DREAM START FOR NEW BT62 WITH NIGHT WIN
The latest chapter in the distinguished history of Brabham got off to the perfect start as David Brabham and Will Powell steered the new Brabham BT62 to victory in the opening Britcar “Into the Night” Endurance race.
Sodden conditions greeted the drivers for the one-hour encounter on Saturday as Powell led the field away from pole, chased by the BMW 1M E82 of Ollie Hancock (sharing with Mike Moss) and Tim Gray’s Praga R1T.
A fuse problem and a damaged door dented Gray’s hopes, leaving Hancock to take the fight to Powell, who was struggling with a misted up windscreen. Hancock took over the lead with a fine move at Druids before Powell handed over the BT62 to Brabham at the mandatory pitstops.
Moss took over from Hancock a few laps later, but Brabham was quickly able to reel in the BMW. At two-thirds distance, the 2009 Le Mans winner was able to snatch back the lead approaching Surtees before pulling clear to record a memorable victory.
Lucky Khera, who had enjoyed a spell at the head of the field in his Ferrari 488 Challenge during the pitstop phase, worked his way up to second on the penultimate lap, while Moss was fortunate to hold on to third after spinning at
Graham Hill Bend on the final tour.
Conditions were much improved for Sunday’s two-hour contest, but hopes of a fairytale double for Brabham/powell ended when alternator problems forced them into early retirement. Khera had initially been the beneficiary until Gray powered ahead at Paddock on lap 16.
A lengthy fuel stop dropped Khera and co-driver Lee Frost out of contention, while a 100-second stop and subsequent caution period cost Gray valuable time and swung the balance of the race in favour of Moss and Hancock.
Despite having to serve a late drivethrough penalty for a safety car infringement, Hancock reeled off the remaining laps to seal victory, much to the delight of co-driver Moss. “We’ve finally managed to get the old girl on the podium after all the troubles we have had in the past two and half years!” Moss said post-race. “I have to thank Ollie for all his help in making this win possible.” Gray came home second after a strong solo performance ahead of Kevin Clarke’s BMW M3 E46.
A total of 41 cars formed the grid for the two-hour Citroen C1 Challenge race on Sunday. The focus of the event initially centred around the tactical battle that developed between the Renvale RT Hybrid Tune team of Stephen James and Sam Weller and the Viking squad of Jonathan Hoggarth and former Pickup Truck racer Nic Grindrod.
Both teams attempted to use caution periods in an attempt to gain the advantage over the other as they jostled for the lead, but neither would emerge triumphant. An incident involving three cars at Paddock during the final 30 minutes brought the contest to a premature end and handed the win to Callum Hutchings and Daniel Bruce of Old Hat Motorsport.
Colin Peacock dominated all three Mini Winter Challenge races in his Miglia, despite being forced to start from the back of the grid in the first contest after a warmup lap spin. With only two Miglias among the 14 starters, the excitement of the races was provided by the Se7ens that made up the rest of the shared grid.
In the first race, recently-crowned Se7ens series champion Jeff Smith came out on top in a thrilling race-long duel with Dom Burger (who would later be penalised for a false start) to claim second overall. Burger hoped to reverse the result in race two, but a trip into the Clark Curve gravel following a sideways moment scuppered his chances. Smith was given more breathing space in race three after Burger had to battle his way past the fast-starting Andrew Deviny. By the time Burger had got ahead of
Deviny at Druids on lap five of 22, Smith had built up an uncatchable cushion.
Niall Bradley took advantage of front brake problems for Rod Birley’s Ford Escort WRC to claim the spoils in the opening Tin Tops contest in his
BMW E46 M3.
Fortunes were reversed in race two when a wild opening-lap spin at Paddock wrote Bradley out of action and enabled Birley to claim the win, although the Peugeot 308 TCR of Steve Rothery came close to stealing the spoils in the closing stages.