The HITEK Electronic Materials Alfa Romeo championship returns to the south-east for the popular and well supported Festival Italia meeting at Brands Hatch for rounds 7 and 8 around the 1.2 mile Indy circuit.
A strong Modified class of 10 cars heads an exciting and varied entry list that certainly plays its part in supporting this popular headline event in the Brands Hatch calendar.
No less than three Alfa 4Cs will be lining up alongside equally spectacular cars representing generations of Italian racing and up to date examples of this classic racing marque. Silverstone race winner Steve Deeks is once again in the Alfa Workshop example with alfaracer regular Mike Hilton in his 4C, complete with new gearbox and clutch after his problems at Cadwell Park. Making up the trio of 4Cs is German driver Thomas Laudage making his first appearance in the championship following a meeting with Jamie Porter at Zandvoort. Jamie successfully persuaded him to join us for this event and we welcome him to the paddock and wish him a successful day. 2021 champion Barry McMahon will be debuting his long awaited and eagerly anticipated Giulia Quadrifoglio and Cadwell winner Jamie Thwaites returns in the very quick Giulietta TCR car. Alfa Workshop’s Mito 404 will return to the fray, again in the hands of Jack Berry following the successful outing at Silverstone. Lee Penn is no stranger to the championship having previously raced in 2009 and a former ARCA Panel member, and he is in his highly modified Alfa 33. Giovanni Di Gennaro is another newcomer that we welcome to the paddock. He’s no stranger to racing and is in the highly modified Fiat 128 that last raced in the early noughties in the Auto Italia series. Completing the Modified class line-up is championship regular Andy Page in the Giulietta 116 dating back to the early 1980s and Ian Stapleton, making his first appearance of the season in the very competitive Alfetta GTV.
Leading the championship after 6 rounds is Toby Broome, now driving the Revs Italia 147GTA, followed by Jamie Thwaites in the Modified class Giulietta TCR and Richard Ford in the Power Trophy GT. Andy Page in his Giulietta 116, Paul Plant in the PT Giulietta, Edward Robinson in the Revs Italia supported Twin Spark 156, Nathan Bignell in the PT 33 and Stacey Dennis in the PT Bianco supported Giulietta are all in contention after the dropped score rule takes effect and all are hoping to consolidate or improve their positions this weekend.
Richard Ford’s GT narrowly leads the Power Trophy after 6 rounds from Paul Plant’s Giulietta, with Nathan Bignell’s Alfa 33 close behind in third. Joining them on the grid are Toby Broome in his 147 GTA, Stacey Dennis in her Giulietta, Dave Messenger in the Darnells Engineering 156 GTA, and 2023 champion James Ford in his 156 V6 instead of his usual 156 Twin Spark.
In the Twin Spark Cup class, leader Toby Broome and third place James Ford are both likely to be out in V6 cars so second place Edward Robinson and fourth place Garry Jackson, in their 156 and 147 respectively, will be looking to consolidate their positions this weekend against a number of newcomers to the 2024 season who we welcome to the paddock. Last year’s third placed driver in this class, Adrian Norman, has missed the first six rounds recovering after a medical issue and we extend a warm welcome back to him and his supporters this weekend. We also welcome Paul Walker in a Bianco prepared 147, James Powell in a 147 and Dave Pickup in a recently acquired 146 to the Twin Spark ranks and wish them well in their first outing. Thanks go to our sponsors Hitek Electronic Materials, the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, Yokohama Tyres and Unit_11 for their valued contribution to making this a successful championship, and to Motor Sports Vision and the 750 Motor Club for their collaboration in enabling this event to once again be a popular inclusion in the Calendar.