The Power Maxed MINI Challenge bursts back into life following a six-week break to headline the annual Mini Festival at Cheshire’s Oulton Park circuit (8 August), where Panda Racing IN:MINI’s Hamish Brandon will be looking to add yet more silverware to his expanding trophy cabinet.
The Mini Festival returns to Cheshire one of the Britain’s greatest motoring icons will be celebrated in style, with a bumper programme of on and off the track entertainment and support from all types of Mini, from the original Austin Cooper S to the latest BMW incarnation.
Carved into the Cheshire countryside, Oulton Park requires full commitment to fully extract the best possible time from its 1.69mile lap and it stands as one of Brandon’s most favourite circuits.
Sitting comfortably in second place in the Drivers’ standings, Brandon is purely focused on winning as many races as possible in the remaining three meetings.
Despite being punted off stage left on the opening lap at Brands Hatch in June, Brandon went on to stand atop the podium for the second time this season to claw back vital points on the championship leader and reward the IN:MINI team for their hard work and determination.
Buoyed by the performance of the IN:MINI-prepared John Cooper Works (JCW) racar in recent meetings, Brandon is confident that he can challenge for more race wins in the remaining three rounds of the 2015 season, saying: “We have nothing to lose now, as Neil Newstead essentially has one hand on the trophy – it’s his to lose. We have to go out there and get the best results we can and leave nothing on the table and we are in maximum attack mode, throwing caution to the wind. You have to be mindful of the fact that both races are held on the same day by avoiding contact, but I will be giving it my all.
“I really enjoy racing at Oulton Park and would say that it’s my favourite track. You have to be fully committed to every corner, as there isn’t a lot of run-off areas and it gives you a sense of racing down country roads with the trees lining the circuit. We’ve raced there every year since I joined the MINI Challenge and I have a few friends and family coming down for support, so I hope I can put on a good show for them and come away with a strong amount of points.”
Qualifying for the Power Maxed MINI Challenge is scheduled to get underway at 10.00 on Saturday (8 August), with two races later that same day at 13.40 and 17.05 respectively.
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.