With a slender lead after dropped scores in the high profile Dunlop Motorsport News Championship our giant killing Clubman was geared for the Grand Prix Circuit at Brands Hatch. Forcast for the race was dry and sunny.

The inherited problem of very little clutch bite from Snetterton was evident as we headed onto the circuit for official qualifying. With a huge amount of entrys (42) a clear lap maybe hard to achieve, however we managed to qualify a remarkable 7th overall, including a best lap 1-1/2 seconds faster than our class championship rival.

The team were jubilant as to this achievement.

The low clutch pedal issue still persisted and was decided to investigate, the team were in communication with the KAD engineers although time was short before race 1 it was agreed to change the clutch release bearing (a possible cause for the low clutch pedal)

This was duly undertaken and completed in the nick of time – to no Avail. The Mini was started in gear and headed for the dummy grid.

Race 1 saw the Mini gain a place to 6th overall and a battle royale ensued with a large class Ford Focus, this was to be the demise of the Mini, as the Clubman drew alongside of the Focus the driver turned in, not seeing the Mini until it was too late. A collision occured which forced the Mini into retirement.

With ongoing gearbox issues and a broken driveshaft it was decided to retire from the day. With a disastrous no score our challenge for the class championship has all but disappeared, however there’s an old racing saying – Its never Done till its Done !

So watch this space.