger and better with an additional two races in the series.

Meet our Driver

After securing second place overall in 2018, with two third place podiums and two wins, Ollie Coles is ready for the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship 2019 and is hoping to secure some top spots again.

Day-to-day, Ollie works as a Porsche-trained Technician in our workshop and was given the opportunity to race the 986 Boxster on account of his previous racing experience. When he competed in the MG Trophy and Peter Best MG Cup, Ollie had several wins and podium finishes and, in 2017, Ollie secured a win in the MG ZR Championship at Snetterton.

With Snetterton in the diary for this year’s fourth round of Restoracing, Ollie is excited to take to the track again, but this time in a Porsche!

Round 1 Donington Park

The first round of the 2019 Restoracing series took place on Easter Saturday at Donington Park. This first race was on the auspicious tarmac of the oldest motorsport circuit in the UK currently in operation. The extremely warm weather offered up its own challenges for both drivers and cars on the day and an exciting race ensued.

Round 2 Brands Hatch

The second round of the series brought the competition to Brands Hatch on a cold and rainy Bank Holiday weekend in May. Further car troubles for Ollie meant a podium finish was out of his grasp, but it was certainly not for want of trying.

Round 3 Brands Hatch

On Sunday 7 July, we returned to Brands Hatch for the third round of Restoracing. Could Ollie secure a top position on the grid for this race?

Round 4 Snetterton

A new circuit awaited the Restoracing drivers on 27 July. The team travelled to Snetterton - a track renowned for fast racing with sweeping corners and long straights, to compete in the penultimate round of the series.

Round 5 Oulton Park

The final round of Restoracing was full of exciting action from the track. Find out how Swindon got on in their final races and how they have placed in the 2019 Restoracing Championship.

The original Boxster S

Our Boxster S was taken as a trade in with 87,089 miles on the clock. On initial inspection, the Porsche was in good condition to be driven on the road, but the team knew they would be faced with challenges to get the car up to race standard. The area that looked like it would present the toughest challenge was the suspension.

Strip down

The team was confident in their shared knowledge of the 986 model as everyone had worked with them before, but no one had experience of building an engine to race. The project got off to a good start with the strip down of the car taking just a matter of days. The team were confident about which parts they would need to keep, which would need repairing, and which they would be replacing completely.

Engine

As the Boxster had been a used as an everyday road car, to transform it into a fit-for-purpose racing car, modifications had to be made to get it ready. When we purchased the car, the engine was in good condition so, after it was removed from the car, routine engine maintenance was undertaken to ensure that everything was in working order and that it would withstand the demands of racing.

Modifications included alterations to the engine which had to comply with the guidelines set by the Porsche Club Championship. The main modification to the engine was to fit baffles into the sump to prevent oil surge/starvation.

Race modifications

After the engine had been taken out to work on, the car was sent to Custom Cages to have a full roll cage fitted suitable for racing. When the car was ready to rebuild, the team started by fitting an upgraded Porsche sports suspension. The engine and gearbox were put back into the Boxster first, then the fuel lines and brake lines, followed by the radiators.

Bodyshop

The paintwork on the car was carried out at Spraymaster, Dick Lovett’s state-of-the-art Porsche Recommended Repairer in Swindon. The Boxster S had a complete external respray in Guards Red to mirror the Porsche raced by Peter Lovett at Silverstone.

Final race modifications

In the final stages of restoration, the structural modification for the race seat mounting was made. The passenger seat with harnesses was fitted to balance the car and bring the weight up to comply with guidelines. The safety equipment for racing was installed including the harness, fire extinguisher and cut off switch. Tow eyes and bonnet pins were also fitted, and the dashboard was flocked to stop the glare from the sun when racing. The replica BBS coloured rims were installed before the livery was applied.

Livery

The inspiration for the Restoracing Boxster livery was taken from the Coca-Cola Porsche 935 driven by Peter Lovett in 1981. Peter Lovett, Chairman of the Dick Lovett Group, has an impressive history of motor racing, especially in Porsche vehicles. The Boxster has been liveried as a replica of Peter Lovett’s Porsche 935 F6 3200cc Turbo PL which he raced in 1981 with Bob Akin (USA) and Bobby Rahal (USA) at the 6 Hours of Silverstone World Championship. Sponsors featured on the Red Porsche were Coca-Cola, Dick Lovett, Hudson Wire and Manns.

Awards Dinner at Pennyhill Park

On Friday 11 October, the Porsche Classic Restoracing 2019 season culminated with the awards dinner at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey. Porsche Centre Swindon donned their cocktail attire for a special evening hosted by Porsche Cars Great Britain and came away with the award for Marketing.

View our Case Study

Porsche Centre Swindon were delighted to accept the Marketing Award for our case study. The case study presented our efforts to promote the Restoracing competition through events activity, social media, website content, customer communication and engagement, and race presence and support.

Next year, the Porsche Classic Restoracing Championship is evolving into the Porsche Classic Boxster Cup and a big change to the series is the introduction of open entry. Now, anyone can enter the series, independently or in conjunction with a participating Porsche Centre, so there will be a larger race grid and even more exciting races in 2020.

For more information about the Porsche Classic Boxster Cup, contact Porsche Centre Swindon on 01793 398 533 or email info@porscheswindon.co.uk or email letmerace@porscheclubgb.com to be sent full details by the Porsche Club as soon as they become available.