Brands Hatch GP 4th & 5th June 2011
On the 4th of June the OX4 Racing team set off for round 3 of the MINI Challenge which took place at Brands Hatch in Kent. The first of the two season rounds which take place at Brands was done on the famous GP track.
This round also saw a change of driver for the team, with Chris Oakman taking to the wheel. Chris can boast a number of victories with the team in the MINI challenge in 2010, however this was his first time driving at Brands Hatch. So with the need to learn the track for the first time Chris managed to qualify in 16th position during the Saturday session.
Sunday was then a full day’s racing for the Challenge with all three races taking place throughout the day. For race one the weather held out meaning that the car was able to go out on slicks. However on Lap 7 Chris encountered a problem with the car due to a small oil leak. Not wanting to risk damaging the engine before the next races, Chris took the decision to retire. The team then carried out a full check on the car and with everything appearing to be ok, started to prep the car for the next race.
With the weather keeping everyone guessing, a last minute downpour forced the team to change tyres over to wets with only minutes to spare before the race assembled. This proved to be a wise decision as the rain continued throughout the race, and also throughout the day.
Due to the previous retirement Chris had to start race 2 at the back of the class, sat on row 9 of the grid. Despite starting so far back, Chris managed to climb to 11th position during race two. Passing Ogden and Allen in the difficult conditions helped us in the final race with the car now starting on Row 5 of the grid.
However in true MINI challenge style the final race of the day was to be a rolling start. This gave Chris an opportunity to gain another place in the race, with the car finishing the day in the 10th position. Not a bad effort considering that Chris had never been round the track at the start of the weekend.
The team will be returning to Brands Hatch on the 16th &17th July, this time on the Indy Track. Let’s hope the weather will be better then!
