I arrived on Saturday Evening, a bit later than hoped due to being diverted through Yaxley as a new footbridge was being hoisted across my route to the A1. On route also discovered, that the Winnebago is only about 3 inches narrower that the Dartford tolls… which makes life interesting.
Anyway, after the storming performance at Anglesey I was actually a little concerned about Brands. I’ve proberbly done more track miles here than anywhere else and I was rather worried that I would drive it in my old comfortable (and slow) Style, plus I hadn’t tested so was bound to be a bit rusty
The Championship background was that may great mate Neil Constable-Berry and Stephen Dean are 18 and 14 points ahead of me in the championship respectively. But they’ve scored points in every round so far and I’ve already had my two dropped results due to a failed driveshaft and a failed clutch. So assuming consistency from here on in and allowing for their drops we’re really only three or four points apart for Class B championship 3rd. I’ve beaten them both in races this year so I was on a mission to demote them again at Brands and get right on terms with them for Championship class B 3rd
Practice
We were first out in the morning, but mercifully the track was dry and pretty grippy. It took me a while but I worked up the track in a nice progression. 57.8, 57.5 ,56.8 ,56.5 ,56. .55.5, 55.3, 54.6, and so on, actually on what I think would have been my fasted lap I moved over to let a flying Martin Brooks and Derek Jones through…. still can’t shake that back marker mentality!
Most of the while the in car lap time kept me posted on my progress so I was pretty happy.
Anyway when arrived back at the Winnebago a Grinning Duncan shoved the stopwatch with 54.6 unde rmy nose. Cool! previous best was 55.8 so that’s another 1.2 seconds off my Brands PB.
The results had me 18th on the grid and 4th in class B 1 place above Neil Constable Berry who is currently flying high in the class B table… but who is very much being hunted down by me. Amazingly in the next two rows towards the front were Stephen Dean,Tim Hoverd, Colin Chapman and Josh Smith (2nd in classB) that’s pretty exulted company who breathing rarified air as far as I’m concerned!
RGB is so tight that between 5th and 15th place every body is in the 53s. ten places separated by less than a second! She’s still a bit tail happy under power so I want to try and get a hold of this power oversteer before Cadwell
Race 1
We grid up and its a new experience for me to be staring at the back of one Mr T Hoverd through the gap between Colin Chapman and Stephen in the row ahead. They hold us on the lights for at least three seconds, and due to Hi specs ineffective hand bake, I have to do a heel toe start to stop the car from rolling. This is basically crap. However on the Run to paddock I do see a gap between Tim and Colin that I’m going to go for … but Stephen Jumps in there quite decisively and in the first corner confusion I lose a place to Rob Grant….. Arse! Not being keen to repeat the crap performance of falling off in the Allcomers at Anglesey I’m being a bit too circumspect on the cold tyres, and Neil gets me around the outside at Druids next time round…. double Arse I left that door open!
Initiate Steely determination mode! Neil and I then spend the next few laps glued together… never more than two or three cars lengths apart , and mostly a lot less than one. Him defending like crazy and me crawling all over him, trying ultra hard to make a clean pass without contact… he is after all a good mate. A couple of times I’m along side out of paddock but my tighter line hurts my speed and he gently closes the door. Similarly I’m going for the Apex at the Mcleans`Surtees complex and if I was more assertive I’d have made the pass. His motor is pretty strong down the straights and he can usually pull away a tad. It goes on like this hammer and tongs for 10 laps. Kate and the Kids in the crowd said it was great to watch… real entertainment…. It was pretty fun in the car too! Eventually my better speed through the complex puts me right on his tail on the entry to Clearways, He runs slightly deep and is about half a car off the apex. I’m alongside but cant make the pass stick as his strong motor starts to tell on the straight, but I’m much closer than before. I modulate my brake pressure at Paddock to be right behind him again and he runs wide and gets a little out of shape, I grab the apex and we’re side by side at the apex and on the run up to Druids, this time I brake slightly later, hold the inside line and gently squeeze him on the exit so he puts two wheels on the kerb/grass. The pass is made and I then hold the defensive line to Graham Hill Bend H to complete the job. However Neil is still there fighting back… now it is my turn to have my mirrors filled with yellow Fury. He’s not giving up.
