Brands Hatch 260604
Brands Hatch 260604
| Brands Hatch 26th June 2004 | ||||||
| Four 500s joined the 750 Trophy cars at Brands Hatch for the 750 Motor Club meeting. The weather forecasters had predicted heavy rain and high winds but, in the event, only very light rain fell and the track remained virtually dry all day. Qualifying is always a crowded affair on the "Indy" circuit and Neil Hodges led the 500 contingent in 9th with Bob Culver, 15th and James Culver a lowly 19th, due to a severely slipping clutch. James Holland's day ended early in spite of qualifying in 10th due to a tightly seized JAP. As ever, the combination of the 750 Trophy cars and 500s led to some highly eventful racing with close battles throughout the field. Things got extremely lively at Paddock on the first lap when Paul Lawrence in his A7 single seates spun, blocking much of the track. Neil Hodges had made a good start and was already up to sixth but had to take avoiding action and "enjoyed" a major grassy moment undoing all of the good work at the start. James Culver was one to benefit from the melee. He made a good start and was well into the main pack by the time of the incident but was able to avoid trouble. From 19th on the grid, he was already into the top five by the end of the first lap and well in touch with the leaders. James spent the rest of the race picking off his adversaries, one by one, to take a well deserved overall victory by four seconds. After a lap to collect his thoughts following the excursion, Neil enjoyed a race long battle with Paul Lawrence's A7, each overtaking the other on almost every lap. Eventually, on the last lap Neil established a two second gap to take 5th overall and 2nd in the 500 class. Bob Culver moved up steadily from 15th at the start to take 8th overall, pipping the Ulster of Darrell Woods by less than a second. Once again the different characteristics but similar overall lap times of the 750 Trophy cars gave the competitors and spectators a most enjoyable race. Classified Finishers | ||||||
| Pos | Class | Name | Car | Time | Laps | Best |
| 1 | 500 | James Culver | Cooper Mk X | 15:41 | 15 | 1:00.28 |
| 2 | C | David Brand | Reliant Special | 15:45 | 15 | 1:00.83 |
| 3 | C | Pete Birch | JGS III | 15:48 | 15 | 1:01.51 |
| 4 | C | Roger Windley | Genie | 16:29 | 15 | 1:03.39 |
| 5 | 500 | Neil Hodges | Cooper Mk VIII | 16:39 | 15 | 1:04.40 |
| 6 | B | Paul Lawrence | A7 Single Seater | 16:41 | 15 | 1:04.39 |
| 7 | C | David Whetton | Warren | 15:47 | 14 | 1:04.88 |
| 8 | 500 | Bob Culver | Cooper Mk VIII | 16:10 | 14 | 1:06.78 |
| 9 | A | Darrell Woods | A7 Ulster | 16:11 | 14 | 1:07.22 |
| 10 | B | Dave Locock | Austin 7 | 16:21 | 14 | 1:07.91 |
| 11 | A | Geoffrey Brandon | A7 Sports Special | 16:49 | 14 | 1:07.29 |
| 12 | B | Mike Whitby | A7 Mason Special | 16:49 | 13 | 1:15.66 |
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