Brands Hatch 2024

The annual visit of the 750 Motor Club’s HITEK Alfa Romeo Championship to Brands Hatch for the prestigious Festival Italia event was blessed with blazing sunshine and very hot weather conditions, making for a great day out for drivers and spectators; pretty torrid conditions for preparers and mechanics mind you… A pre race entry of 23 cars signalled our best grid of the season by some distance and there was much to savour in terms of the quality and variety of cars on the entry list.

Attrition noun. a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength. Hmmm…

In testing on Saturday Jamie Thwaites suffered a tyre blowout at the end of the Cooper Straight which pitched him into the barriers causing serious damage to his TCR Giulietta. The Bianco team worked through the night to try and repair it but the impact had compromised the chassis itself and in the end they had to abandon the attempt, so Jamie would be a non starter. The time taken to effect the repair had left no time to prepare Paul Plant’s Giulietta so we were down to 21 cars before qualifying commenced.

QUALIFYING

Our qualifying session commenced at 11.35 AM in the summer heat and first to show at the head of the time sheets was Steve Deeks in the Alfa Workshop 4C with a time of 53.494 on only his second lap, but this was soon eclipsed by Lee Penn, making a welcome return to the Championship after a 15-year absence in his beautiful red Modified class Alfa 33 with a time of 53.200 on his 4^th lap. This in turn was eclipsed a lap later by Barry McMahon in his stunning Giulia Quadrifoglio with a time of 52.467 before he pitted the next 3 laps in succession with concerns about the car. Meanwhile Ian Stapleton had also broken into the 52s to take provisional pole in his mighty supercharged 3.8 litre GTV6 with a time of 52.410. This looked good enough for pole but on the final lap of the session Barry McMahon – back on the pace again – eclipsed it with a time of 51.885 which was getting promisingly close to Neil Smith’s long standing outright race lap record. So the first 4 places went to Barry, Ian, Steve and Lee in that order.

Mike Hilton was pessimistic about his chances in his 4C amid ongoing technical difficulties. He recorded a best time of 53.426 and although he felt there was much more potential pace in the car and was concerned about his gearbox, P5 was a decent result ahead of Jack Berry’s MiTO 404 in 6^th. The two of them traded lap times during the session but Mike’s 3 laps below 54s just gave him the edge as Jack recorded a best lap in 54.306. Importantly too, the MiTO is now running cleanly and reliably after the technical difficulties experienced last season.

Championship leader Toby Broome was the leading Power Trophy class runner and very impressive too, to put it mildly. Only 1/10^th shy of Jack Berry’s best time, Toby was seriously quick in his 147 GTA and 54.460 was well inside the class lap record, promising much for the races to follow. Dave Messenger was also driving extremely well in his now-Power Trophy class 156 GTA. He couldn’t match Toby’s pace but 56.252 put him 8^th overall and reflected a very good performance. He was half a second quicker than the ever reliable Andy Page’s Giulietta 116 turbo, the final driver to get below 57 seconds with a best time of 56.689 set mid session.

Richard Ford has been getting progressively stronger at getting the best out of the GT he acquired from Gabs Iaccarino over the winter and 57.086 was an indicator of this as he continues to develop the car. However, with no limited slip diff he was finding accelerating difficult out of slow corners. 3^rd quickest in the Power Trophy and 10^th overall was a decent return for his efforts and commitment. The same can be said of Nathan Bignell who was next quickest in his 33. New to race driving this season he gets quicker with every race and he finished the session just 2/10ths off Richard’s best time with 57.266. Stacey Dennis was next in her Power Trophy class Giulietta although she continues to experience frustrating technical glitches, the car putting itself into ‘Limp mode’ apparently at whim and she pitted twice during the qualifying session so the Bianco team could try and remedy things. In these trying circumstances 57.859 was very respectable set mid session before the car got up to its tricks again…

James Ford was next, not in his Twin Spark Cup 156 but in his second car, a 3-litre Power Trophy 156 which hadn’t been seen since a one-off outing at Oulton Park a few years ago. James reckoned that it was closer to being competitive than the 2 litre car. It still clearly needs work to this end and with perseverance hopefully it will be more reflective of James’s considerable driving talent as time goes on. He got quicker and quicker as the session progressed and set his best time of 58.113 towards the end. This was a couple of tenths ahead of newcomer Giovanni Di Gennaro in a really cool little Fiat 128. Up to 2004 he raced it in the Italian Intermarque Championship and since then it has only appeared on track once, back in 2016. However, with encouragement from Lee Penn, Giovanni got it ready for this event. In the Assembly area before qualifying commenced a marshal radioed in to Race Control to say they were still 1 car short. A couple of minutes later he rang back to say they’d found it – they hadn’t seen the 128 as it was ‘hidden behind another car’… Giovanni went out and did 9 laps, recorded 58.355 before returning to the paddock.

Five of the remaining 6 cars were the Twin Spark Cup runners, the exception being Thomas Laudage who we warmly welcomed to the Championship having made the journey over from Germany to race his very smart 4C with us. He had hoped to race on the GP circuit and was a little disappointed to find that the races would be on the Indy circuit, but like many (including me) who drive the Indy Circuit for the very first time he found it very challenging, particularly the Surtees McLaren Clearways sequence of corners, not to mention the always daunting Paddock Hill Bend.

