Hill and Wheeler Take Double Win in Brands Hatch CSCC Finale
At a greasy Brands Hatch and racing into the November darkness, Brisky Racing’s Richard Wheeler shared his bright yellow 1970 Lotus Elan, and his spectacular 275BHP Ford Fiesta with BRDC Rising Star Jake Hill, the duo proving to be the class of the field with both cars across three races at the Classic Sports Car Club (CSCC) season finale.
Firstly out in the Lotus, both Wheeler and Hill put in quick times, with Hill ultimately setting the fastest time overall - and taking Pole Position by over 1.3 seconds from their nearest of their 30 rivals in the Swinging Sixties field.
“I absolutely love driving the Elan!” smiled Hill. “The guys at John Danby Racing (JDR) prepare the car superbly and it’s so nimble. It was so greasy this morning so I’m delighted to have put the car on Pole against some very strong competition”
Later in the morning both Wheeler and Hill ran quickly in the spectacular Fiesta, Wheeler instantly in the top-six before Hill took over and once again took Pole Position, this time by just over a second in the varied 38 car Tin Tops field.
“We won together in the Fiesta at Thruxton and were on Pole at Silverstone but Richard was taken out at the start. So it’s great to be back in the car - and at my home circuit - I’m hugely grateful to be asked by Richard to share the car again.”
Wheeler started the Swinging Sixties race from Pole, instantly scrapping at the rolling start with the powerful Datsun 240Z and Chevrolet Corvette, but fending off both cars until catching a patch of oil starting lap two pitched the car off the track and out of the race.
“Great start and the car felt good, but they had laid detergent to clear oil from a previous session and it was like black ice. A real shame as I know we would have been in good shape to challenge for the win” said Wheeler.
Straight away the Brisky Racing crew and the JDR team had the Fiesta ready for Wheeler to start the Tin Tops race from Pole Position slithering around and losing a few places in the early laps as he established what level of grip was on offer.
However after a couple of laps he began to work his way back to the front, coming into to hand over to Hill having driven superbly to re-take the lead by lap 10. Hill took over but as part of the rules was forced to endure a 30 second penalty which was enforced as a ‘success’ penalty due to the pair winning at Thruxton earlier in the year.
As Hill charged into action having waited to serve the penalty, the pair were now in 16th place overall and almost a lap behind the leaders, so with just 18 minutes remaining it meant British Touring Car Championship star Hill faced a huge challenge to attempt to work his way through towards the front.
Using his circuit knowledge and decisive overtaking, Hill sliced his way past car after car, and with just over five minutes remaining incredibly took the lead - and despite being forced into the gravel at Clearways by a backmarker - edged away to take a superb victory by over 15 seconds and also set the fastest lap of the race.
“Richard was fantastic at the beginning. He did the right thing by taking it easy for a couple of laps and learning where the grip was, but then pulled off some mega moves to hand the car over in the lead. It was so much fun, a big thanks to Richard and everyone at Brisky Racing and of course the guys at JDR for giving us a superb little car to race!”
As the November darkness fell, the circuit was lit up by 30 cars in an ‘All Comers’ race over 40 minutes, which saw Wheeler again start the Fiesta from Pole Position. Immediately though the cold and slippery weather meant the Brisky machine snapped sideways and went clattering through the gravel at Paddock Bend, Wheeler somehow recovering and emerging in 8th place! Gaining a couple of places back quickly, he again had some sideways moments, and as the Safety Car come out was running 5th when he handed over to Hill.
Emerging in 10th place, Hill had a scare when the cars lights went out as he left the pits, but was relieved that they came back on within a couple of corners, now on a charge Hill quickly worked his way past car after car, and with 8 minutes remaining was into the lead. After another Safety Car Hill set about pushing hard and went on to dominate and win by over a full lap, remarkably setting the fastest lap by 3.8 seconds in the process.
“That was the first time I’d ever raced in the dark, so now I want to do some 24 hour races! My goodness that was so much fun, Richard had a wild start but did brilliantly to recover, and I just had a blast. We have taken Pole position in both races, set fastest lap in two and taken both wins in the Fiesta. Big thanks to John Danby and the JDR crew for all their support.
“But I mainly want to say a massive thank you to Richard Wheeler. Not just for giving me the chance to race these awesome cars with him, but for all his friendship and support. He has supported me and believed in me so much, without his help I wouldn’t have raced in the BTCC last year or this year, I am incredibly grateful” smiled Hill.
Hill now focusses his attention on concluding his deal to once again race in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2018, and says plans are progressing very well.
