BRSCC RETURNS HOME TO BRANDS HATCH
A race weekend at Brands Hatch is never a dull occasion, especially when it takes place on the short, sharp and yet still challenging 1.2 mile Indy layout. That’s exactly what we have in store this weekend as the BRSCC South Eastern Centre gears up for its third meeting of the season here at “our local” in Kent, where a mix of endurance and sprint racing dominates the timetable.
The main event on Saturday will be another 4 hour epic from the FunCup Championship, with the end of the season closing in fast. Last time at Silverstone, it was Team Racelogic led by Julian Thomas that went on to take their first race win for over three years and the first for himself and co-drivers Jon Tomlinson and David Denyer with their new team. As for points leaders Sheradize UK, what became at one point an entire lap lead over the whole field turned into nightmare when a rear suspension issue cost them any solid points. Now just seven points ahead of rivals Chris Hart and Henry Dawes for Track Torque 2 Rent Domino’s, this weekend will be incredibly crucial for both. Don’t countout Team Honeywell or Team Viking Self Storage either, as all four of the top teams in the table are covered by just 28 points. If one of them slips up here, it could be game over!
At this stage of the season, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the smart money for the Toyo Tires Porsche Championship would be with Adam Southgate, as the Race Boxster driver has made it something of a habit to constantly keep on winning race after race this year. Even on dropped scores, he’s almost 100 points ahead of Garry Lawrence, with Kevin Molyneaux and James Coleman not far behind either. In the 924 Class, it’s still very tight between Gavin Johnson and Hugh Peart as the former looks to try and replicate the success of his former teammate Pip Hammond from last season. While one class title could be put out of reach this weekend, the other is very much still up for grabs.
Over in the Speed Group OSS Championship, former multiple champion Josh Smith appears to be on course for another title to add to his ever growing collection. Not only does he lead Class C, but in the overall standings he’s more than 60 points ahead of Daniel Prendergast, who sits in second place in both. Patrick Sherrington is also hot on Daniel’s heels in 3rd place overall with a commanding lead of Class A with his MCR, while Martin Heath looks untouchable in Class B aboard his Juno. With a superb mix of Radicals, Chirons, MCRs and more, including two Invitational entries, all involved will be hoping for another epic spectacle as witnessed at this venue a couple of years ago.
With their biggest entry of the season, the Dunlop TVR Challenge is ready to bring their 2018 campaign to a close this weekend. Class C leader Andy Race looks odds on to become overall champion as well as claiming class glory, although the head of the field is likely to see the selection of super TVR Tuscan Challenge cars battle it out amongst each other. Those with long memories will remember the days when the Tuscan Challenge was, and in some people’s eyes still is, the best one make championship in the world.
Appearing solely on Sunday are two tin-top championship that are both guaranteed to provide some thrills. A healthy grid is set to appear for the Teekay Couplings Production GTi Championship, and with the Mk5s scoring points in their own class for the very first time; James Colbourne leads the way at this stage from Martyn Walsh and Simon Hill and will be hoping to consolidate his lead come the end of Sunday afternoon. With the Mk2 classes, Chris Webb will need all the luck he can get to prevent his #1 heading the way of Tim Hartland who also has a fairly commanding lead. Dan Gibbs and Pete Milne will also be keen to throw themselves into the mix too, while Matt Eccles appears this weekend to represent the 8V runners.
Also on the bill on Sunday are the superb Cox Motor Parts Civic Cup, contesting their first season on the BRSCC roster. Rob Baker is sitting pretty at the top of the points table, with a lead of 22 points from a tight battle for 2nd place between Mark Grice and Daniel Reason. Such is the competitive nature of the championship that there’s been multitude of race winners and podium finishers, so names you can throw into the mix to potentially grab silverware on Sunday include Jason Ballantyne, Daniel Hobson, James Griffith, Lewis Rose, Bruce Winfield and Arron Sharp.
