Brands Hatch Race Report

Brands Hatch Race Report

16 August 2022

The time for Trackday Trophy’s much-anticipated fifth round of 2022 finally arrived on Saturday 13th August, with glorious Kent sunshine welcoming competitors to Brands Hatch’s prestigious GP circuit. To heighten excitement further, the bumper-packed grid included a number of new faces to the series. Most notably, TDT were delighted to welcome Lotus Elises to the grid within a one-off ‘Class A’. The mix of TDT newcomers and veterans provided the perfect blend of enthusiasm and experience.

For many this was their first experience racing on the fast and challenging Brands Hatch Grand Prix loop, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell with the impressive qualifying lap times. EST Performance’s Read duo topped the class B timing sheet early on in their VW Golf GTI, before Stewart Donovan (Se7en Motorsports) secured class pole with a blistering 1:46:776. Donovan would have to settle for second on the overall grid, as pole position went the way of Lotus driver John LaMaster. Semprini Racing’s Jeremy Evans qualified second in Class B, narrowly ahead of the afore-mentioned EST Performance. Sam McKee (McKee Motorsport) secured a highly impressive Class C pole position, ending the session almost 1sec quicker than second in class Dubshack Motorsport. The honour of pole in the ever-competitive Class D went the way off Scuderia Dave’s Dave Connell, who would line up in front of Alister Esam and JZ Racing.

At race start, John LaMaster launched off the grid and immediately began building a gap to the dueling Class B cars of Se7en Motorsports, EST Performance and Semprini Racing behind. Stewart Donovan (Se7en Motorsports) managed to get the jump on EST Performance after the opening exchanges and began his pursuit of the Lotus Elise out in front. Meanwhile, gripping battles could be found throughout the 45-strong grid – including a remarkable charge through the field by Team Air Supply #46.

The pit stop window proved unkind for John LaMaster, as he found himself losing out on valuable time to the rest of the pack. Stewart Donovan, who had been pumping in consistent and impressive lap times, used this to his advantage to ensure that it would be him who took the checkered flag in first place – his first ever overall win and a grand slam in the process! LaMaster would have to settle for second, albeit claiming the class A victory. Semprini’s Jeremy Evans continual solid pace was rewarded with second on the class podium, while shrewd race management from Freddy Hewitt earned the Mini R56 driver third. Steve Summers and Mick Presland rounded out the class A podium in professional fashion.

Dubshack Motorsport’s combination of Rawlings / Zakrzewski have been standout performers in Class C this year and the pair continued in impressive fashion at Brands Hatch GP. McKee Motorsport had proved in qualifying the pace of both driver Sam and their E36 328i, but ultimately the team had to settle for second on the podium after finishing narrowly behind the Dubshack duo. Aindale Racing’s Wayne Cockerill has become an ever-present on the C podium and added another trophy to his cabinet by finishing third in class.

Despite the fierce competition in class D, Dave Connell mustered a grand slam for Scuderia Dave – a fantastic achievement! The MX5 driver didn’t put a foot wrong and was justly rewarded. Boreham Motorsport’s (Midlands) Adams pairing claimed second in class, adding to their already highly successful 2022. Special mention to Team Wheelcare’s Hurrell pairing on their first podium of 2022, finishing third in class D!

A huge congratulations to all our finishers, especially those who ended up on the podium in sweltering conditions. We can’t wait to see you all on the grid again in September when Trackday Trophy takes on Donington Park’s GP circuit

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