2009
Silverstone Race Report
5th October 2009
Adrian writes: Silverstone is definitely Paul's track. Having competed in the Britcar 24 hour race in 2008, he has more laps of this famous circuit under his belt than many others! Paul's team were third in their class in that race so he has the pace too. Silverstone was also our return to "proper racing" - arriving at a cold, wind swept circuit before sunrise. Nothing like Croft the week before.
Qualifying was 9am on Friday morning, we were the first cars out on the circuit. Paul's experience saw him qualify 10th while I ended up 16th being the first time I had driven the car at Silverstone. In race one I had a good start and made up a few places. I was quickly up behind Paul - for a while. Battling against the cars around me I finished 14th while Paul kept his 10th spot for a solid result.
Saturday morning and race 2, Paul had a great start. He stayed in the thick of it, running 7th for the whole race. On the penultimate lap though, disaster. A fuel pump fuse blew and Paul rolled to a standstill with less than two minutes to go. I managed to better my finishing position and secured 11th.
An exciting season finale, we've come a long way since March when we all started out. Thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic year!
Croft Race Report
1st October 2009
Paul writes: After the long drag up the A1, we were about to enjoy 2 good days of weather and our hopes were high for some positive performances on track. Then a minor problem occurred when my car developed a fault with a fuel injector, no spares were available but Big Dave came to the rescue. He took one out of his 968 road car in Blackpool and drove over to Darlington so that it could be installed in the car by qualifying early on Saturday morning - thanks so much, just brilliant.
19 cars were entered for our races on this narrow 2.1 mile circuit. It was my first time racing there and I think it is a great track, some nice sweeping curves and a couple of tight sections including the best hairpin I know of in the UK.
Qualifying saw Adrian in 15th and I managed 12th, we were about 3.5 seconds off the pole sitter. I think it would be fair to say that we wanted to do a lot better and we began the process of psyching ourselves up for the 2 races.
The main achievement during race 1 was Adrian's drive up the field to 12th, overtaking me in the process! I finished 13th. Our lap times were a little better, within 2 seconds of the winner, so things were moving in a better direction.
Race 2 kicked off with quite a lot of nudging and spinners at the first corner. Adrian got through it very nicely and was 11th after the first lap. I had a great start only to find myself about to smash into a spinning car. My only option was to take to the gravel trap and tip toe my way round through the cloud of dust. I was then16th and worked my way up to 13th when I found myself behind Adrian again. For the next 13 laps of the race I followed him closely, I could not find a way past and was hoping for him to make a minor mistake to let me through, but it was not to be. Suffice to say that was the way it finished 12 and 13th again.
We roll onto Silverstone on the 2/3rd of October for the last races of our 2009 season and both need to see what we can do to climb higher up the leader board.
Castle Combe Race Report
31st August 2009
Paul writes: Both cars had enjoyed some suspension and geometry improvements ahead of this event so we were in a positive frame of mind as we made our way to the circuit near Chippenham, Wilts. Also, we had both managed to get some testing before raceday at this narrow and quite bumpy track, so that should help us along. The circuit is 1.85 miles in length and lap times would be under 1’20’’ for the fastest cars.
Qualifying and both races were on the Bank Holiday Monday, so it was going to be a busy day starting with signing on from 7:30am. The weather was cool and dry for the 15 minute qualifying session but it was overcast and the air felt quite damp. I think it would be fair to say that we were both a little disappointed with our times, as we found ourselves down in 14th & 16th places in a field of 20 runners. Our times were just under 1’21’’ and it was clear that the 911 based cars were running well here with a pole time of 1’17.2’’.
Race 1 was at 1.15pm and thankfully the track was still dry. Could we climb up the leader board into the top 10? Adrian had a better start than me and was soon battling it out with Tim Bates for 11th position. They swapped position twice and Adrian’s best lap time was 1’19.3’’ so that was a positive step in the right direction but he had to settle for 12th. I found myself behind Malcolm Jones for the whole the race and despite my best efforts could not find a way past, so 14th was it for me with a fastest lap similar to qualifying. I resolved to do better in the next race, this being the first time my wife Jane had seen me on track!
Race 2 started with a bit of drama at the first corner, one car was bumped into a spin, some took evasive action over the grass but we both managed to get through unscathed. At this stage Adrian was 10th and I was 12th, it stayed that way until 3 things happened. Firstly, Richard Ellis had an off and that improved our positions by a place, then Richard Harrison fell back behind me as I think something was wrong with his car. Finally, Jez Clark who had spun at the first corner was now working his way up the field. I tried to fend him off for about 2 laps but in the end he got past quite easily. Off up the road he went to catch Adrian and they had a good battle as the race drew to a close. I had a good view of it all being about 100m behind, then Adrian had a small spin at one of the chicanes which was enough to let Jez and me through. I finished 10th and Adrian managed 12th after getting going again.
