Race Reports Rounds 12 & 13 Brands Hatch Sunday 26th September 2021

Race Reports
Rounds 12 & 13 Brands Hatch
Sunday 26th September 2021

Camp claims fifth win of the season and Butler his second, as Becket scores double top in Production Class

Rounds 12 & 13 of the 2021 Milltek Sport Civic Cup on Sunday 26th September saw the championship make its second visit to Brands Hatch this season, where Alistair Camp secured his fifth outright victory of the year in the first of the day’s two races and in doing so, extend his lead in the drivers’ standings. Robert Butler fought through to win the second race, whilst in the Production Cup for cars with fewer modifications it was Mervyn Becket who led the field home on both occasions.

With the theme of the event’s supporting Go Japan show ‘Celebrating Civics’, the Milltek Sport Civic Cup became a significant part of the event attended by 1000s of enthusiastic spectators that had come to experience a day of Japanese automotive culture. Once again, when it came to entertainment, the two Civic Cup races did not disappoint.

The action got underway with what should have been a relatively straightforward Free Practice session. But when Ben Sharpe – winner last time out at Donington and when the championship previously visited Brands Hatch – rolled into the gravel on the outside of Paddock Hill bend, it was clear the outcome from the two races was going to be difficult to predict.

Following a supreme effort by his BSR team, Sharpe made it back on track in time for qualifying, ending the session an impressive P5 for the start of the race. Ahead of him, Camp snatched pole just 0.005 seconds ahead of Butler, who was in-turn 0.070s ahead of Matt Luff, with a gap of only 0.148s to Jamie Tonks in fourth – all but Butler’s Kinetic Motorsport-prepared car looked after by Area Motorsport.

There were also just fractions of seconds separating the top players in the Production Class, with championship leader Alfie Threlfall on pole. The three-time Brands Hatch winner in June was closely followed by Beckett and Alfie’s brother Harry in third – all of them driving cars run by MJ Motorsport.

Race 1 (Round 12)

When the red lights went out, Camp held the advantage into turn one and Paddock Hill Bend, ahead of Butler, Luff and then Sharpe, who had edged ahead of Tonks, who then regained the place a few seconds later using an outside line around Druids.

In his eagerness to get closer to Camp and keep his title hopes on track, Tonks nudged past Luff on Cooper straight and then got on the inside of Butler going into Paddock Hill bend at the start of lap three. Inevitably the cars touched and while Tonks claimed second place, Butler did well to avoid spinning but emerged from the tussle in sixth.

All this activity behind him enabled Camp to pull away and by the end of the lap was three-car lengths ahead of Tonks, who was a similar distance ahead of Sharpe and then Philip Wright, who was making good progress and now up to fourth place in his PW Racing Civic. Although Tonks did what he could to catch the leader, Camp was able to respond and consequently, held on to the lead to score an impressive fifth outright victory of the season.

In the Production Class, having managed to get past his main rival Alfie Threlfall on the opening lap and a lap later, Beckett was able to put Sam Linssner in a Cup Class car between the two of them. With very little chance of Threlfall being able to pass, it provided Beckett with the perfect buffer.

Right up until the penultimate lap, Harry Threlfall looked like he was going to claim third, but the tangle of traffic when the quicker Cup Class leaders caught and passed them enabled the hot-in-pursuit Rhys Lewis and Matt Stenning claim third and fourth respectively, although Lewis was later given and eight placed gird penalty for the second race for causing a collision.

Race 2 (Round 13)

With the top 10 positions reversed for the race-two grid, it was George-Alp Williams who lined up in Pole Position in his Area Motorsport Civic, followed by Max Edmundson in his Kenetic car, followed by Morgan Bailey in his MJB Motorsport example and then Butler in P4 after finishing seventh in the first race. Further down the grid, series newcomer and father to Alfie and Harry Mike Threlfall was to lead the Production Class away.

It was Baily who hooked-up the start better that the rest and squeezed between Alp-Williams and Edmonson to take the lead – with the rest of the field almost as one as cars headed around the 1.208-mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit for the first time. With positions in the chasing peloton changing throughout the lap, Bailey grasped the advantage and pulled a sgap ahead of Alp-Williams and now Butler, who was up to third.

