Saturday 28th June 2008

What a fabulous day we enjoyed at Brands Hatch on Saturday, as former drivers we were honoured to be invited to participate in the Formula Junior celebrations.  The weather could not have been better with wall to wall sunshine hot enough to burn the unwary, could this really be Brands?  Duncan, his numerous support helpers and the sponsors combined to produce a magnificent array of cars and hospitality at a well run H.S.C.C. meeting with the knowledgeable Marcus Pye commentating on the three FJ races.

Upon arrival we were greeted and invited into the hospitality area to meet others and partake of a bacon bap and hot drink.  Practise for class C&D, 1960-1961 rear engine FJ cars, started at 9am.   Class E, rear engine FJ cars and class A&B, front engine FJ cars followed before lunch.  Lunch was scheduled from midday for two and a half hours which enabled everyone to comfortably choose from meat or vegetable lasagne plus a healthy salad followed by a sweet of epic proportions as well as prepare for the afternoon race schedule.  In close proximity to the FJ hospitality was the Paddock Hill bend grandstand affording an excellent view of the racing where often the cars were three a breast as they fought to find a way to the head of the group.

Thirty-seven cars of Class C&D contested “The Classic Team Lotus Trophy”. James Hicks in the Caravelle Mk III had claimed pole by just over one tenth of a second from Jon Millicevic in the Lotus 18.  Lining up on row two were James Denty, BMC Huffaker Mk II, and Sir John Chisholm with his Gemini Mk3A.  James Hicks had a bad start and only completed the first lap in fifth place, over four seconds behind the leader Jon Millicevic who was closely shadowed by James Denty.  By the end of lap two less than one second covered the first three cars with John Chisholm moving ever closer to the tail of Denty before overtaking and taking the lead on lap three.  Meanwhile James Hicks was pulling out all the stops to regain contact with the leaders and by the end of lap five was filling the mirrors of Chisholm’s Gemini eventually taking the lead on lap six which he maintained to the line where he bested John Chisholm by a tad more than a tenth of a second with James Denty in third. The fastest lap was claimed by Jon Millicevic in class C, who just coasted over the line in fourth place with a dead engine (1:48.159) and by James Hicks (1:47.608) in class D

Class E, “The Geoff Richardson Engineering Trophy for 1962-1963 rear engine FJ cars” was the next FJ race and sported a grid of thirty-three cars.  The pole sitter was Benn Simms in the Cooper T59 fractionally faster by .071 seconds than the Merlyn Mk5/7 of Denis Welch. Benn Simms sped into the lead closely followed by Denis Welch and Mark Woodhouse and these three maintained their podium positions to the flag.  Ben Simms effortlessly drifted the Cooper around Paddock lap after lap thrilling the crowd with his heart stopping moves.  The race to watch was for fourth place between the Lotus 27’s of Michael Hibberd and Urs Eberhardt and James Claridge in the Lola Mk 5A.  At times three cars almost joined as one with positions changing rapidly especially when back markers came into the equation, until Claridge made an error on lap nine and went straight into the kitty-litter whilst fending off another Lola Mk 5A driven by James Murray who had taken advantage of their slowed pace defending their positions to eventually finish sixth.  Hibberd and Eberhardt fought it out on the last lap but any chance of Eberhardt claiming fourth position was dashed by the waved yellow flags. Benn Simms had the fastest lap (1:42.771) beating 80 mph with 80.59 mph.

Could the front engine cars of class A&B continue to thrill?  The answer is a resounding YES!  Twenty-seven cars lined up for the challenge, making a total of NINETY-EIGHT FJ cars racing over the meeting, two shy of the hundred on the race track, but another five practised, and a further seven were on display, so the magic total was well achieved. 

Lining up on the front row, were Simon Diffey in a BMC Mk I qualifying just 0.038 seconds quicker than the Gemini Mk 2 of Tony Goodwin.  Tony Goodwin made a swift getaway and led into Paddock, from Diffey and Stuart Roach in the Alexis Mk 2.  Simon had some problems finding his gears and this affected his ability to challenge at times.  It was not until lap five that we had a change of leader when Stuart Roach eased in front of Goodwin, while third position was swapping and changing throughout the first half of the race between Diffey and Derek Walker in the Terrier T4.  It was not until lap eight that Simon Diffey acquired second position fighting hard to the line where the gap between him and first place man Stuart Roach was a slender nine hundredths of a second.  Tony Goodwin nailed the final podium place and these three were well ahead of the field.  The fastest lap in class A went to Jac Nelleman in the Volpini (2:02.340), and class B to Simon Diffey (1:50.744).

Apologies for not mentioning every tussle throughout the racing field but many had their own battle and enjoyed their own race.  Thus ended the racing for FJ but then came the prize giving which was accompanied by refreshments.  Presentation of a photo to Duncan signed by drivers past and present followed by a photo-shoot to commemorate the occasion. 

During the day drinks were available in hospitality with a choice of interior or exterior seating. All around friends were catching up with the gossip and making new acquaintances as well as hearing war stories from the drivers of yesteryear.  With such a beautiful evening many were attracted to remain at the circuit with impromptu gatherings scattered throughout the paddock.  Our personal thanks go to Tim Bishop for offering us a bed in his coach which we gladly accepted, and to everyone who made us feel so welcome.  It felt good to be back with the FJ family if only for a day.

Jill Carter (2005) & Martin Carter (1957-1970 + 2001-2007)