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James Reilly Team Trojon Brands Hatch

What a weekend!

I was very busy throughout, jumping from one car to another and achieving goals. This weekend, I didn’t practice on the Friday, my first session was qualifying amongst faster cars than my own. But Brands Hatch is a circuit I know very well, from watching events and driver coaching at the track.

 

BRSCC ClubSport Trophy

This was the only race of the three that had a standing start – lining up on the grid and starting rather than rolling through the lights.

My launch wasn’t the greatest, almost stalling the car, but I got away cleanly and started to hunt down the opposition. Unfortunately for me though, the throttle pedal on the E30 had become an on/off switch, meaning I could only be flat out or have no power at all.

This made for a slow start to the race, getting to grips with the issue before pushing on and overtaking the two cars in front of me. But due to the Issue, the rest of my competition was long gone.

A late safety car did provide some hope but didn’t elevate me higher than I already was.

Fortunately, the work I had already done was enough to deliver a P3 in class – and my first podium in cars!

Silverlake C1 Endurance Series

Qualifying in the C1s was my first time out on Brands Hatch in that particular car – and was straight off the back of driving the BMW – so a lap time good enough for P23 (halfway through the field) felt respectable.

My teammate William Hendrix started the race, completing the first 1 1/2 hours before handing over the car in P33 for the remainder of the race.

I got my head down and figured out which lines felt better, and pushed the car up the field, overtaking and setting competitive lap times.

I did have a small incident in Clearways during my stint, but for the most part I was just lapping the car and improving my position.

This resulted in a finish in P21, almost breaking into the top twenty and improving on my qualifying position by gaining 12 places throughout the race.

BRSCC SuperSport Endurance Cup

The SuperSport Endurance was by far the most demanding event of the weekend.

It involved driving a car without power steering, ABS or traction control for an hour and 40 minutes straight.

I qualified ahead of my teammate and although as the race started I fell behind, I quickly caught up and caught both him and another car in front (video below).

Both races were extremely enjoyable, with respect shown by both parties. I then focused on cutting down my lap time to under a minute.

When the safety car came out, Will and I were next to each over, albeit a lap apart. Whilst making the pass, a Nissan Fairlady decided to make the encounter three wide leading to contact between me and Will.

But nothing bad came of it, and I finished the race with P2 in class.

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