TUTHILL PORSCHE CHALLENGE

Tuthill Porsche announces new sponsorship agreement

Posted: September 12, 2011 12:29 PM

Tuthill Porsche, the UK’s premier historic Porsche preparation expert, is delighted to announce a new sponsorship agreement with British pharmaceutical firm CST Pharma Ltd.

CST Pharma Ltd, a well-known pharmaceutical supplier based in the West Midlands, will become title sponsor of both the Tuthill Porsche Challenge – the only one-make rally series in the world for historic Porsches – and the renowned Tuthill Porsche Ice Driving course in Norway, with immediate effect.

The company’s name will appear on all the cars and branding, giving CST Pharma a wider international aspect and an even closer association with the adrenaline rush of motorsport.

CST Pharma is one of the leading pharmaceutical suppliers in its field, and the company is aiming to benefit from the wide range of people that it will come into contact with through the activities of Tuthill Porsche – both on rally stages and frozen lakes.

Daniel O’Connor from CST Pharma commented:
“Like many people, I’ve admired the classic Porsche 911 and the brilliant preparation from Tuthill Porsche for many years, so it seemed natural to link up in this way as title sponsor. Their uncompromising attention to detail and emphasis on complete quality is a perfect match with our own philosophy, making it an excellent partnership. We very much look forward to seeing our logo on what we think are the most exciting cars in the world. Through the Challenge and also the ice-driving in Norway, we see motorsport sponsorship as an excellent way to expand our brand reach.”

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill added:
“I’m absolutely delighted by this partnership with CST Pharma, which helps increase the visibility of both the Porsche Challenge and Norway Ice Driving: two of our most high-profile activities. I know all the people concerned well, and they have a real passion for motorsport as well as for business. We’re very much looking forward to seeing them out on events: I’m sure that this is just the start of a long-term collaboration that will be extremely mutually beneficial.”

McRae and Delecour lead Tuthill Porsche Challenge after round two

Posted: May 8, 2011 12:26 PM

Five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae won round two of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge last weekend, the Pirelli Historic Rally. McRae finished second in his class overall to seal the lead of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge jointly with Francois Delecour: the winner of the opening round on the Bulldog Rally in Wales last month.

McRae was competing on his first gravel event in three years, taking the place of regular Porsche Challenge competitor Andrew Barnes, who had prior commitments. The Scot spent one day testing the car before the start of the Pirelli Historic, which was held in the famous Kielder Forest complex with its rapid stages flanked by deep ditches.

After setting off at a cautious pace, McRae gradually increased his speed to compete with the class leaders. Despite the dry weather that made the roads very dusty and slippery, McRae stayed out of trouble throughout Saturday’s six stages to record a well-deserved result, co-driven by Pauline Gullick.

“I struggled a bit for pace at the beginning as I hadn’t competed for a while, but I really enjoyed it,” said McRae at the finish in Carlisle. “I’d almost forgotten just how much commitment you need in the Kielder stages: they are awesome but absolutely flat out all the time and you need total confidence if you’re going to do well. I really don’t have the confidence that I had when I was younger, but I definitely enjoyed myself! Driving a Porsche on roads like this is always a fantastic experience.”

John Lloyd, who finished second of the Challenge runners on the Bulldog Rally, put up strong opposition to McRae, running just behind the legendary Scot for most of the event. Lloyd and his co-driver Adrian Cavenagh felt that they could have gone quicker in the morning, but just as they were picking up their pace in the afternoon they were stopped in their tracks by a broken calliper with only two stages to go.

“It was a pity as we had made a few adjustments to the car at midday service that gave us a bit more confidence,” said Lloyd, who has previously competed with Tuthill Porsche on the East African Safari Rally. “I think we were all a bit surprised by the condition of the stages: it was much more slippery than we thought, which made the driving a big challenge.”

Despite not finishing the Pirelli Historic Rally, Lloyd maintains third place in the Porsche Challenge behind the two rally legends that top the table.

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill commented:
“It’s great for us to have two huge names like Jimmy McRae and Francois Delecour leading our championship after two rounds, even though they’re guest drivers who aren’t doing the whole series. John Lloyd has done an absolutely great job on both rounds held so far, and I’m sure he’ll be challenging for the win again on our next outing. Our main idea behind the Porsche Challenge is to make it fun, easy and social at a contained cost, in order to give people an experience that they will remember. It’s very early days, but so far I think we’re on the right track.”

For a fully-inclusive cost of just £42,500, Tuthill Porsche Challenge competitors drive on five rounds of the British Historic Rally Championship in a 3.0-litre Porsche 911 with all expenses covered.

The next round of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge is the Severn Valley Rally based in Builth Wells on Saturday 4 June.

Lloyd and Barnes sign up for Tuthill Porsche Challenge

Posted: February 3, 2011 11:28 AM

Well-known British privateers John Lloyd and Andrew Barnes are the two latest names to sign up for the 2011 Tuthill Porsche Challenge.

This brand new competition, an innovation in the previously traditional world of historic rallying, will put 10 impeccably-prepared historic 911s head-to-head on five prestigious rallies from April to October in 2011.

Two of the cars will now be driven by John Lloyd and Andrew Barnes: both well-known competitors in the world of rallying.

