Brands Hatch Indy 2022 Preview

Introduction

With the sound of the new era of engines still ringing in our ears from Donington Park, its already time for the second race week of the season.

Brands Hatch Indy. By this point anyone here reading this knows the difference, but if you've picked this up and don't know, don't sweat it. Brands Hatch located in Kent, and displays multiple track layouts, most famously the GP circuit which involves a lovely jaunt (or not so, if your surname is Cammish) through the woods making a 2.599 mile circuit of undulating straights and bends. However, this is not that, that is for later in the year when all is decided. This is the shorter 'Indy' track (a mere 1.2 miles) which as a child I always remembered for being shaped like a telephone. But racing, yes this is the layout which BTCC cars should be able to complete in just short of a minute which means bang for your buck if you're trackside. It still comprises of undulating twists and turns especially down into the famous 'Paddock Hill Bend' up into 'Druids' and back down again into 'Graham Hill Bend'.

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Recap

So, racing. Now we've seen the effects of the new and I must say after one round impressive Hybrid system its time to start predicting the weekend ahead. To recap we saw some bright stars last time out some new, some old, and some just surprising us for one reason or another. Race one last time saw an intense 7 car battle for first which was not only action packed but fair technical racing, no one was 'punted off' nor was anyone unfairly nudged out the way, it was just good simple racing you will struggle to find elsewhere in a hurry. This battle saw Tom Ingram come out on top and there he stayed, it also demonstrated the power the BMW 330i from both West Surrey Racing (WSR) and Ciceley Motorsport with two of the three WSR cars crossing the line with a podium place, only for Jake Hill to have his race struck off the record for a harsh ride height failure. This saw Gordon Sheddon promoted to third.

This gave the Scotsman his opportunity which he took with gusto winning the second race, removing Tom Ingram from his lead, notably this saw new kid on the block George Gamble with Ciceley Motorsport his first podium in his second ever BTCC race which takes some doing, I'm sure the Jack Sears trophy cabinet is already under construction... perhaps, its a long season. The special mention was also to his team mate one Adam Morgan, who not only finished an impressive fourth, he also did it without any hybird assistance (all weekend, may I add) hopefully we'll see it up and running this weekend to earn another Brands Indy victory.

Race 3 had a more familiar feel to it from last year with possibly the standout driver of the weekend Jake Hill earning his first place with a solid drive much like his pole position he earned on the Saturday, it takes a lot to fight through the entire grid over two races, but Mr Hill showed us it can be done. Ash Sutton brandishing his golden 'Kwik Fit' plate secured his first podium and I'm sure many more, followed by the ever tenacious Josh Cook, with their ever so slightly new look BTC Racing Honda.

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Preview

So what does this mean going into this weekend? Well the tracks aren't entirely dissimilar, they both feature fast fast sections which turn abruptly into tight bends, which could mean we'll be seeing more of the same from the RWD cars on the grid. For pole, I'm throwing down local lad Jake Hill to replicate his pole from Donington, with his work in multiple historic RWD cars its no surprise to me he's hit the ground running in the impeccably engineered WSR BMW. Not far behind him will be the likes of Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton and Adam Morgan.

With the lack of outright ballast and a shortened length of hybrid power allocated (from 15) second to 10 second per lap) we'll be seeing some incredibly tight racing this weekend which will require all the race craft, this means some of out notable names will be at the pointy end. I fully expect to see both the NAPA racing Motorbase drivers attacking in the top of the grid after what can only be said to be a disappointing maiden weekend for the new look outfit. Team HARD will also be a team to watch with the second season for the Cupra Leon showing a little more of what it can do, the return of Bobby Thompson filling the large shoes vacated by Jack Goff means they'll be pushing with confidence backed up by the new face of Will Powell who has an impressive motoring CV which includes a British Endurance Championship title in 2021, the switch from GT to Touring Cars has shown to be tough, but with time spend in TCR he could slot in very well. Toyato Gazoo also have nothing short of a 'Pilgrims Rise' shaped uphill battle to get their car back competing after a mechanical meltdown of a weekend at Donington and one they'll want to forget. Rory Butcher seemingly has been to one to fall away from being competitive with his switch from Motorbase where he looked strong becoming a bit of a backwards step, however do not discount this driver as he's never in doubt of picking up a hard thought podium. Not to mention to prospect of having some actual help from a team mate this year could be what him and the team needs.

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Dark Horses

With the championship never short of a surprise, its time to look for those could send a curveball into the weekend. If you'd ask most people who you'll think will have a good weekend I'm sure most would agree with the names I've plucked out here, but there's always one or two which are guaranteed to surprise you.

Dan Rowbottom - Good old 'Rowbo' since his return to the championship with Team Dynamics, hes turned heads, and for good reason, despite failing to show this version of himself at Ciceley Motorsport he's become a fan favourite taking last years Jack Sears title at a canter, he managed a well fought pole last year and I wouldn't put him past it to be somewhere near this time around.

Dan Lloyd - Drove the tyres off the oldest car on the grid last year and with that earned a place in the four car lineup of excelr8 Motorsport, grabbing a handful of points and sitting 8th in the championship, don't be surprised if that Hyundai you see whizzing off at the front has the 123 number on it not the 'Tingram' 80.

Ricky Collard - Here with the backing of the Collard name, this guy is wanting to show hes more than just his fathers son. Despite having a car which was a ticking time bomb of mechanical failures last time out he still managed to pick up a point, which is more than could be said for numerous drives who in face completed all three races. If the team could nail down a healthy car, we'll see some healthy points.

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To end...

I'm absolutely over the moon to be trackside again, October feels like a long time ago now, as always we'll be tweeting our movements and thoughts where the awful internet allows, so to any of you and want to come say hi and chat motorsport, we'll be floating around, but druids is always the place to watch the racing.

Peace out handsome people,

Will.