Kyle Branson wins BRCA 1/8th Rd6
Round 6 of the BRCA 1/8th Championship was the second visit to the Brooklands circuit in Kent. The track looked in excellent condition with after remedial works to remove bumps on the infield straight, but the bumps at the end of the straight remained but did not cause any major problems. The weather forecast was for a bright Saturday, with showers Sunday morning and then a dry day thereafter. Saturday allowed drivers to find the ideal setup and strategy for the 5 mins qualifying. With almost every engine manufacture now designing engines to 7mins EFRA qualifying requirements makes it increasingly impossible for UK drivers to complete 5 mins and therefore a stop for fuel on fast circuits is now generally the case by the top drivers.
Sunday, started with a dry track for free practice but it soon rained which prevented any representative times being set until round 3, when the track became fully dry. With Mark Green not racing due to 200mm Euro preparations, Kyle Branson become the pre event favourite for victory. After round 3, it was Kyle Branson who was top of the time sheets, followed by Andy North and Tim Wood. In the final Round, Kyle Branson improved on his previous time, which saw improvements from Neil Diver, Tim Wood and Andy North. However the surprise of the day, was James Connolly who had a trouble free race in the previous heat and with no fuel stop due to a very economical VOX engine allowed him to finish second overall.
Qualifying results
1. Kyle Branson –Serpen/Sirio
2. James Connolly – Motonica/Vox
3. Neil Diver – Shepherd/IDM
4. Tim Wood – Serpent/Exceed
5. Andy North – Mugen/IDM
6. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/IDM
7. John Carr – Serpent/Exceed ps
8. Ross Simons – Serpent/Exceed
9. Jason Frost – Serpent/IDM
10. Chris Simons – Serpent/Exceed
The main final blasted away in more or less grid formation and the race quickly settled down with Neil Diver, Tim Wood and Andy North trying to cut the gap to Kyle upfront. At this stage James Connolly had dropped back a little and at this stage Neil Diver had serious handling problems caused by a stripped belt which he replaced and then continued to gain a couple more points. While negotiating a lapped car, Andy North got tangled and lost the air filter which give Tim some space to pull away but Andy carried on for 2 laps which did not help the engine and when a replacement filter was added, the engine would stop at the end of the main straight and so put Andy out. 10 mins later, Tim Wood en-counted engine problems which put him down the order. This left Kyle to cruise to Victory with Pete Hastings taking second place after a steady ‘Keep out of trouble’ drive. Chris Simons making his first A final of the season completed the podium positions.
Final Results
1. Kyle Branson – Serpent/Sirio – 118 Laps
2. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/IDM – 115 Laps
3. Chris Simons – Serpent/Exceed – 107 Laps
4. James Connolly – Motonica/Vox – 105 Laps
5. John Carr – Serpent/Exceed – 102 Laps
6. Tim Wood – Serpent/Exceed – 75 Laps
7. Neil Diver – Shepherd/IDM – 41 Laps
8. Jason Frost – Serpent/IDM – 21 Laps
9. Andy North – Mugen/IDM – 18 Laps
10. Chris Simons – Serpent – Exceed – DNS
Round 7 is at the Halifax track after the summer break on the 4th September. The championship standings can be found on www.brca.org or www.brca8.com.
Thanks to Andy North for sending the report.
