Wind, rain and spinning Beetles

The forecast gave an extreme weather warning, “do not drive unless you have to!” obviously nobody told the drivers at Brands Hatch taking part in the “Lotus Endurance Saturday” with howling gales up to 40mph and monsoon rain lashing down the conditions were tricky to say the least, but the short race program provided plenty of great action. Top of the bill was the 100 minute Lotus race, but we had turned up to cheer on our friend Phil as he made his first RWD race start in a Beetle as part of the Beetle Challenge a class within the tintop race.

Wandering round the pits the majority of the cars seemed to be from the mid to late 1980s, it was retro heaven




Out on track the Beetles were sliding around in the damp


Back in the paddock we caught up with Phil, having qualified third in class he wasn’t last on the grid, smiling but nervous he readied for the first of two races.




In the main Grand Prix paddock garages the Lotus drivers were preparing and qualifying their cars, we took the opportunity to sneak into the workshops for a closer look.








The Beetles lined up for the off, just as the rain started again, keeping a couple of cars behind he finished third in class.






The last race before lunch was part of the Victor Meldrew Trophy, a handicap race with rules so complicated we just watched the cars go round and waited for somebody to pick up the cup at the end!






After the lunch break the second race for the Beetles was due to start, another monster downpour delayed things a little but after a few safety car laps they were away once more, the standing water gathering all round the circuit.








Lap after lap they slid around until Phil pushed a little bit too much coming over Paddock Hill Bend and went round.










He swam round at the back till the flag fell, back in the paddock all the drivers were animated about the weather, but with no bent panels it was a good result, 2010 promises more Beetle Challenge cars racing which is going to be a spectacle.




The final Victor Meldrew Trophy was hard fought as well, with more than a few spins, viewing from the top of Druids Bend you could see the cars race up hill before sliding round and charging down hill to complete the lap.








The final race for the Lotus Endurance started damp but quickly dried out, we watched from the free grandstand before succumbing to the cold and calling it a day, not before more panel damage from the Norfolk cars








That’s the end of the 2009 motorsport season for me, a year that’s seen me at seven different venues watching drag racing, rallying and sprints, roll on 2010. The rest of the photos are here

Steve