“We have had a couple of really good meetings recently. We have a fantastic group of partners who are keen to continue supporting us next year, so I am confident we’ll have a deal concluded soon, maybe before Christmas” added Hill
Firstly out in the Lotus, both Wheeler and Hill put in quick times, with Hill ultimately setting the fastest time overall - and taking Pole Position by over 1.3 seconds from their nearest of their 30 rivals in the Swinging Sixties field.
“I absolutely love driving the Elan!” smiled Hill. “The guys at John Danby Racing (JDR) prepare the car superbly and it’s so nimble. It was so greasy this morning so I’m delighted to have put the car on Pole against some very strong competition”
Later in the morning both Wheeler and Hill ran quickly in the spectacular Fiesta, Wheeler instantly in the top-six before Hill took over and once again took Pole Position, this time by just over a second in the varied 38 car Tin Tops field.
“We won together in the Fiesta at Thruxton and were on Pole at Silverstone but Richard was taken out at the start. So it’s great to be back in the car - and at my home circuit - I’m hugely grateful to be asked by Richard to share the car again.”
Wheeler started the Swinging Sixties race from Pole, instantly scrapping at the rolling start with the powerful Datsun 240Z and Chevrolet Corvette, but fending off both cars until catching a patch of oil starting lap two pitched the car off the track and out of the race.
“Great start and the car felt good, but they had laid detergent to clear oil from a previous session and it was like black ice. A real shame as I know we would have been in good shape to challenge for the win” said Wheeler.
Straight away the Brisky Racing crew and the JDR team had the Fiesta ready for Wheeler to start the Tin Tops race from Pole Position slithering around and losing a few places in the early laps as he established what level of grip was on offer.
However after a couple of laps he began to work his way back to the front, coming into to hand over to Hill having driven superbly to re-take the lead by lap 10. Hill took over but as part of the rules was forced to endure a 30 second penalty which was enforced as a ‘success’ penalty due to the pair winning at Thruxton earlier in the year.
As Hill charged into action having waited to serve the penalty, the pair were now in 16th place overall and almost a lap behind the leaders, so with just 18 minutes remaining it meant British Touring Car Championship star Hill faced a huge challenge to attempt to work his way through towards the front.
Using his circuit knowledge and decisive overtaking, Hill sliced his way past car after car, and with just over five minutes remaining incredibly took the lead - and despite being forced into the gravel at Clearways by a backmarker - edged away to take a superb victory by over 15 seconds and also set the fastest lap of the race.
“Richard was fantastic at the beginning. He did the right thing by taking it easy for a couple of laps and learning where the grip was, but then pulled off some mega moves to hand the car over in the lead. It was so much fun, a big thanks to Richard and everyone at Brisky Racing and of course the guys at JDR for giving us a superb little car to race!”
As the November darkness fell, the circuit was lit up by 30 cars in an ‘All Comers’ race over 40 minutes, which saw Wheeler again start the Fiesta from Pole Position. Immediately though the cold and slippery weather meant the Brisky machine snapped sideways and went clattering through the gravel at Paddock Bend, Wheeler somehow recovering and emerging in 8th place! Gaining a couple of places back quickly, he again had some sideways moments, and as the Safety Car come out was running 5th when he handed over to Hill.
Emerging in 10th place, Hill had a scare when the cars lights went out as he left the pits, but was relieved that they came back on within a couple of corners, now on a charge Hill quickly worked his way past car after car, and with 8 minutes remaining was into the lead. After another Safety Car Hill set about pushing hard and went on to dominate and win by over a full lap, remarkably setting the fastest lap by 3.8 seconds in the process.
“That was the first time I’d ever raced in the dark, so now I want to do some 24 hour races! My goodness that was so much fun, Richard had a wild start but did brilliantly to recover, and I just had a blast. We have taken Pole position in both races, set fastest lap in two and taken both wins in the Fiesta. Big thanks to John Danby and the JDR crew for all their support.
“But I mainly want to say a massive thank you to Richard Wheeler. Not just for giving me the chance to race these awesome cars with him, but for all his friendship and support. He has supported me and believed in me so much, without his help I wouldn’t have raced in the BTCC last year or this year, I am incredibly grateful” smiled Hill.
Hill now focusses his attention on concluding his deal to once again race in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2018, and says plans are progressing very well.
“We have had a couple of really good meetings recently. We have a fantastic group of partners who are keen to continue supporting us next year, so I am confident we’ll have a deal concluded soon, maybe before Christmas” added Hill