BRANDS HATCH 2010

Alex Harrison won here in 2009, his first win and one that surprised those who had not been paying attention. Chris Palmer however is expected to use his vast experience of race rubber to lay down a stellar laptime and prediction is perhaps for a 2-horse race, Lyddall’s very secondhand T1Rs likely to relegate him from the front. That top 3 likely to be unchallenged despite the numerous E cars and the Merrett V12, the prediction is for p4 to be best of the rest.

But, this was also on the cards to be our first wet race since Silverstone 2009, throwing doubts on the predicted running order.

TESTING

The tyre advantage of the R1R immediately apparent. Harrison junior wearing out old T1Rs is caught and passed by the inferior D car of Harrison senior on the R1R tyre, in very short order. A broken rear hub for the class D car after only 10 laps however raised latent concerns about the effect of all this extra grip on what is known to be a weak point for these cars.

Webster spotted throwing his Kermitmobile at the track, a night inhaling Evostick having not apparently killed him. The return of the ex-Gary Hastings car in the hands of Chris Boon for the afternoon, wearing a much smarter paintjob and far less body damage than we’re used to seeing on that machine. Entered in class E only because Chris was too tight to buy it some 16” tyres.

Gail Hill’s rolled saloon returns, still a little banged up, but back on track, Lil herself complaining that the driver’s seat was in fact now offset from the steering wheel and pedals, the bent seat mounts explaining much!

Palmer takes to the track in the afternoon, as the Bear fits his race tyres, and a fascinating duel begins as the two likely protagonists have their race a day early. Result? Bear is faster, and equally quickly earning himself a reputation as a bit of a Brands Hatch specialist.

QUALIFYING

Quali dawned as wet and grey as OAP discount day at the local swimming pool, and the combined XJS/Saloon qualifying sees the cars taking to the R1R tyre for the first time in the rain in anger. Several had previously tested them in the wet, so the likes of Palmer, Drage, and Dave Bye are expected to have a significant advantage.

New boys Gregory and Coppock (junior) take to Brands for the first time, the conditions hardly inspiring either of them with confidence. The mix of R1R and T1R shod cars is now heavily in favour of the new tyre, the rearmost D class cars are still using the  T1R, the only frontrunner still on it being Lyddall’s V12, because he’s too cheap to buy any new rubber.

Despite the busy track – 36 cars – traffic was unexpectedly light, the weather always brings out the best of behaviour, and with enthusiastic blue flagging there were few complaints of blocking. A couple of minor spins, and a little sand-exploration, but no damage, and no retirements.

With fears about the new tarmac at Clearways it is some way into the session before most find the grip, but on a slightly drying line the R1R shows its superior wet weather grip, the lead XJS are circulating the track in a time most class D drivers would have killed for in the dry!

The front row is the expected Bear v Palmer contest, Bear takes pole for the second year running, but his first wet weather pole underlines his recent dominance at this track. Palmer second, 6/10 behind.

Surprise package is Lyddall, 3^rd by only 9/100 of a second from Palmer despite using the wrong tyre. Harrison’s heavy class D machine 2/10^th back in 4^th, the driver blaming overcaution, traffic, temperature, bird flu and Communism for lack of pace.

Comer takes a superb 5^th, always goes well at Brands and in the rain, he is under a second adrift of the class D leader as he starts to find peace with his new car.

Ramm puts his E car a now-familiar 6^th, Ian Drage a dismayed 7^th with Boon alongside complaining of a complete lack of acceleration on the 17” wheels.

Seath and Webster make up a very green row 4, Webster’s dry weather testing counting for naught on the greasy track.

Nicholls heads the class D T1R train, Merrett’s V12 lies alongside with serious misfire problems and running on somewhere between 3 and 10 cylinders at any given moment. Gregory leads MacVicar from Beecham and Coppock Junior, the T1R battle at the rear actually very tight, but notable that Gregory in only his fifth race is starting to outpace some of the regulars.

Pace difference:
Class E Pole to P2 – 0.531 seconds, 0.59mph
Class E 1^st to last in class – 3.52 seconds, 3.77mph
Class G 1^st to 2^nd – 4.643 seconds, 4.79mph
Class D lst to 2^nd – 0.913 seconds, 0.99mph
Class D 1^st to last – 9.576 seconds, 9.14mph

RACE

As the rain continued to fall the race was even wetter than qualifying, and the grid was split into two different camps, the modified cars frantically wiping at their screens and turning on home-made fans, and the class D cars, who merely turned their heater on, activated the rear demist and heated screen, and tuned in the radio for the shipping forecast.

