RJN NISSAN GT-R TAKES SPECTACULAR BRANDS WIN

Three of the BRSCC's leading series featured on a 13-race bill on the 2.4 mile GP circuit as the British F3/GT Championships arrived at Brands Hatch June 23-24. Saturday was dry, but overcast, with Sunday dawning damp, brightening and then with sporadic showers mid-afternoon.

Saturday's first BRSCC-focused race action saw an 18-minute Dunlop MSA Formula Ford round, claimed comfortably by Finland's Antti Buri's Mygale ahead of Brits Luke Williams and Cavan Corcoran's similar cars. The grid was boosted by the presence of EuroCup runners, Bart Van Os heading the visitors. Sunday's Race Two saw another Buri victory, ahead of Argentinian Eric Lichtenstein and Britain's Jake Cook. Jos Kiekens was the top visitor. Buri completed a hat-trick of victories in the third race, once again ahead of Lichtenstein, with Ecuadoran Julio Moreno third benefiting from the antics of cars running further ahead. Van Os topped the visitors.

A mere 38 thousandths of a second separated Maidenhead's Ian Payne from Edinburgh man Mark Shaw at the conclusion of the 30-minute BookaTrack.com Caterham R300 Championship race, with Heskin's James Sharrock a little further adrift. Payne made it a brace of victories in Sunday's second race, ahead of Shaw and Earl Shilton's Terry Langley, moving up from fourth on Saturday.

Although the Avon Tyres British GT Championship race was the longest of the weekend at two hours, there was never any chance of it becoming tedious, as changeable weather and Safety Car interventions complicated matters. Alex Buncombe took an early lead in the RJN Motorsport Nissan GTR under damp conditions, but it wasn't until the completion of the Pit Stops that things started to shake out. Late dramas for the Stephen Jelley Porsche (Stop Go) and Tim Harvey Porsche (puncture) dropped them out of a potential podium slot.

As the race entered its closing minutes, a handful of seconds covered the top three, with Jann Mardenborough at the wheel of the lead Nissan ahead of Oli Bryant's Ecurie Ecosse BMW Z4 and a fast-charging Johnny Adam (Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage). Adam claimed second with a bold move at Paddock Hill Bend on the penultimate lap, and drew alongside the Nissan exiting Clearways, but was just 22 thousandths adrift at the flag. What a race!