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. Early in the morning 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.

During the 2 days I did get one of Team GVRs race prepared 968s on our stand and some of us were able to have a chat with Gordon the chief engineer who was able to point us in the right direction with regard to some performance enhancements for our own 968s.

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 !

German Sports Car Show/968 Gathering

Although we didn't break any records we got a respectable turn out on the day so thanks to everybody who turned up. We also saw some new faces.

No doubt some people will choose to use their cars a little bit less during the next few months, as I've got the car to a pretty good level of presentation I know I'll be a bit reluctant to take it out onto the salted and wet roads, but I'll certainly be looking out for those odd dry days.
2004 I would describe as a massively successful year for the Porsche 968 with all the publicity that has been generated by the Porsche magazines, the 968 register and 968uk.com. There is thriving community now with lots of information and technical tips, the publicity is generating an increase in prices of 968s or at least a lack of depreciation. As long as the car is looked after depreciation seems to be none existent over the past couple of years.

My Car

By the time you read this I may have taken my car on track to test out the new lowered suspension which appears to be behaving beautifully on the road and the local roundabouts are getting to know my car quite well. The adjustable suspension could possibly do with tweaking slightly at the front but the rear has certainly seen a big improvement in road holding and handling since it was lowered, I have also installed a new chip which helps to smooth out the power delivery which in standard form is a compromise setup. The chip has worked really well and definitely makes a difference to the way the car feels while accelerating, I was a bit sceptical about claims of extra performance etc. but the difference is really in the delivery of the power not necessarily in any extra power. How can I put this, it feels now like the acceleration curve is a straight line rather than a series of peaks and plateaus. This is a purely a subjective and seat of the pants explanation and no scientific research has gone into this but it does make the car a bit more enjoyable to drive so the chip will be staying.

At the time of writing this the car as a project still has a few things to be completed, the seats need reconnolising, the rear quarters need a small amount of paintwork and the engine bay although is presentable still needs a bit more work to bring it up to show standard. Although I am happy to say that the first show it has entered got a welcome second place in the NW regional concours at the German Sports Car show in September.
I also noticed in a recent issue of PP that a 968 got a first place in the Northants regional concours. Well done that man.
Check 911 and Porsche World for some images of my 968 in a radar detector article they are doing.