Brands Hatch – 11/12th November, Rounds 15 & 16

Qualifying

The track was extremely slippery due to the inclement weather & residual lubricant deposited by truck racing the previous weekend. Due to clutch problems, Simon Lewis only ran the mandatory three laps to ensure a grid position for the race. Tim Morrant’s XJ6 managed two laps before a high-pressure oil cooler hose disconnected, adding yet more jeopardy to the already challenging track. Excellent work by Tom Barclay Racing ensured he was able to race, not wasting his excellent seventh qualifying position. Due to the deteriorated track conditions, most drivers set their fastest times early in the session. Ramm headed Philpott by a huge 1.5 seconds to annexe pole, with Frost taking 3rd. Derek Pearce, finally getting the XK8 honed to his exacting requirements, achieved a strong fourth. Holt led Class A from Stewart & Kevin Dickins.

Race 2

Again, although conditions were officially recorded as dry & bright, there was a serious greasy patch near the pit wall where the sun and curative chemicals had not reached. Unfortunately, the relevant warning flags were not displayed until 4 minutes from the end of the race. Bye & Butterfield, having been non-finishers from race 1, were starting from the back of the grid & were expected to power through. As the rolling start commenced, Stewart, who was on the slippery section, lost adhesion & cannoned into the fast-starting Bye, before hitting the pit wall, bringing out the red flag to recover car & driver, who was thankfully unhurt.

Meanwhile, Philpott had a big spin, hitting the barrier square on at the foot of Paddock. He was able to take the restart but fell back through the pack due to the resultant side damage, finishing fourth in Class. On the resumption of the race, Ramm galloped off into the gloom to win from a hard-charging Connew, who drove a fine race, earning ‘Drive of the Day’ award. In a reverse of his drive up the field in Saturdays race, Lewis couldn’t get any gears at Druids & fell from 9^th to last place.

Meanwhile Frost & Robinson mastered the conditions to finish 3^rd & 4^th and class winners. The Start/Finish straight slippery surface caught out Morrant, who hit the barrier on the outside of the circuit & retired. Pearce also had a mighty spin, but managed to avoid the barrier but dropped to 11^th by the finish. Gail Hill, Chris Boon & Adam Powderham had a fine battle, with Boon finally passing the other two. In a rerun of race 1, the finishing order in Class A was identical. Unfortunately, as a result of the startline accident, the race duration was reduced to 10 minutes.

Results :

Winner : James Ramm, Runner Up Guy Connew, 3rd Rodney Frost

Class A : Winner Michael Holt, Runner Up Kevin Dickins, 3rd Simon Blunt

Class B : Winner Rodney Frost, Runner Up Tom Butterfield, 3rd Chris Boon

Class C : Winner James Ramm, Runner Up Guy Connew, 3^rd Dave Bye

Class D : Winner Tom Robinson, Runner Up Patrick Doyle, 3rd Adam Powderham

Drive of the Day Guy Connew

The end of the long 16 round season was very dramatic with class winners & championship winner being fought to the bitter end. These will be issued on completion of the verification process.