Both of us did manage laptimes in the low 1’19’’s but this is not quick enough, we would need to find 2 more seconds next year to be near a podium. Finally, both cars seem to be running quite well, so apart from a quick geometry check we are ready for the long haul up to Croft, near Darlington on 26th/27th Sept for the penultimate round.
Paul Needs To Get A Grip And Go On A Diet!!
29th July 2009
To translate, the handling of the car was just not good enough and the car was also too heavy by about 60kg. Urgent action was required.
On the weight saving front: door bars, some window winding gear, power steering pump, various unused bracketry and a lot of redundant wiring were removed. That saved about 20kg, then I fixed a problem inside the fuel tank which will enable me to run with less fuel load, this gave another 15kg saving. Finally a nice shiny stainless steel exhaust was installed saving almost 15kg more and might also unlock some power. That should help me along nicely, so am now off the diet!
Good news is that I have had a step change in the handling since the last race and now had a very good trackday at Castle Combe learning the 'new' car and the track ready for the race there on 31st Aug. For the first time it feels chuckable and gives me a lot more confidence on the limit -- a good result especially when that circuit is such a bumpy track.
So the changes: Harder springs 800lb front & 550lb rear, with about 4 degrees camber front and 2 degrees rear. Then softer shock and ARB settings. Corner weights were a net of 110kg out ie the sum of the extra weight on front left, compared with the extra weight figure on rear right. All of it cannot be dialled out but just over half was. Final mod now is the need for a lightened flywheel -- just found out I have a standard dual mass one!! This must have been holding me back and I now want the extra acceleration to help me stay with the top guys. That is on a plane now and should be in the car by Thruxton on 15/16th August.
NOTE: Ben Demetriou, currently winning Class 1, was coaching me at Castle Combe and also drove the car and now says it is almost there ahead of the new flywheel. So I am quietly hopeful of a better 2nd half to my season -- could this be an F1 McLaren moment!
Oulton Park Race Report
13th June 2009
Oulton Park, a technical and very bumpy track. This was always going to be a challenging weekend and Adrian started with a wishbone failure in Friday practice at high speed and under braking which caused some exciting moments as he wrestled the car to a stop on the grass. We carry wishbones as spares and luckily Jason had a steering arm. We nearly ran out of yellow tape though!
Friday evening saw us enjoying a BBQ courtesy of our friends at MGA Motorsport who brought their massive yellow support truck and gave us the biggest presence in the paddock bar none. Mike and his team joined Emma, Marc, Kim, Mike, Kate, Jason, Dave, Adrian and Paul bringing the StockSports contingent to about 15 people, easily the biggest team of the weekend as well. Thanks to everyone for all their hard work.
Paul qualified well in 9th, a personal best! Adrian did poorly though in 13th due to a car that wanted to jump sideways as we hadn't fixed the tracking yet. It was all set for Race 1 though.
Race 1 started well but a camber problem for Adrian left him cruising round just for the points. Paul carried the flag for the team and enjoyed some good racing to finish 12th.
Adrian started the 2nd race nervous, the car had been a challenge all weekend. It all came good though thanks to Marc's efforts in the paddock and he ran strongly to finish 9th from 13th on the grid. Paul drove a solid race to finish 10th.
We all went home smiling in the end although we're glad of the gap to the next race so we can get the cars sorted!
Brands Hatch Race Report
30th May 2009
We had a great weekend for our first meeting as a two car team. The weather was glorious and Brands Hatch is always a fun circuit to race. Both Paul and Adrian tested on the Friday ahead of racing on Saturday and were pleased with their times. Supported by Mike and Chris, the cars were prepped and we were ready for race day.
Saturday brought lots of guests and supporters, some of them sponsors. Thanks to Emma for preparing a marvelous picnic for everybody and Adrian's Mum for baking cakes. It was great to see Neil and John from Sigmer and Tim from Jump Fish.
Adrian qualified 13th and Paul 17th. Neither felt this was their best work but the times were OK. Both drivers improved on their grid positions in Race 1 with Adrian finishing 10th after a great start and Paul finishing 16th after a long battle with Malcolm Jones.
In Race 2, both drivers improved again. Paul finished 15th and Adrian was 9th after a very close race with Dave Botterill for the whole 25 minutes. Chris and Mike worked very hard all weekend to keep the cars in good shape and the whole team meshed very well for a first time out all together!
We're now looking forward to Oulton Park in two weeks!
