Race Report from 'Driver of the Day' Richard Shelton

There was much confusion in the Brands Hatch paddock as a near full field of 29 competitors searched for the dry settings for qualifying. However things were restored to normal as we lined up in pit lane to be told that there was an oil slick from Druids hairpin round Graham Hill Bend along Cooper Straight and continued following a line around the apex of McLaren and Clark curve. Excellent, because I'm sure we were all feeling perfectly calm before they said that anyway. At least the culprit appeared to have pulled off the racing line before getting round to Paddock Hill! So, scenes resembling a freak sand storm in deepest Kent were the result for the first few laps as everyone settled down to a busy qualifying. The session was stopped twice for assorted feats of daring do (or don't as the case may be). Andy Powell's experiment to try Surtees flat out ended in the gravel as did Steve Collyer's over exuberance and Guy Snook's new line around Paddock Hill Bend. Andy Powell did manage to get going on the second restart but gravel infestation had an alarming effect on throttle response as Graham Hill Bend approached. Luckily Andy had packed far more underwear than normal for the weekend and boy was he going to need it!

My qualifying was relatively uneventful, but great fun as I seemed to get to grips with the Indy circuit for the first time as Paul, Steve Hare and I circulated, trying to learn from each other as we picked our way through the traffic. Pole was set by the ever-consistent Stephen Mawhinney with 53.02 seconds followed by Jamesy Hagan, myself, Stephen Hare and Paul Walton. Class A was headed by the guest appearance of Peter Alexander (PA Motorsport) in 53.49 seconds in a recently restored Macon MR8, then Dave Lowe and Steve Collyer. Dave's low fuel strategy for blistering qualifying pace was floored by only lasting for 11 laps. The novices were led by a flying John Nash in 8th place, then this year's champion, Guy Snook, in 17th . In all, the top ten cars were separated by 0.9 of a second.

Pre race paddock activity was mainly confined to gravel removal, although the King of Kents heats had meant a replacement clutch for Stephen Mawhinney, a front upright for Stephen Hare and the addition of some brakes (so helpful I find) for Peter Chippendale. Ian Millward did some sterling work to repair Michael Valentine's clutch and Dave Lowe made adjustments for the now revised low fuel strategy.

As the race start loomed, conditions remained 'Sunny/Dry'. Approaching clouds had put some doubts into our heads but great conditions prevailed. Having learnt my lesson from earlier in the season, starting with my car facing uphill to stop it rolling (doh!), I made a good start and managed to squeeze past on the inside of Jamesy Hagan as we approached Paddock Hill. My plan was to try and stay in touch with Stephen Mawhinney whilst keeping one eye on the frantic activity going on behind. My car seemed to be set up better than Steve's for the run from Graham Hill Bend and around Surtees but he seemed to have the advantage in the traditional understeer corners of McLaren and Clark Curve, so I could not get in to a realistic passing opportunity as we reached Paddock Hill. Further down the field Phil Norris appeared to be the one to lose out as James Hagan's colour blindness between red and green materialized. Back to the front and just as the two of us were pulling out a mini break from the squabbling pack behind us, the black/yellow flag came out to recover a beached Steve Collyer who's quest for one point to finish second in the class A championship ended in the kitty litter (just cruise round was one bit of advice given before the race started). Steve, you get one point just for turning up! The flag stayed out for 2 or 3 laps as the marshals struggled to remove the car with a lack of appropriate equipment. As we rounded Surtees and saw the car had been removed, I glued myself to Steve's gearbox and we all sprinted towards an anticipated green flag. The top twelve cars continued to provide what must have looked a great race from the stands. From where I was sitting there wasn't a moment to relax. Jamesy Hagan attempted a move on my inside going in to Paddock Hill which I managed to resist and Peter Alexander was making up places from 6th place to eventually take the lead. All this frantic activity continued until Richard Burton's unfortunate incident up at Druids when the car decided to go left instead of right. The red flags came out, but despite the races running early, the organizers declared a result. Peter Alexander, Stephen Mawhinney and I had emerged from Clark Curve almost together but is was Stephen who crossed the line first 1/100th of a second ahead of Peter and 2/10th ahead of me. Class A honours went to Peter Alexander, Dave Lowe and Martin Hibbert. From talking to others after the race, there were great mini races going on all the way down the field and most were disappointed at the early finish to proceedings. John Nash was first novice home by a considerable margin ahead of Guy Snook, Giovani Romagnoli and Simon Merriman. As an additional bonus, I was adjudged 'Driver of the Day' which rounded off a great weekend.

So the end of another season. I hope all the planned winter projects go well, especially to Andy Powell who's normally immaculate 'pink panther' was a very sorry sight after hitting the tyre wall at the entry to the pits in the Kent to Do (Don't!) race that ended in the gloom after its fourth restart. Thanks to Andy Hodson for all his organization during the season and for the hospitality suite in particular. Also to those who put on a great spread of food and drink on the Saturday and Sunday. Good luck to those braving the November elements at Silverstone (maybe someone could send in a race report?) and look forward to seeing you all at the dinner. Finally, I would like to close by sending our best wishes to Richard Burton and his wife Lyn. Hope the recovery is speedy and the Lola is gracing our grids again next season.

Richard Shelton