Round 6 - Brands Hatch (3 hrs)

TDI Classification

On the 13th August, Brands Hatch was the venue for a 3 hour Fun Cup race in the most glorious sunshine. The event always promises to be Team Honeywell’s best attended race and this year was no exception, with over 135 guests present! It was essential that they put on a good show and in true Honeywell fashion, they did just that!

Fawcett made a blinding start from 6th to take the lead by the first corner into Paddock Hill Bend. It was an incredible drive and he was able to ease out a margin, as everyone else battled for track position in the opening few laps.

With safety cars negating any lead and the constant pressure from 101 JPR/Racelogic, a broken steering wheel threatened to ruin their show. It was time for an unscheduled pit stop where he was told to just keep going!

Neil Plimmer, said: “Geoff eased the car to the last pit stop window, where a lightening steering wheel change by little Rick of JPR, ensured we kept the advantage to the flag from a hard charging 101.”

He added: “The whole team were brilliant again this weekend, but JPR’s preparation and set up were the basis from which we were able to achieve the results. The car drove perfectly all weekend”.

The JPR/Racelogic team started 13th on the grid and Nigel Greensall stormed into 2nd place to challenge Honeywell for the lead by the end of the first stint.

Next out was Julian Thomas, who left the pits just as a gaggle of cars went past, which separated him from Team Honeywell. However, by now the car had developed terminal understeer, which contributed to a fleeting visit to the gravel trap on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend on his first flying lap! The rest of his stint was spent behind the safety car.

Joachim Ritter took the third stint and a quick tyre pressure adjustment sorted out the handling problems. However, the next blow struck them when the charge cooler pump failed, leading to intermittent loss of power.

Ritter still set some very competitive lap times and held onto 3^rd place before swapping with Thomas. Thomas managed to earn himself a “stop and go” by using a little too much of the track at Graham Hill bend, but the 2nd place team of Scarab Racing also got a penalty at the same time. Luckily for Thomas, he managed to jump past them during this process, climbing up to 2nd place.

Ritter’s second stint went well, even though they were struggling for speed, with the car virtually cutting out up the hill to Druids and into Graham Hill Bend. They struggled throughout the rest of the race and Greensall set about chasing Honeywell down to the flag, but only managed to take a handful of seconds off them during his stint and finished almost 40 seconds behind, in 2nd place.

In car 209 the Eco/Solutions team have had a tough season so far. Driver Charlie Burt explained: “The car picked up a virus at Croft and so we missed Anglesey, but we returned ready to race at Brands. We were drawn 18th on the grid, but we love Fun Cup race starts! Four abreast through Paddock Hill Bend is just brilliant!

He continued: “Our race strategy worked thanks to the efforts of Andy, Gary and Pete at Solutions Racing and the pit stops ran to order with Mike and Emma controlling a fuel strategy which left a thimble of fuel in the tanks at the end of the race. Myself and Paul Abraham drove hard and consistently and were delighted with the result. We had some great tussles along the way, which were all very clean and a testament to the high standard of driving in the championship! Although it wasn't victory, it’s put us back in the frame. Many thanks to David and Chris and all those that kept the faith, with a special thanks to Roxie who keeps Fun Cup on track.”

JPR Racelogic set the fastest lap with a 57.734

Petrol Classification

Car 105, Porsche Byfleet, driven by Scott Kavanagh, Pete James and John Halestrap was delighted to take the top step of the petrol podium.

They took advantage of being drawn 2nd on the grid from the random ballot. Kavanagh had a steady first stint and stayed out of trouble, to bring the car back as 2nd placed petrol, just behind the sequential gear boxed car. After a quick pit stop, Halestrap emerged as the leading petrol car and having held the position for 5 laps there were then a series of frustrating laps behind the safety car for the remainder of the session, until the fuel window opened.

James took over from Halestrap and was behind the safety car for 3 more laps. He then took advantage of the gravel left at Paddock Hill Bend by the previous ‘offs’ and immediately threw the car straight at the gravel trap! Bouncing through the shingle, he managed to emerge onto the circuit half way up towards Druids. Unfortunately, the car now with the splitters missing and a flapping bonnet. He then pounded round for the whole of his stint, while managing the awful under-steer and held on to 2nd place.

Halestrap emerged for the 4th stint in 2nd place, some 20 seconds behind the leading petrol car, but minus front splitters, which the pit crew had been unable to change during the pit-stop. The session was fairly consistent and he lapped at a similar pace to the leader, maintaining position.

After a prolonged pit-stop due to problems encountered in changing the bonnet, Kavanagh emerged in the fifth stint in 3^rd place and handed the car back to James in 2nd, believing that the team could no longer target the win, as they were over a lap behind the leading petrol, Purple Apple. However, it appeared this wasn’t the case and once James charged passed 92, they then found themselves in the lead until the chequered flag was waved!

Meanwhile, in car 257, Jolly Roger were excited about racing at Brands Hatch again, as it was at this venue 2 years ago that the team of novices entered their first race.

Coming off the back of a string of 5 podiums between the 2 Jolly Roger cars in the last 4 races, expectations were high at the "home" circuit, with families in attendance. Mike Humphreys had a sluggish start, with the new strategy of pulling away gently in 3^rd gear proving unsuccessful as the rest of the pack came tearing past!

Humphreys recovered to 4th in class before tangling with one of the Beacon cars exiting Clearways. This led to an unscheduled pit stop and despite the hugely efficient work of Dave Didcock and his pit crew, 257 were now at the back of the pack!

Humphreys and team mate Andrew Beverley managed to recover and made steady progress through very consistent and reasonably quick laps. In the final session, Humphreys handed over to Beverley 3rd in class and only 2 seconds behind Porsche Byfleet, with JPR/Ecurie Escargot in 4th, 16 seconds further back.

Car 92, Purple Apple, were well ahead in 1st with what looked like a secure lead. The Porsche boys were too quick to catch, so they extended their lead. The final laps offered great excitement, which was clearly visible on the pitwall, as both Porsche Byfleet and Jolly Roger hunted down and passed Purple Apple, with clean and determined racing from all cars. Porsche Byfleet took a deserved win with Humphreys and Beverley celebrating 2nd. It was their first podium, after three attempts and the first occasion where they managed to beat their sister car, 111.

Paul Calladine, Tom Walker and Mark Hope were the Purple Apple drivers who completed the third step of the petrol podium.

3rd place, whilst an impressive podium finish, left the team disappointed. After overcoming the hectic opening stages to lead their class for over half the race, losing two positions came as a let-down and led to the end of their leading streak in the Petrol Championship.

Porsche Bylfeet set the fastest lap, with a 58.182.