Paul Follett joins StockSports
6th May 2009
We're very pleased to announce that Paul Follett has joined StockSports to make us a two car team! Paul has been a good friend of ours for a while now and it's very exciting to take our collaboration one step further.
Our first outing as the new team will be at Brands Hatch on 30th May so keep an eye out for the orange 968, number 90, with it's new livery.
Paul brings a wealth of knowledge to team and an enthusiasm for the detail of engineering. He has some racing experience already and is lookong forward to his first full season in the Porsche Club Championship. As he himself says, "I wonder how far up the learning curve I can go this year?"
You can out find more about Paul in his profile here.
Anglesey Race Report
22nd April 2009
The Stocksports team discovered last week that North West Wales is a very very long way from home. On a blustery stretch of cliff side, the sparse circuit proved to be a fun and exciting track offering plenty of challenge.
After a day of testing on the Friday, Adrian began a sunny Saturday by qualifying 9th overall (8th in his class) with a time of 1:19.473. The start of Race 1 did not go quite to plan as a missed gear allowed 5 cars to pass him by the first corner. Over the remaining 28 minutes of the race, Adrian fought back and recovered all the lost places. The final laps of the race were a battle with Adrian Grieves and gave the spectators some really exciting racing. The race was won by Ben Demetriou in a 968 CS.
Adrian had a great start in Race 2 on Sunday and held off Erceg, Grieves, Higgins and Dyer for the first few laps of the race. Unfortunately, lumpy brakes made the car difficult, Adrian could not make it stick and he finished the race 11th overall. Demetriou took first place for the second time. The weekend saw some excellent racing and some respectable results.
Donington Race Report
4th April 2009
A cold and sunny morning welcomed the StockSports team to Donington Park on Saturday. After we set up the team area, the car, and consumed many bacon rolls, Adrian headed out for the qualifying session. Despite yellow flags around almost half the circuit and only 15 minutes for the session, he managed to find some space and put in his fastest lap of 1:23.691. Happily, this achieved 10th position on the grid (row 5). The team were pleased with this result as it placed Adrian right in the thick of the competition for his first race in a new car.
Race 1 started well, with Adrian making up two places on the start and managing to hold one through the first corner. Finishing the first lap 9th, the second lap did not go quite so well. An unfortunate spin on cold tyres and light contact with a solid mud bank ended Adrian's race early. The race was won by Mark MacAleer, 2007 Porsche Club Champion.
Despite the lack of racing results, there was a lot to celebrate. The team worked well together and we are really looking forward to the Anglesey race in two weeks time. The car is currently receiving some care from EMC Motorsport in Birmingham, who were less than happy that we returned our shiny new car to them so quickly.
Fund raising for Barnardo's
31st March 2009
We're delighted to announce that we will be raising funds for Barnardo's this season. We chose Barnardo’s as our charity partner because as one of the UK’s leading children’s charities, Barnardo’s believes in children regardless of their circumstances, gender, race, disability or behaviour. They believe in the abused, the vulnerable, the forgotten and the neglected.
Barnardo’s works directly with over 100,000 children, young people and their families every year. They run 383 vital projects across the UK, including counselling for children who have been abused, fostering and adoption services, vocational training and disability inclusion groups.
We have been granted permission to promote Barnardo's by carrying the logo on our racecar, something we are proud to do. Please visit us at the race track and donate some money or follow this link to see how best you can contribute.
Getting ready for the new season
31st March 2009
The 2009 race season is rapidly approaching and StockSports are busy getting ready. The car is fully prepped and the team are now focusing on making the most of the last testing session before the race this weekend. The race at Donington Park on Saturday is going to be a great start to the season and the team are looking forward to meeting up with fellow competitors and friends.
Check out the results on Saturday of Adrian's qualifying session and two races at Donnington on the Latest Results bar (right).
Jump Fish partner StockSports for 2009
17th March 2009
As everything comes together (hopefully) for the start of the season, we are pleased to announce a partnership with Jump Fish Ltd. Our new partner provides/supplies fulfilment services, loyalty reward services, membership services and promotional merchandise. When you see us in the paddock, all our branded clothing is provided by Jump Fish, for which many thanks! We look forward to seeing some promotional activity at the circuits as we progress through the season so stop by our garage and check it out.
Power testing
8th March 2009
Final preparation is now underway for the start of the season. Having completed a solid test day at Donington on 28th February, it was time on 7th March to take the car for power testing. With a new build engine, we had no idea how much power it made. It could easily have been too little to be competitive or too much to be allowed to compete.
As it happened, it all turned out well. In both the power test runs we did, the car made just about factory horsepower on the nose. This is testament to the engine building of EMC - many thanks to Kevin and Alex Eacock!
