The annual American Speedfest at Brands Hatch is one of the highlights in their centenary year calendar.
The CNC Consultants intermarque silhouettes had a reasonably good entry of 18 cars. Sadly this reduced to 17, when Nick Bass had to withdraw. Qualifying took place on a damp, but rapidly drying track. It didn’t take long for a dry line to start appearing, although with everyone on wet weather grooved tyres it was of little benefit. The session was prematurely stopped after a slight coming together between Paul Cocksedge and Philip Blackford. Both drivers agreed it was neither ones fault. The net result saw Ray Harris quickest in his Ginetta, with the similar car of Colin Smith 0.8 second behind. Third quickest was Joe Russell in his newly acquired ex-Ian Hales Vauxhall Tigra, then came Philip Blackford in his Tigra. Fifth position went to Phil Spinks with Kurt Russell alongside (both in Tigras). Row 4 contained Reuben Taylor (Ginetta) and Richard Smith (Mercedes SLK). Keith White lined up ninth in the BMW Z4, which is for sale, followed by Warren Farazmand (Tigra). Mick Robertson put his VW Corrado on the inside of row 6, whilst Tyrone Luffarelli was 12th quickest in his Mini (but would be starting at the back as an invitation class runner). So Paul Cocksedge (Tigra) would be alongside Mick. The next car was getting lots of attention, as it is a tribute to George Polley’s 1986 world hot rod winning Toyota Starlet. The immaculate car certainly is a credit to its driver Jason Waterman. It was good to see Dan Feiven back in his very smart Ginetta, and completing the grid would be Steve Phillips (Fiesta) and Fabio Luffarelli in his invitation class VW Corrado.
By the time of their first race the rain was falling really hard. Unfortunately Fabio missed this race due to clutch issues, but the rest set off in a plume of spray. Two drivers made a slightly over eager start and copped a ten second penalty each. Meanwhile Colin Smith swept around the outside of Paddock Bend to snatch the lead, with Taylor coming through from 7th to second. Reuben was one of the “fast” starters. Harris held onto third, from the other “fast” starter (Richard Smith). By lap two Taylor was in the lead, edging out a one second lead. Harris was a bit adrift in third, whilst Richard Smith had White and Spinks close behind. Cocksedge was an early casualty as he ground to a halt on Brabham Straight with water in the electrics, but he was safely out of the way. Tyrone Luffarelli was making good progress in the spaceframe Mini, engaging in an entertaining battle with Kurt Russell. Both were enduring windscreen wiper issues.
As the race progressed Colin Smith stayed close to Taylor, but given the conditions did not risk an overtake. Meanwhile Harris closed back up, so we had a trio of Ginettas covered by less than a second. This was how they crossed the finish line, but the penalty dropped Reuben to third. Richard Smith kept White and Spinks at bay, but again he dropped behind these two in the final classification. Robertson and Joe Russell kept one another company for 7th and 8th position, with Tyrone and Kurt completing the top ten. Feiven had a steady run in 11th, chased by a subdued Farazmand. Waterman completed his debut in 13th as Blackford rounded out the finishers. Philip had encountered a few electrical gremlins in the wet conditions. Steve Phillips had pulled the Fiesta off struggling for visibility.
Sunday dawned overcast, but thankfully dy. The semi-reversed grid had put Richard Smith on pole position, with Spinks alongside. White and Taylor occupied row two with Harris and Colin Smith on row three. Farazmand dropped back to 15th as he was worried he might have an engine issue.
With a very orderly start, it was Spinks who led after a brave move around the outside of Paddock bend. Richard Smith had a bit of a wobble which allowed White into second, from Harris, Colin Smith and Taylor. Richard Smith appearing in sixth, followed by Joe Russell , Robertson and Farazmand. Another driver on the move was Blackford, who was up to ninth. On lap three White grabbed the lead, as Harris and Colin Smith squabbled over second. Taylor had lost ground with a very sideways moment and a spin at Druids, which dropped him down to the back of the field. Lap six saw Harris take the lead, but it took another two laps for Colin Smith to find his way past the red BMW. Meanwhile Farazmand was picking his way through into fourth chased by Joe Russell. Blackford continued his good progress moving into sixth by lap 9.
Harris now started to edge clear, creating a four second cushion over the chasing pack. Colin Smith now had Farazmand on his bumper, who in turn had Joe Russell close behind with White hanging on well in fifth. On lap 15 Harris slowed dramatically coming along Brabham Straight, a broken engine sadly ending his good run. The four pursuers were now battling for the win. Almost immediately Warren made his move, pulling alongside Colin on Cooper Straight and taking the lead into Surtees. Joe tried to follow him through, but had to wait another lap before prizing the door open at Clearways. White then closed in as the Ginetta was suffering from a slowly deflating tyre. However, Colin Smith held onto third, as a delighted Farazmand surprised himself by taking the win. An equally happy Joe Russell was second (winning the senior class for the first time) from Colin Smith and White after a very entertaining battle. Blackford drove really well to take fifth, although Robertson put him under pressure during the last couple of laps. Spinks was only a few seconds back in 7th, whilst Taylor recovered to 8th. Richard Smith came home ninth, pursued by Kurt Russell. Waterman was a consistent 11th as the two Luffarellis battled for the invitation class. Tyrone getting the better of his father by 0.1 of a second! Cocksedge completed the finishers.
Apart from Harris, we also saw retirements for Phillips and Feiven. Sadly the blue Ginetta also suffered engine problems. The prize giving saw some not so familiar faces taking a fair number of the trophies, which was well received.
Next up for the silhouettes is a trio of shorter races at Lydden Hill on June 27th. The latter two races will feature an experimental new style of handicap, which should be interesting. Although it is not part of the usual series, we hope it will be well supported as extra prizes will be on offer.