Clawing points back on the Power Maxed MINI Challenge John Cooper Works (JCW) championship leader is the sole aim for Panda Racing IN:MINI’s Hamish Brandon this weekend (27-28 June), as the series runs as part of the illustrious Mini Festival at Kent’s globally renowned Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Hawick’s Brandon started off the Silverstone weekend with debilitating damage, but then went on to record his sixth podium of the season during a race that was held in typically British ‘summer’ weather, before laying his hands on yet another piece of silverware the following day.
The Scotsman’s large points haul at Silverstone further cemented his position in the runner-up spot in the Drivers’ standings, and while delighted with that, he is now primarily focused on clawing points back on the championship leader entering the latter half of the season.
Having already competed at the Kent circuit earlier this year, running on the longer Grand Prix configuration as part of the illustrious support bill to the Blancpain Sprint Series, this weekend’s event will take place on the shorter, yet equally challenging Indy layout.
Returning to Brands Hatch for a fourth time, the Mini Festival showcases Britain’s most loved pocket-sized car in all of its forms since first rolling off the production line over 50 years ago. From the 1959 Morris Mini Minor to the latest incarnation – the bigger and highly-powerful F56 – all generations will take to the circuit in anger for an action-packed weekend of racing.
During his most recent outing on the 1.22mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Brandon showed a great turn of pace in mixed weather to record a hat-trick of top ten finishes, despite being punted off by several overly aggressive class rivals.
Built into the natural contours of the Kent countryside, Brands Hatch is a favourite with Brandon and the Scot feels that this weekend could be a real turning point in what has already been a highly positive season, saying: “I’m looking forward to this weekend, as it’s always great to be involved with the Mini Festival. We’ve been a part of it for the past couple of years, once in the Coopers and then last year in the JCWs, and there is always a great atmosphere and Brands Hatch always does a brilliant job in putting on a show.
“Obviously the Indy circuit is much different to the Grand Prix loop, as you are able to get a lot of laps in and I absolutely love driving round there. We’ve got to have another strong weekend again and hopefully we have everything sorted on the car so it’s on song again. I couldn’t have been happier with how it was handling at Silverstone, so we should have a good setup for this weekend and claw back some points.”
Qualifying for the Power Maxed MINI Challenge will get underway at 09.55 on Saturday (27 June), with the first of three races later that day at 14.45 and the concluding two rounds of the weekend on Sunday (28 June) at 14.30 and 17.40.
For more information on Panda Racing and Hamish Brandon, please visit the official www.hamishbrandon.com website, ‘like’ the Facebook page or follow @PandaRacingTeam on Twitter.