Sad News.
It is with regret that I have to report the death of one of our register members.
David Portman was a very likeable chap and in the circle of 968 owners that he kept in touch with through the forums and events he was widely regarded as a true gent. He helped me out last year when I needed a Cabriolet for the photo shoot for 911 and Porsche World. David passed away at the end of July, a sad loss to his family and friends.

Brands Hatch/register stand/racing.

I drove down in convoy with Dave who has a very nice Cabriolet, setting off at 1:30 am on Sunday morning and with a couple of stops on the way to rest and recharge we arrived at Brands about 6 am. Got the gazebo up and then gave the car a quick wax. During the day did get one of Team GVRs race prepared 968s on our stand. There was some fun and games when one register pinched another registers gazebo after it had been put up, which was a bit unsporting, but it was recovered and all was well. You know who you are, shame on you.
I think the event was a success, no doubt as with most years there will be those that dis-agree.
For me probably the main highlight was the racing, in the Porsche Club Championship the 968s driven by Pete Morris and Chris Egginton from Team GVR were all over the 911s, coming 3rd and 4th in the first race then Pete Morris went on to win the second race with Chris Egginton coming 4th. It was a real scrap for positions and saw pete Morris at one point going round Druids corner on opposite lock, great stuff, a fantastic advert for the 968 CS model and Team GVR's preparation.
Out of the top 5 cars 3 were 968s clearly a car that deserves more respect as a Porsche.

The parade laps ended up as £10 per person and for the pure experience of driving around Brands Hatch it was well worth it, of course being led by the Carrera GT, and no I don't mean a 924 ! Not that I saw much of it while it was on the move as I was in the middle of the pack. Unfortunately during our session the heavens opened, but we weren't going that quick for it to have made much of a difference anyway. Brands Hatch circuit itself is not how I imagined, it was much more 'hills and valleys' than I had got from the X Box !

My 968.

I have recently sold my Sport which I had for 3 years and I am glad to say that it held its value admirably. When I look at how some other marques lose value very quickly and keep on plummeting I am pleased that I chose to invest in a 968.
The replacement for my Sport is a Coupe, the reason I went for the Sport 3 years ago was the comfort with the Sports suspension, it was a good compromise between the fully loaded Coupe and the stripped out Club Sport. So why now go for a Coupe when I still want that suspension. Well some of you will be aware via the 968uk.com forum that I have had the suspension lowered on the Coupe. I bought the components from Leda suspension and they did some of the fitting and ride height adjustment on the front but the rear had to be taken to a Porsche specialist, Hartech in Bolton, to have the torsion bar re-indexed. This is a very specialist job and shouldn't be given to anybody you don't absolutely trust with your car. Some people try to adjust the ride height via the eccentrics on the spring plates but this will only create problems with the geometry setup and could possibly cause issues with tyre wear, cornering etc. If you are considering lowering the suspension speak to Barry Hart, I found that he was able to acquire information about the way that the suspension should be adjusted that wasn't readily available and is critical to the way the suspension is set up.
The car now drives like the Sport did but I have leather seats and the other extras that you get with the Coupe.
I have also added a genuine Porsche front splitter as on the Turbo S fitted by me and also as mentioned in a previous article M030 anti roll bars, fitted by Tony Greatorex in Bramhall. I am keeping the brakes as standard apart from fitting Goodridge braided hoses which I bought at the event at Brands Hatch this weekend.
I recently replaced the sill rubbers on the Coupe as they were hard and shrunken. quite easy really once you know how and the genuine parts are cheap enough.
The new number plate is now on it as well, which is K968 POR.

Biggest 968 gathering.
By the time you read this we will have had the North West region annual concours event at Gawsworth Hall on 12th September, hosted by the German Sports Car Show, this is open to any PCGB member but also the PCGB 968 register, the TIPEC 968s and 968uk.com forum is attempting to get the most 968s in one place. So this is a must for anybody in the register.
Support the register and the events that are organised for it, they can only be successful if people turn up, record so far was 35, we are looking for 50 this time. Hopefully in my next write up I will be giving the good news. Absence will only be accepted with a doctor's note.

Regards Stuart.