NB : all images are copyrighted protected and must not be used without written permission from Michael Barrett.
Brands Hatch hosted the second 750 Motor Club meeting of the year and the paddock was full to bursting with eager competitors. All 11 categories racing over the course of the weekend boasted a healthy grid with three formulas needing to race in groups due to being over Brands’ grid capacity.
The K-Tec Racing Clio 182 Series became a championship for the first time in 2015, and of the 34 cars that came to Kent, 20 were separated by a mighty impressive 1.75 seconds in qualifying. Pole man Matt Digby led the early stages of the opening encounter but fellow ex-Stock Hatchers Patrick Fletcher and Andrew Tibbs (in his first Clio race) dived through with a great move at Paddock Hill Bend on the sixth lap. Fletcher broke away through traffic to take the victory with Tibbs and Digby chasing. James Bark, moving over from Golfs, took fourth after a race long scrap with Jeff Humphries.
Round two was greeted with damp conditions and a very slippery circuit. Fletcher, starting from pole this time, couldn’t find any grip off the line and fell immediately to fifth with Digby heading Humphries at the front. Bark was a man on a mission though and was quickest to get to grips with the conditions perfectly. He passed Humphries on the second lap and chased down Digby. The leader controlled a big slide at half-distance at Clearways while Bark had a trip through the gravel dropping him back to fourth.
It only took Bark another three laps to get back to second and as Digby got stuck in traffic through a yellow flag zone the pair were back together. The Clio newcomer had a better run out of Clearways on the final lap and just pipped Digby across the line. The margin was so small between the pair that race control had to revert to a photo for clarification. Meanwhile, Tibbs had passed Humphries behind to take third with Fletcher in fifth.
Original content from 750 Motor Club and available here.
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NB : all images are copyrighted protected and must not be used without written permission from Adam Lines.
NB : all images are copyrighted protected and must not be used without written permission from Bryant Photography.
Sky : Channel 447
Virgin Media : Channel 545
Freeview : Channel 71 & 240
youview : Channel 71
The Clio 182 Series has been given Championship status for 2015 and with 36 drivers currently registered, the first race of the year at Brands Hatch already has a full grid of 32 drivers.
This year promises full grids and lots of close racing.
A familiar name in motorsport, Mark Fish makes his competitive return.
Mark Fish said “After 3 years of trying to get something together, it looks like I will finally be back out racing. Very excited at the prospect of racing again, but with some trepidation. There is a huge amount I need to reacquaint myself with, having only done 4 races since the Clio Cup in 1993 – I am interested to see if I can become competitive again”
New to the championship is Daniel Gibson. Although not new to racing, Daniel has swapped his Fiesta for a Clio.
Another new face for this this year is James Bark.
James will be one to watch, particularly at Cadwell Park. During testing he beat the Clio 2014 lap record by 0.2 seconds.
Able Heath Motorsport have two cars out this year:
These cars will be driven by Matt Holtom in his second year and Damien Heath who is new to the championship.
Finally, a few pictures from some returning drivers, but with new liveries for 2015.
