The "Legends of Brands Hatch Meeting" took place in England on the last weekend in June. Over the two days, spectators were able to watch 17 races of various categories race around the Grand Prix circuit. On Saturday, the thermometer rose to over 34 degrees, which was quite a challenge for the older cars. The drivers had to contend with overheating engines, fuel evaporation and worn tires. Fortunately, this did not detract from the quality of the racing.
The event brought attractive racing series to the starting line.
HSCC Thundersports
The Thundersports Series (formerly known as Pre 80 Endurance) is open to sports, GT and touring cars that would have raced in the World Endurance Championship, FIA GT Championship, FIA 2-Liter Sports Car Championship or other international competition up to December 31, 1979. There is also an inaugural class for Sport 2000 cars built to SRCC regulations up to December 31, 1990
Two half-hour Thundersports races delivered a bunch of cars worth watching, with John Burton scoring a one-two finish in his Chevron B26. Burton quickly realized, however, that Dean Forward should have won the opener. Unfortunately, the McLaren M8F had retired from the race with engine problems.
An unfortunate contact with Burton led to Tony Sinclair's Lola T292 spinning in the gravel and losing all hope of victory. Burton also spun but was able to continue. He was declared the winner when the race was stopped.
James Schryver struggled with clutch problems in his Chevron B26, but managed to beat Jonathan Mitchell into second place. Fortunately, most of the cars were ready to go again in the second part of Sunday. Tony Sinclair led the chase from Burton at close range this time.
HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship
The Historic Formula Ford Championship is one of the HSCC's most popular single-seater categories. It is for cars built and raced before 1972. These are cars from the glorious early years of Formula Ford racing. The race cars make for close, exciting and affordable single-seater racing. Historic Formula Ford is perfect for beginners and a special beginners class is part of the championship.
The HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship is open to Formula Ford 1600 cars that were originally built and raced as Formula Ford 1600 cars prior to 12/31/71.
Cameron Jackson's winning streak came to an end after a fine battle with Richard Tarling. Tarling's return to Historic Formula Ford in his 2017 title-winning Jamun had posed the biggest threat to Jackson's dominance to date. With Tarling having suffered a first-lap car failure on Saturday, further hampering his progress, Jackson had been able to dominate on Saturday. However, spins by Ben Tusting and Pierre Livingstone allowed Tarling to race into second place.
This allowed him to start second on Sunday and put Jackson under pressure right from the start. The result was a titanic battle against Jackson. It was a race of the highest quality and the lead changed hands constantly. However, on the penultimate lap on the entrance to the paddock, Tarling squeezed through just ahead of two stragglers and thus gained a small lead. This allowed him to win the final lap by one second.
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HSCC Historic Formula Junior
The Formula Juniors also put on an exciting race on Saturday. Sam Wilson was at the head of a tightly packed leading quartet. Wilson battled with Tim Da Silva and Andrew Hibberd until a straggler held off the leader and he was relegated to third place. Riding at a high level in blistering heat caused Wilson's engine to overheat, so he dropped off to avoid damage. In the meantime, Da Silva and Hibberd battled it out to see who would win. In the end, the Californian prevailed.
XL Auror Cup & Dunlop Saloon Car Cup
The XL Aurora Trophy is a racing series for Formula 5000 and Formula 2 single-seaters built and raced between 1967 and 1979. This is the series for more powerful cars with wings and smooth racing tires. It includes classes of Formula Atlantic, Classic Clubmans and later Formula Three and Formula Ford 2000.
The Dunlop Saloon Car Cup is the category for touring cars with original livery and specification and a historic past. Participating cars must have competed in major national and international races between 1970 and 2006. To give all participants a chance, the three podium places are divided into post-1990, pre-1990 and Group 1.
