PREVIEW : BRANDS HATCH
Formula 5000s will entertain
Thunder in the Hatch
The Historic Sports Car Club race weekend on the wonderful Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit is always a highlight of the club ’ s racing season , and a strong line-up of races will make this year ’ s Legends of Brands Hatch Super Prix another fine event . Paul Lawrence previews the weekend ’ s action .
Powerful single seaters are at the heart of the weekend , including two races for the Formula 2 Classic Interseries , which is a joint venture between HVM Racing in France and the HSCC . With a field of these fantastic F2 cars from the 1600cc and twolitre eras through until 1978 , this weekend ’ s races are rounds five and six of the 12-race season , and the grid is headed by the newly restored March 782 of Mark Charteris . This is the car that British privateer Brian Henton raced in the 1978 European Formula 2 Championship and
Charteris will be a frontrunner but faces tough opposition notably from Alex Kapadia in his March 762 and Scot David Thorburn in a similar car .
Other leading contenders include Mike Bletsoe-Brown in his Chevron B27 and local racer Martin Wood in
his March 73B from the class for the 1600cc Formula Atlantic cars of a similar era .
Several of those drivers are also lining up for the next two races in the Derek Bell Trophy series for powerful single seaters . Charteris , Bletsoe-Brown , Kapadia and Wood are all planning to double up to make a busy weekend . A real feature of the Derek Bell Trophy is a fabulous entry of Formula 5000s with as many as 14 of these fabulous 5-litre monsters from the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s . It will be a thunderous performance !
A strong UK turn-out is boosted by the arrival of half a dozen drivers from New Zealand who are incredibly welcome as they start a two weekend summer tour of the UK . Ranged against them from the UK contingent will be likely pacesetter Neil Glover in the one-off Chevron B37 and Donington winner Christian Pittard in his earlier but just as effective
Mike Bletsoe-Brown in Historic F2
Historic F3 action
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