As the lights went out it took about a minute for the grid to divide into two completely separate races. The Bear converted pole into first into turn 1, with Palmer nearly alongside but unable to make it all the way past in time, both of them having synchronised sideways wheelspin moments.

From row 2 both Lyddall and Harrison both make unusually good starts, Harrison trying to go round the outside of Palmer, Lyddall to the inside, the front foursome falling down Paddock in a rush of spray.

Into Druids and Bear holds the lead, Palmer making the error of looking to the outside as Bear blocks a brake and runs a little wide. Palmer is edged out, and Lyddall dives for the hole. Palmer moves to try to defend but with Harrison now looking to the inside there are simply too many cars to defend. Lyddall gets the job done with a lovely squeeze into Graham Hill, Bear leads Lyddall from Palmer.

With Harrison now looking to the outside down the Cooper straight, and the inside at Clearways, Palmer is still under attack, and as the cars end this breathless first lap there is no respite in sight.

Despite out-qualifying him, Comer cannot hold off the much-faster car of Ramm from the line and loses the position, but he’s not a man to quit, and nor is Ramm one to abandon a chase, now sitting in 5^th place he is only a few scant tenths off the lead foursome , towing the pursuing Comer. Drage is in touch and hunting that 2^nd in class position that Comer occupies, but there’s a green problem in the mirrors.

The man on a mission in the midfield is Webster, who took some time to find the grip in quail, but is determined to make up places in the race. He instantly out-powers Seath and dispatches Boon, and sets off in pursuit of old nemesis Drage.

By the end of lap 2 the Beard has closed right on the tail of Drage, the gap a little over a tenth of a second, and he maintains unbearable pressure on the D class driver until on lap 4 he makes it stick into Paddock. Not giving in, Drage makes his error and goes too deep into Druids, running wide and putting the car in the gravel, Webster slipping through to take the place.

Drage keeps the car moving and excavates itself from the sand, but the close-chasing Boon and Seath have also slipped through and Drage falls from third in class D to fourth.

Seath has held station off the startline, but he too has taken his time to play himself into the grip levels and in race trim is a clean second faster, his target ahead Chris Boon. Grabbing third with Drage’s error, he is not content to settle for the place, and rightly so. With the Boon machine technically an E machine because of the tyres, it is however in reality a class D car, and this race is a proper test of how Seath measures up against the ex-Hastings machine.

By lap 4 he has the gap down to a coat of paint, and Boon’s pursuit of the now-flying Webster has to be mellowed with a dash of defence.

Nicholls, in the tango-wheeled ex-Robbie machine, has found himself a race with the still-misfiring Merrett. Despite his wildly-confused electrics, Merrett is no slouch in the rain, and gives serious chase in the opening laps, but Nicholls has the edge even on the T1R tyre and draws himself a gap to cement his status as fastest of the wrong-tyre brigade. – we’ll ignore Lyddall from that category as he’s just nuts.

Loser off the line is Gregory, MacVicar’s superior start and first lap boldness has Gregory down to 15^th, with Coppock filling his mirrors and Beecham’s General Lee impersonator an orange smudge ahead.

This class D train becomes the most-consistent scrap on the track, Beecham’s greater experience in the wet a real bonus, but the two new boys learning fast. Very fast, as Coppock takes advantage of Gregory’s error to slip ahead to 15^th.

Bear extends himself a comfortable lead in an unhurried, calm display, Lyddall having to work far harder on his worn, ancient rubber, and having to defend from Palmer, himself driving on the mirrors.

The fight for 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th is hectic, as the powerful cars drag away on the straights, but the heavy D machine finds traction for higher corner speed, the trio are a high-speed concertina that makes the dash into Druids each lap a three-car braking contest which caused much sucking of teeth from the crowd at Paddock.

Amazingly, despite incredibly close racing, these three keep it completely clean, and Palmer is putting on a serious display. Lyddall’s T1R car has a real disadvantage, but his mastery of car control in these conditions is now legendary, and for once Lyddall has restrained his sideways style in favour of smooth and controlled aggression that Palmer simply cannot find a way past as he contends with his mirrors constantly filled with blue metal.

Palmer has the toughest job on the track. He is facing a serious attack from Harrison, desperate to take that third place to make it a Kutuka Motorsport 1,2, 3 finish, but also trying to overtake the inexplicably-nailed down V12 ahead, and gives a masterclass in racecraft. Fending off over a dozen overtaking moves and trying several of his own, Palmer’s eventually third place finish is a well-deserved podium.