London-based John Lloyd has rallied everything from a Ford Focus WRC to a Group N Subaru Impreza, as well as a number of historic cars, including the Mk2 Ford Escort that he took to a well-deserved fourth place overall on the Rallye International du Maroc last October. He also finished third on the 2004 Safari Rally, fourth on the 2005 Safari with Tuthill Porsche, and third overall in the 2001 FIA Asia Pacific Championship.

While it's fair to say that John is something of an Africa specialist, he has also competed with success both on the World Rally Championship and in Britain, placing ninth on the BTRDA Rally Series last year in a Ford Focus WRC.

Andrew Barnes, John’s business partner, has also competed on the BTRDA championship in a Ford Focus, finishing 12th on the national series last year, with a best result of second overall on the 2009 Tempest Rally.

Andrew is no stranger to international competition either, finishing fourth overall on the 2003 Safari: his first long-distance event.

Driving a 3.0-litre classic Porsche 911, John and Andrew will face a quite different - but equally enjoyable challenge - as they tackle five rallies on both asphalt and gravel this year. The Tuthill Porsche Challenge starts with the Bulldog Rally in Wales, followed by the Pirelli Rally, the Severn Valley Historic Challenge and the Ulster Rally before concluding with the McRae Stages in Scotland.

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill commented: “I’m absolutely delighted that John and Andrew will be joining us on the Tuthill Porsche Challenge this year. They’re both great drivers and great sportsmen, who will make fantastic ambassadors for the series. We’ve got some exciting plans in place for this all-new series, including a very special guest who should be joining us for the Bulldog Rally, and we can’t wait to get started. The build for all the cars is already well underway and we welcome any enquiries from people who would be interested in joining us this year.”

TUTHILL PORSCHE CHALLENGE WEBSITE NOW ONLINE

Posted: August 29, 2010 4:42 PM

A brand new website for next year's Tuthill Porsche Challenge is now online at:

The freshly-launched site is a complete guide to this exciting innovation for 2011: a one-make historic rally series operating within the British Historic Rally Championship, managed by the Historic Rally Car Register.

The Tuthill Porsche Challenge will put 10 historic 911s head-to-head on five events from April to October 2011, allowing drivers to feel the thrill of air-cooled competition on both asphalt and gravel.

The new website explains the structure and pricing of the championship, and there is also a short video of the car in action. A gallery features a range of photographs from the recent press launch, and there is also the full technical specification for the 3.0-litre Tuthill Porsche 911 Challenge car, as well as details of the excellent prize package.

Once the Challenge is underway next year, the site will also carry the latest results and bulletins from the championship, so that competitors and supporters can have access to all the information and photographs they need in one place. Just like competing in the Challenge itself, the website is designed to be fun and easy to use.

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill said: "We've put together a website dedicated to the Tuthill Porsche Challenge simply so that everyone can get all the information they need instantly and see for themselves, through our video and photos, exactly what we're all about. This series is a unique concept in historic rallying and we hope that it's going to be very popular."

For more details about the 2011 Tuthill Porsche Challenge, please visit the website

TUTHILL PORSCHE CHALLENGE

TUTHILL PORSCHE LAUNCHES PORSCHE CHALLENGE

Posted: August 16, 2010 11:14 AM

Tuthill Porsche, the country's foremost preparation firm in historic Porsche rally cars, is delighted to launch the 2011 Tuthill Porsche Challenge: a one-make historic rally series operating within the MSA British Historic Rally Championship, managed by the Historic Rally Car Register.

The new Porsche Challenge will put 10 impeccably-prepared identical historic 911s head-to-head on five prestigious events from April to October, 2011, allowing drivers to feel the thrill of air-cooled competition on both asphalt and gravel.

Priced at £42,250.00 (plus vat if applicable), competitors will have the use of a challenge specification 3.0-litre Tuthill Porsche on five rounds of the MSA British Historic Rally Championship, with all costs, including maintenance, consumables, accommodation, entry fees and insurance, fully covered.

The sport's top stars who have driven for Tuthill Porsche include Michele Mouton, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Rohrl, Markku Alen, Patrick Snijers and Jimmy McRae, and now national rally drivers a chance to join their illustrious ranks.

An exciting prize structure has been put in place, with the winner of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge receiving a fully-paid entry on a FIA European Historic Rally Championship round, using one of Tuthill Porsche's full-specification 3.0-litre Porsche 911s.

The second-placed crew will receive an all-expenses paid trip to watch the East African Safari Classic as a guest of the team, while the third-placed driver and co-driver will enjoy a two-day course at Tuthill Porsche's ice-driving school in Norway.

The series was launched at a media day close to Bicester, Oxfordshire, last Friday (August 13), during which journalists had the chance to sample one of the 3.0-litre Challenge-spec Porsches that will be used in next year's series.

Tuthill Porsche director Richard Tuthill commented:
"There's not been a concept like this before in historic rallying, and not only is it going to be tremendous fun, it also offers great value for money. We believe that the most important thing is for people to enjoy their rallying, so while we work to the highest professional standards, we're planning to build a great social atmosphere that allows our drivers just to concentrate on the driving and getting the most out of the cars. The Porsche 911 is obviously an icon, and one of the great cars that have defined the sport. It's an experience that we want to open up to as many people as possible, so we're hoping for plenty of interest."