The British Automobile Racing Club made an action-packed return to Brands Hatch this past weekend (April 22/23) with the British Endurance Championship, Britcar Trophy and Classic Touring Car Racing Club serving up an unmissable show.
Less than a month on from them lifting the curtain on the 2023 campaign at Silverstone, the trio of categories provided big entertainment for the both the fans that flocked trackside and those that were watching via the Club’s ever-popular live stream.
Saturday afternoon’s headline act saw the British Endurance Championship take centre stage for a pulsating two-hour contest; where the PB Racing duo of Peter Erceg and Marcus Clutton charged to a dominant victory in their Audi R8 GT3.
After pipping the Aston Martin Vulcan of Glebs Stepanovs and Stephen Tompkins to pole position in qualifying, many expected the two teams to battle it out for victory however it quickly became apparent that that wasn’t going to be the case.
Upon approach to Clearways on the opening lap, the Aston Martin speared left into the barriers, ending its race on the spot. From there, Erceg and Clutton controlled proceedings out front – lapping the entire field six times – to clinch a memorable victory.
Behind, the Team HARD Porsche 991 Cup car of Brad Thurston and Daryl DeLeon claimed second whilst Chris Jones and Matt George guided their Mercedes GT4 to the third step on the podium.
The Classic Touring Car Racing Club delivered an abundance of thrills and spills as its rosters of championships produced no less than 10 races over the course of both days.
In the Poultec Pre ’66 Touring Cars, less than one second covered the top three in a captivating opening contest that saw Michael Sheraton triumph in his Ford Anglia ahead of the Ford Lotus Cortina duo of Timothy Abbott and Ian Thompson.
James Ibbotson – who went viral online last year for drifting his Hillman Imp down the Craner Curves – put on a commanding display in the weekend’s second race to guide his way to the rostrum summit.
Over in the Orange Aero Pre ’83 Touring Cars, Mark Cholerton took advantage of a start-line mechanical issue for Stephen Primett to take victory in race one before Primett bounced back and came to the fore in Sunday’s second bout to claim a win of his own.
Elsewhere, the amalgamated Laser Tools Pre ’93 Touring Cars, Burty Haulage Pre ’03 Touring Cars and Burton Power Blue Oval Saloon Series races saw Stuart Waite and James Dunkley take an overall victory apiece.
Concluding the CTCRC action were two races from the Edmundson Electrical Classic Thunder and two from the Berkshire Jag Components Jaguar Challenge. In the Classic Thunder, Bryan Bransom claimed the spoils whilst Colin Philpott starred in the Jaguar Challenge.
Rounding out the weekend was an enthralling two-hour race courtesy of the Britcar Trophy Championship. Off the back of an impressive performance at Silverstone last month, Datum Motorsport’s Axel van Nederveen continued his scintillating form by taking his Ginetta G56 GTA to victory lane.
Finishing a full lap clear of his closest opposition, van Nederveen led home Simon Clark in his Porsche 997 Carrera S and SVG Motorsport duo of Neil Wallace and Ian Astley.
To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Brands Hatch, CLICK HERE.
Watch all races that were streamed live across both days on the BARC’s official YouTube channel HERE.