Leading Twin Spark Cup runner was Edward Robinson in his newly wrapped and now stunning looking 156 with a best time of 59.012. In testing the previous day he had actually done a single lap in the 47s and was trying in vain to remember exactly what he had done to achieve that time, and it was an excellent performance. His nearest challenger was Adrian Norman, making a very welcome return to the championship having missed the season to date, recording 59.775 in his well presented dark blue 147. The other driver to break the all important 1 minute barrier was James Powell having his first ever race meeting in the black and orange 147 he had recently acquired from John Griffiths. He managed 9 laps before returning to the paddock and it was the final one that set his best time. It was a superb performance and one that bodes well for his competitiveness in future races. Paul Walker was next, also making his first ever appearance in a Bianco prepared 147 and a best time of 1.00.451 was a very respectable achievement.

Dave Pickup had recently acquired a 146 from Gus at Alfatune’s closing sale, Gus having now returned to his native Greece. He and his team had given the car a thorough review and overhaul of virtually every part on the car before the meeting but was sadly sidelined after only 5 laps with big end failure, something they hadn’t anticipated. The enthusiastic Dave was philosophical and vowed to get it sorted out for the next meeting at Oulton Park. The final runner was Garry Jackson whose alternator failed in his 156 before the qualifying session and he couldn’t take part in the session. However, he acquired a replacement from Bianco and fitted it and it was arranged for him to complete the necessary qualifying laps behind the safety car towards the end of the lunch break to enable him to take the start for Race 1.

RACE 1   

Before the time for Race 1 came round Ian Stapleton discovered that his car had sheared an alternator shaft in qualifying and he was forced to withdraw, sadly depriving us all of the sight of the mighty GTV6 in full flow. With Dave Pickup also out that left 19 on the grid. When the cars returned from their green flag lap, Dave Messenger, on the inside of row 3, had his hand raised signifying urgently that he had a serious problem. After the marshals ascertained that he would be a non starter the Clerk of the Course ordered another green flag lap so that the way was clear to push Dave’s car off the circuit.

During this lap James Ford pulled off the circuit as he experienced a loss of drive and unbelievably, when the cars reassembled on the grid Barry McMahon – on the front row – was now signalling that he had no drive with what turned out to be an electrical problem. The cars were sent off on a 3^rd green flag lap while Barry’s car was moved off the grid. When the cars returned the track was still not clear so as soon as it was the Clerk ordered a 4^th green flag lap prior to the remaining 16 cars taking the start. 4 green flag laps was just crazy!

When the lights went out for the start the 4Cs of Steve Deeks and Mike Hilton made flying starts but at the end of lap 1 Steve led from Lee Penn in 2^nd while Mike had dropped to 5^th behind Jack Berry’s MiTO and Toby Broome’s Power Trophy 147 GTA. Andy Page was 6^th from Stacey Dennis, Nathan Bignell, Giovanni Di Gennaro and Richard Ford. In the Twin Spark Cup Adrian Norman had got the jump on Edward Robinson at the start to lead the class with James Powell 3^rd from Garry Jackson and Paul Walker with Thomas Laudage’s 4C completing the runners.

The top 6 places remained unchanged for the first 6 laps while further back Nathan Bignell passed Stacey Dennis only for Stacey to regain the place on lap 4 and Richard Ford gained a place at Giovanni Di Gennaro’s expense on lap 2. Also on lap 2 a marshal reported that one of Adrian Norman’s windows was hanging out of its groove and a black and orange flag ordained a visit to the pits to have it rectified. This was duly achieved but unfortunately for Adrian he lost a whole lap in the process costing him any chance of a high placing.

For the first few laps Lee Penn had kept Steve Deeks clearly in his sights but from lap 7 onwards Steve slowly increased the gap, both driving extremely well but the 4C’s pace just that little bit stronger. Behind them Jack Carter, Toby Broome and Mike Hilton held position behind Lee in that order but the gap from Lee to Jack had widened to 11 seconds and to 16 seconds by lap 10. On lap 10 Mike Hilton found a way past Toby Broome to go 4^th overall but his triumph was shortlived as he pulled off the circuit on the very next lap with a dispiriting repetition of the gearbox problem he has been plagued by recently with the car also down on power. Give the guy a break!

By lap 6 Stacey Dennis was on a roll; having passed Nathan Bignell on lap 4 she closed on Andy Page and took 6^th place from him on lap 6. She couldn’t pull away from Andy after that but maintained the gap at 2 seconds and inherited 5^th overall when Mike Hilton retired on lap 11. Andy closed the gap briefly but then it widened again, Andy’s lap times dropping away significantly in the second half of the race and Richard Ford also passed him on lap 13. Meanwhile Giovanni Di Gennaro had disappointingly had to pull off the circuit into retirement with what proved to be a broken drive shaft.

