Just one more victory could seal the Super One Rotax Championship for Ed Brand after he triumphed - again - at Buckmore Park last Sunday (24 July).
The Strawberry Racing star secured pole position for the first of the day’s two finals with another classy display in the preliminaries - timed qualifying and two heats.
However, after getting the perfect getaway from the start line, he was pressed hard by his Strawberry Racing team-mate Jack Marshall at the beginning of the pre-final.
In a hard-fought encounter Brand found himself shuffled down to 5th but clawed his way back to a solid 3rd place as the chequered flag waved to maintain his 100% podium record.
As most of the large field exited the Chatham track’s notoriously tricky first hairpin during the opening moments of the main final, Marshall glanced over his shoulder to see if Brand had also survived the inevitable collisions created by the large pack of karts all trying to vy for the same piece of tarmac at the same time. He had, and just moments later, Marshall briefly led. Moments later, Ed had pushed him down to 3rd and had the new race leader, Sean Babington in his sights.
Brand shadowed him but a nasty crash involving a backmarker brought the field under ‘full course yellows’ and slowed into a single file. With the stranded kart safely removed the race restarted and the Strawberry pair out-smarted their rival with a neat piece of team-work – Marshall pushing Brand past Babington. A second incident again brought the field into single file, and once the green flags waved to indicate the track was clear this time it was Sean who tried to push Marshall past Ed. Wise to this Jack blocked him, allowing Ed to scamper clear.
Incredibly, a third accident slowed the field again to further ratchet up the tension. Once more, Ed aced the start, but could not afford to relax as Jack continued to shadow him. With another driver catching the lead trio, the crowd was set for a nailbiting finish. As they crossed the line to start the last lap, the quartet ran in line astern with Brand at the helm, but looking relaxed and assured. Tensions heightened as they streamed out of view into the downhill section, but as he burst back into the ‘arena section’ it was clear that Ed had victory in the bag.
“I made a lot of mistakes but it helped to have Jack behind me,” Brand gasped after 25 gruelling laps. “This was my hardest win of the year. The team and I put a lot into this weekend and we got a great result.”
He added, “I think I’ve maintained my gap in the points table - and it’s all thanks to Strawberry who have done a great job to get me there. I’m now hoping to clinch the Championship at the next race which means I can go to the last round with the title in the bag, relax and have fun.”
This weekend sees Ed in action in Denmark, competing in the Euro Max Challenge: “I haven’t even seen a picture of the track! I’m looking forward to it, especially after doing so well at a circuit I really don’t like.”