Michael Lyons was in stunning form, winning four races and twice climbing straight out of his Lola T400 Formula 5000 and into Peter Sturgeon's Eggenberger Sierra RS500 Cosworth to dominate the Dunlop Limousine Cup. In the XL Aurora Trophy, his pursuer Tim Da Silva was a strong second in a newly refurbished Chevron B35. Andy Smith finished third after an excellent comeback from 14th place. Clutch problems had initially caused him problems.
Lyons won again on Sunday, but the chaser was someone else. After Da Silva "retired" early, Smith led the chase. Marc Mercer successfully fended off Steve Worrad in the battle for overall victory
The Dunlop Saloon Car Cup featured three RS500s, but it was Steve Dancer's "Cologne" Capri that chased Lyons on Saturday. Australian Carey McMahon fulfilled his fifty-year goal and jumped onto the podium at Brands Hatch. Stefan Irmler from far away Germany also made it to third overall.
HSCC Jaguar Classic Challenge
In high temperatures on Saturday, Gary Pearson in the E-Type drove through an hour virtually unchallenged to win the Jaguar Classic Challenge, despite a stubborn chase at the end of the race ahead of Ben Short and series newcomer Simon Orange. Butler/Martin Rich finished second, but the positions were shuffled again afterwards as Butler/Rich picked up a five-second penalty.
HSCC 70S Road Sports
The Seventies Road Sports Championship is exactly what you would expect. It is a racing series for road-legal production sports cars that were produced and registered in the 1970s.
Some minor modifications to engines and suspensions are allowed, but the bodies must remain standard. The result is a huge and varied field, packed with Porsches, Datsuns, MGs and many other marques. Additional championship points are awarded for cars driven on the road to and from the circuit.
On Sunday afternoon, in slightly cooler temperatures, the two Road Sport classes offered strong and varied racing. In the seventy, the first three places were all taken by Lotus. Jeremy Clark led the field, but was never able to sit back as Will and Mark Leverett were hot on his heels and ultimately finished right behind him. Small side note; Mark and Will Leverett are actually father and son.
HSCC Historic Road Sports
The championship is open to genuine production sports cars and GT cars built and registered between 1947 and December 31, 1969 that have an international competition history from this period. Similar models built after this period may also be accepted on individual applicationThe entry lists are packed with models from TVRs to Lotus, MG, Ginetta and Turner. Additional championship points will be awarded to competitors who drive their cars to the track.
Kevin Kivlochan (AC Cobra) added another victory to his collection. This time, however, it was hard-fought. Richard Plant in the Morgan Plus 8 was always hot on his heels and was only 1.6 seconds slower throughout the half-hour race. A safety vehicle almost kicked Kivlochan out of the race. At the restart, he failed to find the racing line in the Druids corner and allowed Plant to get even closer.
Jonathan Edwards , also in the Morgan Plus 8), finished third and on the podium.
HSCC GT & SR Championship for the Guards Trophy
The HSCC GT & SR Championship is open to sports, sports, GT and GT prototype cars built before 12/31/65 and which have an international competition history of the period as a model. The regulations are like the FIA Appendix K, namely the full race specification according to the manufacturers' homologation forms.
There is also a championship class for sports racing and sports prototypes built before December 31, 1968.
Charles Allison in the Chevron B8 won the Guards Trophy at the expense of the Elva Mk7 of Max Bartell and Callum Grant, which was increasingly failing brakes. Bartell set the early pace, but Allison emerged from the pit stops well strengthened. At the same time, Grant's brakes were failing less and less. Allison passed him before the race was interrupted. The reason for this was Andrew Hibberd, whose brakes had failed completely and who ended up off the track as a result. A time penalty for Bartell/Grant set Allison's lead in stone. John Spiers also drove a strong race and took a well-deserved third place.
Visiting HGPCA races
The visiting HGPCA races extended the racing theme with an excellent use of Grand Prix cars. In the pre-'61 division, Richard Wilson (Ferrari Dino) won on Saturday, but had to concede the lead to Rod Jolley on Sunday. Barry Cannell in the Brabham BT111A finished second.
