Brands Hattch race report by guest driver James Holman #83
Round 1 - Saturday 21st April
Race 1
In the 'grid ball' draw, James drew 18th position on the grid to
begin the season. As usual with the legends, action is non-stop and there was a red flag before the start of the race to recover a stricken car, which held up proceedings. Once underway James made serene progress on the opening lap to make up 7 positions and to climbed 11th place. This progress continued until lap 5 when the red flags stopped the race for a serious incident involving the #51 car of Paul Simmons, who barrel-rolled at Surtees. Restarting the shortened race from 7th, James quickly made his way up to 4th challenging the leaders,however
with 3 laps to go, a misfire developed and he had to be content to settle for an
excellent 4th place.
Race 2
Starting race 2 from pole position, James shared the front row with Elliot Bunn in the #41 car. James converted the pole into an early lead, with John Mickel in the #4 car 2nd and Bunn in close
attendance. These three were joined by the #2 car of Lawrence Davey, and these four drivers put on an excellent display for thecrowd, swapping positions every lap. James made an
audacious move around the outside of all 3 drivers on the last lap into Druids, but couldn’t quite make the move stick having to settle once again for 4th just 0.511 sec behind the winner.
Final
With the points added up from heats 1 and 2, and the grid reversed, James started in 16th position on the grid. After initially making a fantastic getaway an incident at Druids on the opening
meant that at the end of lap 1 the JRA Motorsport driver only made it up to 13th. James had to do it the hard way, making several superb overtakes, coming through the field into 3rd place. James held onto the position at the line from Ben Power in the #55 car by 0.054 sec, demonstrating the closeness of Legends racing. The overall results are a collation of all three races positions
and James and the JRA Motorsport team secured an excellent 2nd place to begin 2012 in fine style.
Round 2 -
Sunday 22nd April
Race 1
The grandstands were packed in anticipation of an exciting days racing, James started race one from 12th on the grid, and this race saw some of the weekend's best action with lots of wheel to
wheel combat throughout the field. A fantastic battle over the last two laps took place with Dean
Brace in the #7 car. The two cars completed the final laps almost side by side all the way
around, with James getting the crucial drive off Clearways and just pipping Dean to yet another 4th position by 0.055 sec at the line.
Race 2
Starting from 7th on the grid, James quickly moved up to 4th position. A five way scrap for the lead ensued, with the race pace being absolutely ferocious, lapping close to record speeds. A personal best lap time of Brands Hatch was set by James in this race, at 56.06 sec, just 0.1 of a
second off the fastest lap of the weekend. Again the racing was superb with positions being swapped on almost every lap, James had to settle for what was becoming a familiar 4th place this weekend, with Richard Pocklington in the #16 car taking the flag.
Final
Shortly after the cars
came off the track from race 2, the heavens opened and the rain set
in for
the final. In his karting years James had always excelled in wet and slippery
conditions.
However he had only raced once in his Legend in the wet. The name
of the game here was to
build up experience and gain valuable information for
the team as there was no real set-up data
to fall back on. James drove an
excellent and consistent race, starting from 18th each lap saw an
improvement in his times enabling him to close on the front runners. By the
chequered flag he was in 6th place, an excellent result in the circumstances.
James remarked afterwards he needed the race to be twice as long as he was
learning so much about the grip and the characteristics
of the car in wet
conditions, but is hopeful for a better result next time it is wet!
Points-wise it was an excellent day for the JRA Motorsport team, with
another podium spot for 3rd place overall in round 2. James and the JRA
Motorsport team lie 2nd in the championship after the opening round and head to
Silverstone on 5/6 May in high spirits looking to grab their first overall
victory as they continue their quest to win the 2012 Legends
Championship.
I welcome race reports from other drivers, just drop me a e-mail to: msportaction@gmail.com
if you would like to send me your report I will add photos of you racing and links to your own website.
Cheers, Rod Tietjen.....Surely The Oldest Legends Photographer around!