Positions up-front didn’t change again until lap seven, when Alp-Williams locked up going onto Paddock Hill Bend and in doing so, opened the door for Butler and Luff. With track conditions such that drivers were having to manage their tyres as the race progressed Bailey slid wide with three laps to go on the exit of Paddock Hill and put two wheels in the gravel.

Seizing the opportunity, Butler and Luff got past and although catching the back of the Production Class field with a lap to go there were a few moments when it looked like positions could change, it was Butler who recorded a well-deserved second victory of the season, with Luff second and Bailey third.

Bennet collected his second Production Class winner’s trophy of the day, having started from the back of the field. Indeed, his early-race progress was so good he took the lead from Hughes by the end of the lap two. Alfie Threlfall had also been on an overtaking fest and collected second place – and whilst Harry held third, he dropped back towards the end of the race seeing Nick Charlier go through to take the remaining podium position.

Competitors now prepare for the final – and biggest – meeting of the year at Snetterton on 23rd and 24th October, when the missed round 11 from Donington will be run on the Saturday, followed by rounds 14, 15 and 16 on Sunday. And with a potential 104 points up for grabs, the chase for the Cup and Production Class titles is far from over.

Driver Quotes:

Alistair Camp

“It was good to get the win in the first race. I managed to make a good start and then control things from the front. I could see Jamie (Tonks) catching at certain points, but did what I needed to do to stay ahead and at the same time manage my tyres, so there was a bit left in the tank if things got closer. It was great start to the day.”

Robert Butler

“I could tell there was pace in the car from race one, but I picked up some damage. In race two I was able to get up to third by the end of the first lap and then bide my time and take advantage when I saw the opportunity. I’m delighted to get the win and it’s a credit to everyone involved with the team, especially Dave Buky and the guys at Kenetic Motorsport who prepare the car. It’s been an amazing day.”

Mervyn Beckett

Getting two wins out of two races; you can’t ask for much more than that. Starting from the back of the field in the second race it was always going to be difficult. But with a bit of luck on my side I was able to get around some of the others on the outside of turns one and two – and then I found myself in second by the end of the first lap. I then managed to get past Mark (Hughes) under braking and then just kept my head down to the finish. It now makes things very close going into the final rounds.”

 

Results – Cup Class

	Race 1			Race 2
	Driver	Time difference		Driver	Time difference
1st	Alistair Camp	0.000	1st	Robert Butler	0.000
2nd	Jamie Tonks	0.941	2nd	Matt Luff	0.597
3rd	Ben Sharpe	3.608	3rd	Morgan Bailey	0.919
4th	Philip Wright	2.882	4th	Ben Sharpe	1.978
5th	Matt Luff	0.856	5th	Alistair Camp	0.471

Results – Production Class

	Race 1			Race 2
	Driver	Time difference		Driver	Time difference
1st	Mervyn Beckett	0.000	1st	Mervyn Beckett	0.000
2nd	Alfie Threlfall	0.445	2nd	Alfie Threlfall	0.708
3rd	Rhys Lewis	1 Lap	3rd	Nick Charlier	7.651
4th	Matthew Stenning	1 Lap	4th	Mark Hughes	1 Lap
5th	Harry Threlfall	1 Lap	5th	Harry Threlfall	1 Lap

ENDS

About the Championship

The Milltek Sport Civic Cup comprises two classes: The Cup Class, for EP3, FN2 and FK models manufactured between 2001 and 2011 with a limited number of modifications permitted; and the Production Class, for EP3 and FN2 Type-R models manufactured between 2001 and 2005.

In all cases, cars must be fitted with Honda’s 2-litre K-Series engine and retain many of the standard OE components. Only controlled performance parts may be fitted. Consequently, costs are kept to a minimum and competition remains close throughout the season.

2021 Calendar

Round	Date	Circuit	Supporting Show
1/2	Monday 3 May	Cadwell Park	Modified Live
3/4/5	Saturday/Sunday 19/20 June	Brands Hatch	Tunerfest South
6/7	Saturday 17 July	Oulton Park	Tunerfest North
8/9	Sunday 8th August	Anglesey	–
10/11	Monday 30 August	Donington Park	Tunerfest Midlands
12/13	Sunday 26 September	Brands Hatch	Go Japan!
14/15/16	Saturday/Sunday 23/24 October	Snetterton	Modified Live