As the leaders encounter the backmarkers on lap 6 there is a moment of terror for race leader Alex Harrison as the class D battle fails to spot him. Lights ablaze and flashing them like a lunatic the red car carves ruthlessly through the backmarkers, but his lead is dented as he punches a hole for the pursuing trio.

That tail-end chase has got very close indeed, Coppock is only a tenth behind Beecham, Gregory 3/10^th behind him, and as he makes his move for 14th Coppock loses control, spinning the car and losing 20 seconds to fall to last. An unfortunate result perhaps, but going for his second pass of the afternoon, in these conditions, in his third race. The watching Coppock senior must have allowed himself a wry chuckle.

Seath’s pursuit of Boon is still on, the gap is still only half a second as the race reaches half distance, and despite brief respite as they lap the backmarkers, Seath is doggedly chasing, ever-closer until he makes his kill, slicing past Boon on lap 13 to take that long-sought position. A most satisfying move, measuring his self-prepared car against one of the old class D greats.

The top four have dropped the rest of the field by some way. The flying Bear is droning round much as he did in 2009, the car planted, unhurried, and making a noise like a Tiger Moth, calmly cruising round without drama, ever-extending his lead just enough each lap. 4 seconds clear by lap 12 he backs it off to maintain the gap, and serenely cruises to take the flag for his second win at Brands Hatch in as many races.

The Lyddall/Palmer/Harrison fight has exhausted itself. Palmer’s best attack came as a sideways Lyddall slid broadside out of Clearways, but he has to briefly lift to be certain the slide doesn’t become a crash, and his attack is then compromised by the car in the mirrors. The trio flash past the chequered flag in line astern after 16 laps of incredibly close but clean racing.

Ramm has held 5^th from Comer lap after lap until he began to extend his lead, and is now nearly 7 seconds clear, the leaders 20 seconds up the road, but his third in class no mean result in these conditions.

Comer has escaped Webster and collects his 2^nd in class with glee, Seath takes 3^rd in D with Boon’s E class 5 seconds behind, the recovering Drage made a small dent in the gap but never threatened to catch the pair, and finished a very glum 10^th, the last unlapped car.

Merrett’s car’s sporadic behaviour has led to wildly-varying laptimes, and having dropped 6 seconds to Nicholls in the early stages of the race, he first stabilises the gap and then gradually grinds it down again, the backmarkers make his late-race charge a little staccato, but the gap is under 4 seconds at the flag, a tale perhaps of what could have been as either car, driver or conditions finally suited each other.

MacVicar’s early pursuit of Merrett fell away as the G car found time, but he is well clear of the remaining trio, the squabbling Beecham/Gregory/Coppock fight. Beecham held on to take the “win” from this fight, every bit as fierce as the duel at the head of the field, and the result meaning every bit as much to those involved. Hats off to the three for close, clean racing to entertain the now-sodden crowd.

Result then, race win and class E victory for the Bear, which with fastest lap and pole gives him a perfect day.. Palmer second in class in all ways, Ramm third, likewise in each category. Webster 4^th, Boon 5^th.

Class G is a Lyddall whitewash, but most notably he actually sets fastest lap of the race, the only man making the old T1Rs still work, and what might be his best display to date. Merrett second in class, but lapped, and with real car problems.

Class D is won by 4^th-placed Harrison, 27 seconds clear of 2^nd in class Comer. Seath 3^rd, Drage 4^th, Nicholls 5^th, MacVicar 6^th, Beecham, Gregory and Coppock 7^th, 8^th and 9^th.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

WINNERS

Alex Harrison – Another flawless display. We don’t know why he does so well here, but his dominance of this racetrack is undeniable.

Stewert Lyddall – for a V12 on a bald road tyre, that was supreme driving. We are listing this as perhaps his best-ever display. Not a race win, but far and away better than he had any right to expect this weekend.

Roger Webster – slow in qualifying, but found his balls in the race.

Terry Nicholls – fastest class D driver to run the T1R, in only his second race with the series.

Kutuka Motorsport – 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th, with a perfect points haul. Could only possibly have gone one better!

Bob Beecham – yes, really. Best race he’s had in a long time.

Ducks.

LOSERS

Ian Drage –  The driver having a proven record in the wet, a fundamental problem with the car’s setup must be the explanation?

Paul Merrett – the development of a race-spec V12 is never easy, and doing it only on race-day rather than in testing is always going to be a painful and public experience.