Photos of James Holman at Brands Hatch, click on a photo to visit James's own website
Race 1
In the 'grid ball' draw, James drew 18th position on the grid to
begin the season. As usual with the legends, action is non-stop and there was a red flag before the start of the race to recover a stricken car, which held up proceedings. Once underway James made serene progress on the opening lap to make up 7 positions and to climbed 11th place. This progress continued until lap 5 when the red flags stopped the race for a serious incident involving the #51 car of Paul Simmons, who barrel-rolled at Surtees. Restarting the shortened race from 7th, James quickly made his way up to 4th challenging the leaders,however
with 3 laps to go, a misfire developed and he had to be content to settle for an
excellent 4th place.
Race 2
Starting race 2 from pole position, James shared the front row with Elliot Bunn in the #41 car. James converted the pole into an early lead, with John Mickel in the #4 car 2nd and Bunn in close
attendance. These three were joined by the #2 car of Lawrence Davey, and these four drivers put on an excellent display for thecrowd, swapping positions every lap. James made an
audacious move around the outside of all 3 drivers on the last lap into Druids, but couldn’t quite make the move stick having to settle once again for 4th just 0.511 sec behind the winner.
Final
With the points added up from heats 1 and 2, and the grid reversed, James started in 16th position on the grid. After initially making a fantastic getaway an incident at Druids on the opening
meant that at the end of lap 1 the JRA Motorsport driver only made it up to 13th. James had to do it the hard way, making several superb overtakes, coming through the field into 3rd place. James held onto the position at the line from Ben Power in the #55 car by 0.054 sec, demonstrating the closeness of Legends racing. The overall results are a collation of all three races positions
and James and the JRA Motorsport team secured an excellent 2nd place to begin 2012 in fine style.
Round 2 -
Sunday 22nd April
Race 1
The grandstands were packed in anticipation of an exciting days racing, James started race one from 12th on the grid, and this race saw some of the weekend's best action with lots of wheel to
wheel combat throughout the field. A fantastic battle over the last two laps took place with Dean
Brace in the #7 car. The two cars completed the final laps almost side by side all the way
around, with James getting the crucial drive off Clearways and just pipping Dean to yet another 4th position by 0.055 sec at the line.
Race 2
Starting from 7th on the grid, James quickly moved up to 4th position. A five way scrap for the lead ensued, with the race pace being absolutely ferocious, lapping close to record speeds. A personal best lap time of Brands Hatch was set by James in this race, at 56.06 sec, just 0.1 of a
second off the fastest lap of the weekend. Again the racing was superb with positions being swapped on almost every lap, James had to settle for what was becoming a familiar 4th place this weekend, with Richard Pocklington in the #16 car taking the flag.
Final
Shortly after the cars
came off the track from race 2, the heavens opened and the rain set
in for
the final. In his karting years James had always excelled in wet and slippery
conditions.
However he had only raced once in his Legend in the wet. The name
of the game here was to
build up experience and gain valuable information for
the team as there was no real set-up data
to fall back on. James drove an
excellent and consistent race, starting from 18th each lap saw an
improvement in his times enabling him to close on the front runners. By the
chequered flag he was in 6th place, an excellent result in the circumstances.
James remarked afterwards he needed the race to be twice as long as he was
learning so much about the grip and the characteristics
of the car in wet
conditions, but is hopeful for a better result next time it is wet!
Points-wise it was an excellent day for the JRA Motorsport team, with
another podium spot for 3rd place overall in round 2. James and the JRA
Motorsport team lie 2nd in the championship after the opening round and head to
Silverstone on 5/6 May in high spirits looking to grab their first overall
victory as they continue their quest to win the 2012 Legends
Championship.
I welcome race reports from other drivers, just drop me a e-mail to: msportaction@gmail.com
if you would like to send me your report I will add photos of you racing and links to your own website.
Cheers, Rod Tietjen.....Surely The Oldest Legends Photographer around!
Photos of James Holman at Brands Hatch, click on a photo to visit James's own website
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