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Brands Hatch

May 14-15th

Lowe Makes It Two On The Trot

BARCs most prestigious race meeting of the season proved to be another success story for Classic FF, as 25 cars kept the crowds entertained on Saturday afternoon. Following the dramatic race at Silverstone 4 weeks earlier, this was another demonstration of what formula ford racing is all about.

Joining the regulars for round 3 were Historic veteran Paul Sleeman in his Jamun T2 and James Denty making his return to the championship after sporadic forays in a F5000 in the HSCC’s Derek Bell Trophy. With his experience, you might be forgiven for thinking he might view a formula ford drive as a walk in the park. Well, no actually. ‘Driving one of these is definitely more demanding mentally than a F5000’ Well, there you have it – if (like me) you haven’t quite got the hang of driving a formula ford, don’t worry too much. You’re probably not as crap as you think….

Paul and James were a welcome boost to a Class A grid which continually resists all attempts to get it beyond half a dozen cars. In the Bs, things are massively more healthy of course, and Brands saw our best entry since last year’s FF Festival. Jon Nash and Anthony Wills finally made it out, courtesy of Mr Baxter, who had repaired Jon’s engine which had blown up on the dyno before Oulton, and finally found time to get the Royale back in one (considerably straighter) piece following Anthony’s acrobatics last October. Another returnee was Classic stalwart Steve Pearce, back out after an 18 month absence in a borrowed RF78. And last but not least, welcome to Steven Russell, another new novice driver embarking on his first race in Pete Lavender’s RF79.

Qualifying : Paul Mills was kept busy before practice when he discovered a frayed clutch line. And there we were all thinking the RF80 was full of new bits Paul ! He managed to replace the offending article in time, even if it did raise his blood pressure. All 25 cars ventured out onto a dry track, but after only 3 laps Graham Leggett pulled off at Paddock. His problem ? A frayed clutch line on the 25F….! Amazingly, two of the best prepared cars on the grid had suffered identical problems within a few minutes of each other. Unfortunately for Graham, his 3 laps provided him with 20th on the grid. Colin Williams made his tatty engine cover even tattier by losing it midway through the session. Time for a new one methinks Colin.. And Michael Whitehead lasted 5 laps before the engine cut out for no apparent reason. The only serious casualty of the 15 minutes was Dave Malpas who went off at Clearways towards the end. He wasn’t sure whether the throttle stuck open or his foot got stuck on the pedal, but his contact with the tyres necessitated a busy day reconstructing the left front corner.

The usual suspects were topping the timesheet throughout, but Championship leader Paul Walton found some clear tarmac in the final 2 minutes to bump Simon Davey off pole by 8 hundredths. Dave Lowe was 7 thousandths behind, with Andy Powell a whopping eighth of a second adrift in 4th. The top 10 (rounded out by Paul Sleeman, a confident Steve Bradley, James Denty, Jon Davis, Neil Marshall and Colin) were covered by 1.1 seconds. Indeed, the top 18 were covered by only 2.5 seconds, surely one of the tightest grids in Classic FF’s recent experience. This was going to be a close one.

Today’s camera car was Alan Williamson’s RF81. So far, things haven’t gone particularly well regarding our club camera. Dave Lowe fitted the device at Silverstone, and used it for the GP meeting the following weekend as well. Having had a normal Dave Lowe race (battling closely with David Leslie amongst others), he was looking forward to playing back the footage back in the paddock. Instead, he was entertained to Steve Hare’s winter skiing holiday, which he found most interesting. Anyway, back to Alan – with battery and extinguisher making things awkward for siting the video box, Alan thought about locating it within the nose, only to discover the leads weren’t long enough ! So, another aborted attempt. Lets hope Colin can come up trumps at Snet…(one word of warning – stating the bleeding obvious I know, but mounting the video box in the nose may make a considerable dent in your wallet should you have a front impact. Not to be recommended !)

The Race : Doug Kibble succumbed  to electrical gremlins on the grid, and was pushed off during the parade lap. At the lights, Paul led into Paddock, but it all went pear shaped braking for Druids when after some contact he had a spin. Facing the entire grid, Paul gave a quick prayer, and thanked the lord as everyone found their way through. His problem now was to attempt a recovery drive from last place with no nosecone. True to form, his efforts yielded 8th place overall, and 4th in Class, taking the Class B fastest lap along the way, proving that bodywork on these cars is little more than a cosmetic embellishment !

Back up front, Simon inherited the lead of a 7 car train that squabbled for position for the entire 14 laps. Dave Lowe took the lead from Simon into Paddock on lap 3, with Paul Sleeman, Andy Powell, Steve Bradley, James Denty and Jon Davis in pursuit. Simon retook the lead in lap 5, with Paul also making it past Dave on the following lap. Steve, who at one point looked like falling away slightly, managed to get back into the thick of it as the leaders slowed each other up. Steve passed Andy on lap 7, and the top 3 went 3 abreast into Paddock on lap 8, with Dave emerging in front, to take a lead he was not to relinquish. On lap 11, whilst lapping backmarkers, Paul went the wrong way and found himself pushed out onto the gravel at Clearways. He kept it together, and managed to rejoin, but the damage was done, as he resumed in 7th, and was unable to get back on terms in the remaining 3 laps. Steve benefited most from the backmarker lapping, and found himself up to 2nd, which he held to the flag despite constant pressure from behind. Without a doubt, Steve’s best race in the championship, rewarding him with Cobra Beer Driver of the Day as well as the Class B win. Now that the RF80 appears to be sorted, no doubt Steve will be a major contender at the top of the table from now on.

Simon and Andy took the remaining Class B spoils, with a happy James taking second in Class A just ahead of Jon, who had remained stuck to the RP16’s gearbox throughout. Further back, Paul Walton made it past the midfield gaggle comprising Jon Nash, Anthony, Neil, Graham,Colin and Dave Malpas, who wrestled with the RF78’s poor handling, a legacy of the hasty front suspension rebuild over lunch. An unfortunate coming together between Jon and Anthony at Druids on lap 10 put both cars out, with rear suspension damage befalling the luckless Royale pilot. On closer examination back in the paddock, the damage didn’t appear too bad, but poor Anthony was not impressed. Lets hope the rest of the season picks up for you Anthony, you deserve better.

Graham spun out of the midfield battle on lap 10, resuming after a 15 second delay, and Neil finally made it passed Colin on lap 12 to take 9th and 5th in Class. Steve Pearce also had a difficult race, having been forced onto the grass unintentionally by Keith Ward. Jeff Palmer was the other non finisher, when he spun off on lap 11.

A big thank you to Colin (and Pete Hackett) for sorting out the most excellent umbrellas. With no Brands FF Festival hospitality to cough up for this season, we decided to spend a few quid on Classic FF umbrellas, to be given out free to all paid up drivers. Claim yours at the next meeting if you haven’t already.

So Dave Lowe takes the championship lead by a single point from Paul Walton. Simon isn’t too far adrift, and Steve Bradley is waiting to pounce. Its all shaping up nicely as we head to Snetterton in two weeks time.

ADH.

Cobra Driver of the Day - Steve Bradley

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