CALM All Porsche Trophy - Donington Park National Circuit
Date: 30th May 2026
Event Organiser: 750 Motor Club
Format: Two 20-minute sprint races
Conditions: Hot and dry, run during a heatwave
Best Lap Time: 1min25.115secs (set in qualifying)
Race Report
Summary: CALM All Porsche Trophy - Round 2, Donington Park National (30 May 2026)
Round 2 of the 2026 CALM All Porsche Trophy took VANHAUEN RACING to Donington Park. With the engine finally mapped to its complete 425bhp by Dave Rowe at EPS just ten days earlier, this was the first genuine opportunity to race the 903 at its full 2026 specification. The weekend was run in the middle of a heatwave, with Donington sweltering in the kind of extreme temperatures the team had deliberately tested against on the pre-race test day.
It was also the first time the 903 had raced in anger since Anglesey in July 2025, a gap of more than ten months. With so long away from competition, Sabine came along to offer moral support and help see the day through.
The plan, and the simulator preparation behind it, had been built around Donington's full Grand Prix circuit. On the day, however, it became clear that the two races would in fact be run on the shorter National Circuit. That called for a sit-down with Phil Brough to relearn the approach to the final chicane, taken to the right, in place of the left-hand chicane and loop back of the Grand Prix layout that had been rehearsed.
Qualifying produced the standout moment of the weekend. The 903 set a best lap of 1min25.115secs, comfortably the fastest lap time the car has ever recorded and a clear marker of how far the 2026 development programme has moved it forward. Remarkably, that time was achieved with the car still some way short of its full potential, and with gear selection already becoming difficult during the session.
Those gear change problems worsened sharply once racing began. By the first race it was clear that something had broken: fifth gear could no longer be engaged at all. Phil Brough set to work between the two races and traced the fault to a split bushing in the gear lever rod, which had introduced so much play into the linkage that the shifter could only be adjusted to retain either first and second, or fifth and reverse, but not both. With first and second the priority for getting off the line and through Donington's slower corners, the second race was also run without the use of fifth gear.
It made for a deeply frustrating driving experience across both races, the car unable to stretch its legs down the straights. The one significant consolation was that the fault lay outside the gearbox itself, sparing the team the considerable expense of an internal transmission rebuild. The replacement bushing has since been ordered, leaving plenty of time to put the car right ahead of Round 3 at Snetterton.
At the front of the 30-car field, Warren Allen's Gulf-liveried Cayman dominated the weekend, taking pole position a second clear of the field and winning both races. The official series report once again singled out the Invitation class entry, describing the 903 as "the mighty supercharged 911."
There was a final twist after the chequered flag. As the prize presentation was about to begin, the driver was called to Race Control to answer an investigation into a yellow flag violation. Although no fellow competitor had complained, the incident centred on a committed overtake into the final chicane during race two: just before the corner, the yellow flag came out. In that split-second moment, side by side with another car and with the 903 already set up and committed to the corner, the decision was made to stay the course rather than unsettle the car and risk an incident. Technically, though, the move had been completed under yellow flag conditions, and the penalty was the loss of one place in the overall result.
Crucially, the deduction made no difference to the bigger prize: the 903 had once again won the Invitation Class. In a fitting end to the day, while the driver was away at Race Control receiving his telling-off, it was Sabine who stepped up to lift the trophy on his behalf.
Read the full official report here.
Photo Gallery: Donington Park 2026