New logo (look up)
15th February 2009
Our new partnerships with Sigmer and Room 2 are progressing well. The banner above shows the new logo designed for us by Room 2 (many thanks!). This will be incorporated into the main website when it goes live soon.
Room 2 Design partner StockSports for 2009
29th January 2009
Today we are pleased to announce a partnership with Room 2 Design for branding and graphic design. Room 2 specialise in planning and creating inspired solutions and effective promotional programmes for companies selling into business markets as well as those selling directly to the consumer. They do so with a level of informed appreciation and understanding, not normally found in a conventional design or advertising agency.
We’ll be working with Room 2 to update this site and the branding for the team. Watch this space for the results!
Sigmer partner StockSports for 2009
26th November 2008
StockSports are excited to announce a partnership with Sigmer Technologies Ltd. Sigmer provides custom made software applications and IT solutions to the corporate, charity and public sectors. Based in the Innovation Centre of the University of Sussex, Brighton, their aim is to enable businesses and organisations to work more effectively and efficiently through the use of considered IT solutions.
Sigmer will provide IT and creative design services to StockSports (including this blog) allowing us to maintain a high profile for the team. The StockSports racecar will form part of the marketing for Sigmer’s new product Incentivise, an all encompassing system for incentivising employees, partners and resellers. Sigmer has been providing staff incentive schemes and incentive solutions for over five years, helping departments such as HR, Sales, Marketing and Operations to address key operational challenges.
We would like to thank Sigmer for their support and we’re looking forward to working with them.
First shakedown day in the 2009 car
22nd November 2008
A freezing day at Silverstone. It was mercifully dry but a bitter wind blew hard across the paddock. What better day for a shakedown in the new 968?
Adrian was excited to be back at a circuit having had no track time since finishing the last race at Spa. With a fresh car though it wasn’t all fun but plenty of work to do. First it was 15 minutes on the old runway doing figure of eights. This helped to bed in the new limited slip differential in the car. After that Adrian was allowed on the circuit but only for short runs at a maximum of 4,000 revs. This was bedding in the engine.
On top of all of that was the car setup. EMC Motorsport, the car builders, were there to help with this and advise on running in the car. Tweaks were made to the basic setup the car was delivered with. This helped to turn it from a tail-happy challenge to a reasonably planted car. We even ran without power steering at one point to see how that would work.
The day was a success, despite the cold. The car now has a nearly complete setup and can be run at full revs next time out!
Porsche Club Championship Awards Dinner
8th November 2008
An amazing night! The Porsche Club Championship annual Awards Dinner was held at Puckrup Hall in Tewkesbury on 8th November. Emma and Adrian Stock attended from the team to collect the trophy for 3rd in class for the year. It was a chance to celebrate the year with other competitors and for everyone to show that they don’t spend their wholes lives covered in engine oil!
The 2008 Club Champion, Jez Clark, also ran in Class 3 and has been a competitor of Adrian’s all season with some close racing. Trophies were presented by Michelin, the club tyre sponsor. There was a lot of talk about plans for 2009 although we sense some of it was more fueled by the celebrations than anything else!
2009 car arrives
31st October 2008
An exciting day for StockSports, the 2009 car is prepped, ready and delivered. After two seasons campaigning class 3 in the silver 944, 2009 sees the team stepping up to class 1 in this speed yellow 968 ClubSport.
Team manager Emma Stock says, “2009 will be a challenge for us. Class 1 cars require more prep and maintenance and the class is very competitive. We’ll need to up our game to continue our success from 2008.”
Driver Adrian Stock is more than happy to be back in a 968 having had one as a trackday car for many years. “It’s going to be great challenging for outright race wins in 2009. Class 3 was competitive but even doing well there meant being near the back of the pack. Next year we’ll be heading for the front!”
The 968 is a 3-litre 4-cylinder engine producing 240bhp from a car weighing only 1255kg. Nine similar cars ran regularly in the 2008 season so it will be fiercely competitive for Emma and Adrian in 2009.
2008 season review
15th October 2008
2008 was StockSports’ second season competing in class 3 of the Porsche Club Championship. It was also driver Adrian Stock’s second ever season of racing.
Our biggest achievement is finishing 3rd in class for the season. This was a massive result for a young team and one that we’re very proud of in a class contested by 7 people.
Our performance across all the classes in the championship put us 9th overall for the year out of 55 competitors.
Some other things we’d like to brag about for 2008 include:
* 12 Class podiums from 15 races
* 6 2nd places
* Finished and scored points in every race entered
We’re now looking forward to the awards dinner in November where we can collect our trophy!