Looking at the video I’m plainly not fully on it… very defensive, and dont open up any sort of gap.A couple of laps later I run slightly deep into Druids, Neil closes up and we just tag on the right rear corner as I pull the car back to the apex. It’s like that lap after lap…fighting hard but clean for every corner, every straight, every apex!All the defending has cost us time and we get lapped by Derek just before the finish… but I managed to hold Neil off all the way to the chequered flag and we finish 3 10th apart. Now I know what it feels like to be in a race long dogfight! and even after all that defending I’ve taken another 2 tenths of my time. 54.4! Whooo Hoo!
When the results come out poor Josh wasn’t seen by the time keepers and has been given a DNF when he actually finishes second in Class B. For a moment there was some excitement that I’d achieved another class B podium… but it was rightly awarded to Stephen Dean when Josh was quite correctly reinstated. Neil and I congratulate each other in the paddock on some great fun and great driving. Where we tagged the rear body work is broken, and Neil has some red paint on his yellow fury. But the Kevlar in the carbon weave on my car has held it together and means that it is basically just concave. Duncan panel beats it back into shape!
Fab… now for Race 2.
Race 2 is the replacement race for the season opener that should have been held at Snetterton but was abandoned due to rain. This is a bonus as if we had raced then I would have been nowhere near as fast as I am now and would have finished a long way further down the field.
This time I’m another place further up the grid and once again directly behind Stephen Dean with Neil two slots and 1 row further back… This time Stephen is my target as I need to demote them both If I’m to keep moving forward in the class B championship. Once again we’re held on the lights and the whole grid is creeping and peoples engines revs are being bounced up and down as they touch the brakes to stop the roll.
Again a carp start, and Rob and Andy Grant get between me and my quarry along with Stuart Tanton……grrrrrrr Rob in a brave move around the outside of Druids….. where incidentally Paul Rodgers has just outbraked himself into the Kitty litter promoting me into class b 3rd. As usual I’m way faster than the guys in front through the complex and I climb all over Andy in Clearways and out drag him under the Gantry to move one directly behind Stephen. Josh Who is now in Class B first is only three cars ahead and less than a second away (he’s struggling with grip after a spring change) so If only I could despatch both Stephen (whom I passed at Anglesey and Rob Grant) and I’ll be duelling with Josh…. Wow!.
I dispatch Stuart Tanton with a similar drafting move a lap later, and now I’m right behind Stephen Dean. Sadly its not to be, After I miss an opportunity to pass him as he runs wide into Clearways ,Stephen is not going to give up class B second easily and puts Rob Grant between us at Paddock. I then spend the remainder of the race getting very frustrated behind Rob. he’s defending well and I’m not being consistent enough to pressure him into a mistake. Plus Stuart Tanton is keeping me honest! Watching the video I eventually decide to take the points, as I can’t afford any more DNFs but I do manage another 54.4 on lap 13. Neil was some distance behind and said later that he never really got up to speed and finished a lapdown.
So there we are another very succesful and improving weekend.
New PBs every time I went out, (-1.2 secs) and a best theorectical lap of 53.3 
I demoted NCB a place in both races which helped in the championship but Stephen D gained a point on me in both races which didn’t.
I demoted NCB a place in both races which helped in the championship but Stephen D gained a point on me in both races which didn’t.And I got another 3rd place trophy…. this one is rather an oddity. It is inscribed with Snetterton rather than Brands (as this was a replacement race). But Snetterton is a circuit where I’ve never actually set a wheel on it in anger.
This glorious season of improvement continues Another great weekend!
Another great weekend!Next off too Cadwell where I beat Stephen last time out… but Neil was some 4 seconds ahead of me….. needless to say I’m going to test.
Now I’m 13th in the Championship