As the name suggests, Simply Porsche, was simply Porsche with a 60% increase on the previous year and nearly 1600 Porsches descending on the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu on the 3rd June. With the unexpected increase there were some delays in getting in but from personal experience handled with good humour by everyone allowing plenty of time to view many cars meandering into the arenas. 

Having waited 25 years to own a Porsche, reality came in March 2017 with a silver 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic (996) being purchased from Chris at Pie Performance, and this June saw it make its way to be a part of this impressive gathering of likeminded owners, with all models catered for (Like Pie Performance with their facilities!) from the very earliest to 2018 plate cars. Panic set in as just before the main event the tensioner failed – RAC Recovery to Pie and it was quickly sorted so no issues thankfully! The first time I was at Beaulieu they had a steam train on display which apparently left there in 1972, and a kids’ self-drive car track – I adored cars even back then. 

 

The main areas, despite their very large size just did not have the capacity to display every car, despite filling every nook and cranny, and the ‘reserve field’ behind the bank was full of from the front to back areas with an equally very impressive array of cars. As expected Clubs were well represented, with TIPEC playing a large part in the organisation, along with a display from Porsche Club GB, the 996 Owners Facebook Group, and many others. If this wasn’t enough, a large stand with the latest models from Porsche Cars Great Britain, Brookspeed, Car Tours, Pictures, Parts, Meguiars, Autoglym and more. 

Due to the excellent weather and very photogenic surroundings, any budding photographer and car fanatic would have been in their element, however if photography was not ‘their scene’, Darren Woolway was on hand taking professional photos as each car was on the way in with mounted pictures available later in the day. 

 

No display of cars would be complete without a competition and Simply Porsche was no exception – for a team of Judges to score 1600 cars would be impossible and so it was down to people’s choice. Everyone was given a voting slip and encouraged to pick their favourite. The top three were lined up in front of the National Motor Museum with the overall winner being Matt Gough from Maidstone in his stunning blue 2010 Boxster, with Neil Richardson Runner up in his gleaming red 996 Turbo, and in third place Jon Devereux with his immaculate silver 1952 Porsche 356 Cabriolet. From a personal perspective it was thrilling to see a 996 placed so highly out of the 1600 vehicles in the arenas.  

 

If 1600 Porsches were not enough along with trade stands, then there was of course the monorail, National Motor Museum, and Top Gear exhibition. (Whilst on the monorail which goes through the museum the excitement could be heard in the children’s voices when they saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the first time) 

 

All in all a superb day with matching weather, and a collection of what can only be described as Stuttgart’s finest - even when departing the distinctive ‘notes’ from the engines only added to the experience and the discounted entrance fee was also much appreciated by all. 

So work permitting, I am looking forward to next year and hopefully joining one of the many convoys which made their way on the Sunday morning to Beauilieu, and maybe if Pie Performance will have me, exhibiting the 911 on their stand – hint hint? 

 

Chris Wickers 

It seems a long time ago since we launched our racing car at Hennessey Lifestyle and we all look back at how special the evening was. Since the launch we focused heavily on making sure our car was ready to go at Oulton Park with testing scheduled a week before the race. Testing did prove its name when we had significant oil issues with a Deep Racing Sump that was faulty resulting in a lot of oil going places it shouldn't! We learned from this and changed the sump for a far better baffled one going forward. 

 

As mentioned in our previous blog post when we came to actually race we had oil starvation issues and this lead to damage to the engine ultimately knocking us out of the race weekend and stopping us in our tracks in the shorterm.  

Our first Cars and Coffee of the year kicked off in style with a fantastic turnout all round. From 944s to GT4s there was a full range of classic to modern Porsches on display. The rain held off and we were lucky enough to have a clear day. The story of the day is that a customer seeing our Cayman S for the first time decided to buy it there and then! We were delighted for him as the car is truly sensational to drive and with the English weather finally starting to clear up what better time to buy a Porsche! 

 

Porsche Drivers Championship 

 

 

We arrived at Oulton Park late thursday evening to a damp and cold circuit. After unloading the car we met with other drivers and discussed testing the next day. Everyone was in good spirits and it was an incredibly exciting time for us all seeing our racing car in its garage for the first racing weekend. Once all set up we headed back to our accommodation for a duly deserved chinese!! 

 

 

Turning up at the track friday morning the conditions were perfect. The track was almost dry and we were all feeling highly confident that we would learn a huge amount about the car and its setup in the following testing sessions. The Paddock was full with other Porsches both boxsters and 924s as well as a huge range of single seaters and GT4/GT3 cars. We were lucky enough to have Franks motorhome with us and our amazing coffee machine from sponsors the Chevington group which proved to be a hugely popular over the weekend! 

 

With all checks complete on the car and a few minor setup changes Toby was let loose on the track. The car sounded incredible as it came past the pits and as a team it was a very special moment to see our car out on track at last. unfortunately it would be the only time we would see it on track as an oil issue carried over from the week before put an end to our running.  

 

As disappointing as it was we could take a lot of pride in the way the car was performing and the feedback from Toby was that the car was set up to perfection. Having said that we got some stunning footage from the Racelogic HD2 unit given to us by Racelogic which will be an incredible tool to help Toby grow as a driver.  

 

After retiring Toby was then poached by another team to help set up their car and it was useful track time for him extracting podium pace from the other car.