After a promising test at Brands a few weeks before the event, we were quite confident we would be able to challenge for strong results. We were hoping to show well for the biggest crowd of the year at the DTM event, which is one I have been looking forward to all year, Brands Hatch is where I achieved my first car win in Junior Ginetta’s in 2007!
Qualifying was our usual performance, just under a second away from the pace, and P16.
Race one was a disappointment, a good start saw us leading our class at the end of lap one, however there seemed to be an electrical problem, with the car holding back momentarily out of the corners. I was slow down the straight, but was able to maintain my position for a few laps, however the problem got worse as the race went on, and I quickly started losing positions as I got driven by as if I was in my Junior Ginetta again!
To add insult to injury, Mark Harper missed his braking point going into Druids, and hit the rear of our car, damaging the rear wishbone and right Driveshaft, making the car very difficult to drive even at our slow speed! We ended up last of the runners, in 20th position.
Race two was the highlight of the year, a hard race with good pace but not quite enough to challenge for the lead of the class, made it very frustrating to watch, however I bided my time and watched Jake Green and Josh Benson battle it out. I was safe in 3rd as I was slowly dropping Dan Cammish behind.
On the Penultimate lap, I managed to get behind them, and as Josh made a move on Green into Druids, I pounced, and as Benson took Jake wide with him, I took the inside line and passed both of them, and nailed the lap of my life to pull away whilst they sorted themselves out, the last lap was the slowest ever, as we took the flag for the first time this year in the Scholarship class! It was great to stand on the podium again, especially in front of the DTM crowd!
Race three unfortunately we were cut short of making a repeat of race two. After a safety car period, I took advantage of the closed field to overtake Dan Cammish into Surtees, and then immediately after overtake Dan De Zille into Clearways, we had moved up the field well and were looking for another great result. However starting the next lap, Dan De Zille missed his braking and hit our car directly from the back, lifting the back wheels off the floor and putting me into a spin down Paddock, into the gravel and out of the race, thus bringing out another safety car. It was a disappointing way to end a weekend that had such a high point with such a low.
However we are very proud to become the first winners with a Spirit in the British Championship, and it is testimate to all of Wrensports hard work on the car, and much work to get the car out on track ever race, with our limited budget. It was great to be back on the Podium, and I hope we can make it back there next round, at Brands Hatch this time on the GP circuit.
Please check back soon on our progress!
KV