Double win for Owens after Mini thrills and spills
BRANDS HATCH MSVR MINI FESTIVAL 21-22 AUGUST
Mixed weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of drivers and spectators alike at Brands Hatch as the Mini Festival made a welcome return following a year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two typically thrilling Mini Miglia encounters were among the highlights of the event. Former champion Endaf Owens won both races, but not before indulging in a fabulous three-way lead tussle with defending champion Aaron Smith and current leader Andrew Jordan in race one.
After a restart was called following a first-lap incident, Jordan powered into the lead from the outside of the front row to head Smith and Owens into Paddock before, a lap later, Owens relegated Smith to third. An audacious move for the lead around the outside of Paddock on lap six failed to come off for Owens and would drop him back behind Smith, but the duo never allowed 2013 British Touring Car champion Jordan any relaxation.
After getting back ahead of Smith, Owens finally passed Jordan for the lead at Paddock on lap 12 of 19, with Smith following by on the run into Druids. All eyes continued to focus on the battle as the race neared its climax. Jordan got back ahead of Smith at Surtees on lap 15, but he was unable to deny Owens the win after a memorable contest.
Owens made light work of his fourth-row grid spot in race two, powering into the lead by Druids on the opening lap and never being headed thereafter. Behind, title rivals Jordan and Smith entertained with another exciting battle for second. Jordan held the advantage initially, but Smith was able to muscle his way ahead. Jordan pressured hard to the flag, but Smith held on.
Jordan’s former BTCC team-mate
Jeff Smith cantered to a dominant win from pole in a dry Mini Se7en opener, strengthening his hopes of a third successive title. Former category champion Jonathan Lewis saw off the challenge of
Nick Croydon-fowler and Connor O’brien to claim the runner-up spot.
Race two included plenty of drama. After S Class runner Arnold Duncan spun and was collected by the unfortunate Damien Harrington at Clearways, the race was stopped. A heavy shower at the restart made track conditions treacherous and Lewis and Smith were both caught out, understeering off at Clearways. Croydon-fowler came through to win on the road after passing both Joe Thompson and Mike Jordan on the last lap, but a penalty for a yellow flag infringement relegated him to sixth.
Smith was able to survive a lurid sideways moment at Clearways on the opening lap of the first Pre-’66 Mini race to claim third behind Joel Wren and the victorious Ian Curley. Miglia double winner Owens won race two from Smith, as Curley came out on top in a tight battle with Wren over third.
The prize of ‘Fastest Mini in the World’ was claimed by Harvey Death in his V8-powered Austin Mini Cooper S after two dominant drives. Bill Richards claimed second in his Maguire Clubman in race one, while Fabio Luffarelli (Classic Saloon) was runner-up in the second event.
Aside from the host of Mini races, other Motorsport Vision categories were in action and were also affected by the unpredictable weather. Rain at the start of the opening Champion of Brands contest caused both front-row starters Max Esterson (Low Dempsey Racing Ray GR18) and Alex
Walker (Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum 011c) to spin off at Paddock in separate incidents.
Their misfortune allowed Oliver White to take victory in his Medina Sport JL17,
having got ahead of both Esterson’s team-mate Colin Queen and Walker’s fellow KMR driver Thomas Mills at Clearways on the penultimate lap. White won race two from Mills, as Esterson charged through from the back of the grid to claim third.
Simon Hill and Simon Vercoe shared the spoils in two sodden Production GTI races, as reigning champion Martyn Walsh endured a troubled weekend that included a race-stopping shunt in the second encounter as track conditions worsened.
Stefano Leaney was denied a clean sweep of F3 Cup victories in his Dallara F317 after excessive track limits offences in race two earned him a post-race time penalty. George Line, champion in the category in 2016, was the grateful beneficiary in his Dallara F308.