In the Twin Spark Cup Edward Robinson led by 1.3 seconds from James Powell on lap 6, a gap of 4 seconds to Garry Jackson, with Paul Walker a further second back and Adrian Norman a lap adrift following his window problem. On lap 9, however, Edward and James were nose to tail with James looking for a way through. Edward had a little breathing space here and there when the pair of them were being lapped but apart from that the pressure was constant with Edward defending stoutly. They pulled away gradually from Garry Jackson who in turn was slowly building a gap to Paul Walker behind him in 4^th.

The final retirement from the race occurred on lap 17 when one of Nathan Bignell’s tyres delaminated and he pulled off the circuit at the top of the hill above Paddock Hill Bend. The race was completed under waved yellows at that part of the circuit with the Clerk of the Course paying tribute to the responsible conduct of our drivers in respecting those waved yellows.

So in the end Steve Deeks won the race convincingly and Lee Penn took 2^nd after a fine drive, heading the ever improving Jack Berry in 3^rd to the line by some 22 seconds. Toby Broome took a superb 4^th overall and class win, breaking the Power Trophy lap record in the process, ahead of a delighted Stacey Dennis in 5^th and second in class. Richard Ford was 6^th having reduced his lap times in the latter stages ahead of Andy Page. Thomas Laudage finished in 12^th place but had reduced his lap times by a couple of seconds as he progressively got to grips with the circuit’s foibles. Edward Robinson held off James Powell to secure the Twin Spark class win with Garry Jackson 3^rd and Paul Walker 5^th ahead of the delayed Adrian Norman the final finisher.

Race 1 Results

RACE 2

The couple of hours between our races provided a time window to try and sort out car issues but on this occasion many were unable to do so. Nathan Bignell was able to put road car tyres onto his 33 in place of the delaminated ones and James Ford was also able to take the start for race 2. Others were not so fortunate. Dave Messenger’s auxiliary belt had snapped and then got caught up in the cambelt bending all the valves in one cylinder bank. Adrian started his car prior to going to the grid but an ominous knocking from the big end signalled that he would be out of race 2. Mike Hilton was out with gearbox issues. Giovanni Di Gennaro was unable to repair or replace a broken drive shaft and Lee Penn had wrenched his shoulder and elected not to try and compete in race 2 in case he made it worse. Barry McMahon went down to the assembly area but the car cut out as he attempted to get onto the circuit and would not restart. His car had blocked the entry to the pit lane so there was a slight delay while it was moved.

So in the end only 13 cars were able to take the start. When the red lights went out there was a clean start by all although James Powell overcooked the revs and was delayed by wheelspin. At the end of lap 1 Steve Deeks led by 1.5 seconds from Jack Berry in 2^nd, followed by Toby Broome, Richard Ford, Stacey Dennis, Andy Page, James Ford, Ed Robinson, Thomas Laudage, Garry Jackson, Nathan Bignell, James Powell and Paul Walker in that order. On lap 2 Thomas Laudage passed Ed Robinson and Nathan Bignell overtook Garry Jackson, and on lap 4 Nathan Bignell passed Ed Robinson and James Powell passed Garry Jackson, re-establishing the Twin Spark finishing order in race 1.

The running order stayed the same for the next few laps except that on lap 8 James Ford’s 156 cried enough although fortunately that was to be the only retirement. On lap 10 Andy Page overtook Stacey Dennis to go 5^th overall and on lap 14 Nathan Bignell passed Thomas Laudage but there were no other changes through to the finish on lap 22.

So Steve Deeks recorded an excellent race win in the Alfa Workshop 4C with nearly 20 seconds in hand over the impressive Jack Berry in the Alfa Workshop MiTO. Toby Broome was the only other unlapped runner with a mightily impressive drive in the Revs Italia 147 GTA, breaking his own Power Trophy lap record set in race 1 with a fastest lap of 54.728s. Richard Ford took a fine 4^th place overall and 2^nd in the Power Trophy with several seconds in hand over Andy Page who finished 3^rd in the Modified class and 5^th overall. Stacey Dennis was next from Nathan Bignell, followed home by Thomas Laudage. Thomas was now getting to grips with the circuit in his 4C and his best lap was almost 5 seconds quicker than he had been in qualifying earlier in the day. It was a great pleasure to welcome him to our championship and we very much hope he will be able to make the journey to race with us again.

In the Twin Spark Cup the cars were more spread out than they had been in race 1. Ed Robinson again took an excellent class win and fastest lap with 5 seconds in hand over James Powell whose slow start had cost him the chance to make a serious challenge; nevertheless it was a fine performance in his first ever race meeting. Garry Jackson just managed to hold off a charge by Paul Walker to take 3^rd in class by just 0.6s, both drivers lapping consistently around the 1 minute mark.

It had certainly been an eventful day. One never knew quite what was going to happen next except it was bound to be something extraordinary! Notwithstanding the rate of attrition it had been an exciting day’s racing for ourselves and for spectators and it was beyond great to have over 20 cars on the grid. We now move on to our final race meeting of the season at Oulton Park International on 21^st September with Toby Broome leading the points table from Richard Ford, Ed Robinson and Jamie Thwaites. Andy Robinson

Race 2 Results