Paragon Porsche Group C GTP at Brands Hatch 28/05/2007

Sumpter takes two podiums at Brands

Mark Sumpter scored two podium finishes for Paragon Porsche in the opening rounds of the 2007 Group C/GTP Race Series at Brands Hatch over the weekend (27/28 May).

Sumpter, the boss of Sussex-based Paragon Porsche, was racing his Le Mans-style Porsche 962 Group C in the first two races of the season for the classic sports cars of the late 1980s and early 1990s. His Porsche is one of the most famous cars of its type and was the last Porsche to win a round of the World Sportscar Championship in the Group C era.  

The weekend proved to be a real test as wet and slippery conditions dogged the major historic racing festival on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.  

That drama started in qualifying on Sunday when Mark held pole position for the first 20 minutes of the half-hour session. "Then the windscreen wipers packed up and I came in to the pits," said Mark. "But that was just as is started to dry out and suddenly I dropped to eighth place. I jumped back in and got one more lap in, which put me back up to fifth place."  However, starting both races from fifth place on the grid in wet weather made life tough for Mark. "I just concentrated on keeping on the track in the first race as it was very slippery. But I had a good battle with Justin Law in front of me and Andy Purdie right behind." That was how they finished in second, third and fourth places as Law's Jaguar headed the two Porsches over the line in close formation.  

In Monday's race, they ran first, second and third in the same order, but a mix-up during the pit stops put Purdie through to second place after a shorter pit-stop than usual. "The heavens really opened and we ran behind the safety car for a while. Then we had another five minutes of racing in torrential rain and eventually they red-flagged the race," said Mark after taking third place again.

The next races on the calendar are at the Nurburgring in Germany later in June. 

"I'm really looking forward to the races at the Nurburgring and exploring the grip of the car on a dry track!"