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Tuthill Porsche is celebrating a memorable 2015 across its core activities of Porsche rallying, historic circuit racing, Porsche restoration and bespoke classic Porsche 911 builds.
Alongside wins on the Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and East African Safari Classic Rallies, Tuthill-built Porsches claimed victory at Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring and in historic marathon rallies in the USA and Asia. Many new 911s left the Tuthill workshops and all performed with complete reliability.
Tuthill Porsche wins FIA R-GT Cup
2015 was the first full year of competition for the Tuthill Porsche 997 R-GT car, driven by rally legend, François Delecour, in the inaugural FIA R-GT Cup: a five-round series combining World and European Rally Championship events.
Fighting a season-long battle with experienced rally competitor and former Le Mans Porsche winner, Romain Dumas, Tuthills maintained the momentum of victory on the opening WRC round in Monte Carlo to wrap up the R-GT title with one rally remaining, following a terrific win on WRC Tour de Corse.
Tuthill on Track
Tuthill-built circuit racers had a strong year in 2015, with particular success for the 1965 2-litre Porsche 911, built by Tuthills for Yorkshire’s EB Motorsport.
Following a successful debut at Goodwood in the all-Porsche Aldington Trophy, where driver Mark Bates finished second overall, the car went on to win the highly competitive Spa 6 Hours, beating all other 911s to come home eleventh overall, close to far more powerful GT cars including Lola T70 and Ford GT40.
EB Motorsport’s Light Yellow 911 RSR also took outright victory in the Nürburgring Trophy at the Oldtimer Grand Prix. Mark Bates and Sean McInerney claimed the event’s first-ever British win, beating many other 911s including the 3.0 RSR of German touring car hero, Frank Stippler and sharing the podium with Nürburgring Porsche legend, Olaf Manthey.
Tuthill-built circuit racers also claimed championship victory in the hard-fought Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons series with Stan Bernard. More racing car builds are in progress, with hopes of continued success for Tuthill on track in 2016.
Tuthill in Marathon Rallying
As previous winners of the London to Sydney and East African Safari Classic rallies, Tuthill Porsche is the go-to name in classic Porsche 911s for marathon rallying. The team’s reputation was further enhanced by a series of sensational performances through 2015.
These included a second win for a Tuthill-built car on the East African Safari Rally with former World Champion, Stig Blomqvist, and a pair of wins for Peter and Zoe Lovett in their Tuthill Porsche 911 on the Trans-America and Road to Mandalay endurance events.
We also enjoyed reliable rally debuts for two new marathon rally 911s in 2015: Gavin and Diana Henderson’s Champagne Yellow ’65 and the 2.7-litre 1973 911 of Edmund Peel and Sara MacDonald. Both cars had trouble-free runs on the Safari Challenge Rally from Madrid to Marrakesh. We look forward to their 2016 adventures!
Entries for Safari 2017 will be submitted from August 2016, so we also welcome new enquiries for the world’s most prestigious historic rally. Now is the time to start preparing.
Tuthill Historic Stage Rallying
Our packed R-GT calendar left little time for a full campaign in the FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship, but Tuthills fielded a brace of classic 911s on Rally Ypres, where the former Belgian Historic Rally Champion, Glenn Janssens took victory in his fire-breathing Tuthill Porsche 911. Also in Ypres, Howard Redhouse debuted his very pretty Tuthill-built 2-litre 911 with 100% reliability, taking victory in Cat 1 FIA Historics.
Below Zero Ice Driving by Tuthill Porsche
Away from competitive motorsport, hundreds of drivers enjoyed the excitement of our Below Zero Ice Driving programme at the start of 2015. Held every year on the frozen lakes around Åre in Sweden, our classic 911s on ice attracts participants from all over the world, including many famous race and rally names. Bookings are now open for 2016: visit www.belowzeroicedriving.com for more information.
Thanks to all of our team
“Behind these headlines is a terrific team of incredible individuals, each devoted to supporting our clients’ passion for Porsche,” says team boss, Richard Tuthill. “We would be nothing without their often superhuman efforts, so we thank all of them for their dedication in 2015 and look forward to more exciting adventures in the year ahead.
“As the New Year approaches with a new set of challenges, we wish our many friends and supporters a wonderful 2016. Whether it is in motorsport, building bespoke road cars, restoring classic road and race cars or supplying rare Porsche parts, all of us at Tuthill Porsche will continue to work tirelessly on everything from the simplest Porsche road cars to the finest heritage models.”
