Mixed Fortunes at Brands
It was with some trepidation that we returned to the Kent circuit having not raced there since the car destroying accident of last season. But with this year getting back on more of an even keel we were hopeful of putting in a good showing.
QualificationA new set of front tyres after Fridays testing had given the car some more front end grip at the expense of the back end, which was prone to a bit of wandering during the session. Sounds like a racing driver's excuse for not getting the class pole time if ever there was one! We had in fact posted the third fastest class time, behind Neil's and Mark's 911's but comfortably the quickest of the '44s in the class. We knew with a bit of tweaking of the setup though, the car would be right on the pace.
Race 1
A trademark poor start put us on the back foot with Dave Roberts sneaking past on the run to the first corner. As good fortune would have it, Mark's passage to Paddock Hill bend was blocked leaving us to easily pick him off. We made amends for the start by passing Dave back exiting Graham Hill bend before setting after Neil's 911. Mark kept in close proximity for a couple of laps, before a failed late lunge at Clearways enabled us to break away. All was looking good until we caught two 911s, one from Class 1, and the other from Class 2. Their dicing was not only slowing the pair of them down, but hindering our progress as well. Then on entering Druids one outbraked himself leaving a rather welcoming space on the inside of the corner. Feeling it would be rude not to oblige, we took the inside line and proceed to pass. However as we exited the corner, the driver decided to make a last ditch attempt to salvage his position and a swift turn to the right on the run down to Graham Hill Bend took us both off. With the car beached and unable to restart, we frustratingly had to call it a day on watch from the sidelines. To compound our bad luck, Neil was robustly punted into the Paddock Hill Gravel trap late in the race, which could have allowed us to claim our first class win of the season.
Race 2
After a top effort from both Kev and Mark in the interval between races 1 & 2, the car was put back into shape so that it we could make the grid. From the back row Mark Taylor's class leading car looked a long way off, but with nothing to lose, we were determined to go for it. A better start put us straight into contention; however, I must at this stage comment on Neil's start - starting well down the order after his off, the field parted like the Red Sea, allowing him to pass nine cars into Paddock Hill Bend!! That really through down the gauntlet to us! The other 944s were caught and passed and we were bearing down on Mark's 911 before he very graciously pulled into the pitlane. By the time we had cleared the traffic, Neil's 911 was a long way into the distance. However, not easily defeated, we kept our head down and set about chasing after him. As the laps counted down it became obvious that we were starting to reel Neil in. As the gap came down to just a couple of seconds the final lap board came out, so short of any mistakes we were just going to run out of time. We finished second in Class, and also posted the fastest lap in Class, confirming that we really were back on the pace.
Reflection
The hard work that Kev and the boys have put in at the workshop is starting to pay dividends. The car is at the most competitive it has been all season, and we hope to be taking some of the class wins before this year is out!
