Plenty of action as Smith takes two Mini Miglia victories
The action in the combined Mini Miglia and Se7en Championship races at Brands Hatch started how it finished: with two enormous shunts.
A prestigious slot on the DTM billing arrived when the Silverstone round was lost to the circuit being resurfaced after last season’s Motogp washout.
In front of a much-improved crowd over 2018’s return of the German tin-tops to Brands, proceedings got off to a messy beginning when Elliot Stafford speared into the pitwall.
An ace getaway by ninth-placed starter Jason Porter brought him to the left-hand side of Stafford. With James Cuthbertson on the right, Porter and Stafford were caught in a pincer, which sent Stafford across into the wall.
After a safety car interlude, Rupert Deeth and polesitter Aaron Smith battled fiercely to the flag. Smith left it late to retake first place, diving around the outside at Hawthorns and onto the spoils. A compromised line for Deeth meant he slipped behind Kane Astin.
Smith then doubled up in race two, again prevailing in a race-long dice with Astin. A lunge under braking into Druids took Astin into the lead, but only momentarily as Smith fought back on the same lap to double his success.
Astin felt like he had a response, until the race was red-flagged with only three minutes remaining.
In his efforts to sew up Libre class honours, Rob Davis had fought his way to battle with the Miglia of Cuthbertson. The pair touched at Paddock Hill Bend, which pitched Cuthbertson sideways. Davis was forced to take evasive action and the subsequent tank slapper directed Davis into the gravel. Such was the angle, his Mini dug into the bed and rolled. Davis brushed it off as “one of those little things” after emerging from the car unharmed.