Smith & Hart win BRCA finale as Murray take Stock title
The fifth and final round of this season’s BRCA touring car nationals saw drivers competing at the Bedworth club based in the heart of the midlands. Xray driver Olly Jefferies had already taken the modified title at the previous round which was good for him as he suffered a bad day with tyres issues. Leading the modified drivers in qualifying was Zak Smith and he would take TQ ahead of Kyle Branson who was enjoying a good end to his national campaign taking victory at the last round at Cotswolds. Harley Eldridge lined up third after a very mixed qualifying for the Yokomo driver where she had used al her allocated tyres.
In the finals Smith continued to dominate, the Schumacher driver taking both legs of the A final and taking his first ever national victory, a deserved result following some strong performances during the season. Branson would take second on the day for Capricorn, and making it three different manufacturers on the podium was Ben Cosgrove in third for Awesomatix.
Coming into the last round the stock title was wide open, following a mixed season of results James Hart got his mojo back taking TQ ahead of his Schumacher teammate Andy Murray, while third on the grid was Zak Finlay and going into the finals it looked like a straight fight for the title between Murray and Finlay as the third contender for the title Marcus Askell had a miserable qualifying and would start the finals back in sixth place. No team orders up front as Hart and Murray provided a great couple of finals and a dream result for team Schumacher with Hart taking the win but second on the day was enough for Murray to take the overall title, Finlay would finish third.
This year’s nationals have been a little different to previous seasons, starting under Covid regulations drivers had to adapt and the early meetings had a very different feel to them. In the modified class Jefferies took the modified title, his fourth in a row, the chasing pack seemed closer in 2021, going forward Jefferies will be looking over his shoulder at the likes of Zak Smith and Kyle Branson who both have their eyes on his crown in 2022.
In stock we have a new name on the championship role of honour, a very deserved win for Andy Murray who not only drove brilliantly but at the same time worked on the development of the new Schumacher touring car. Marcus Askell came close in a season where he seriously upped his game to become a contender, second for Marcus while multiple UK stock champion Zak Finlay would complete the 2021 championship podium.
Source: BRCA [brca.org] / Photos: Schumacher [racing-cars.com]
