The 2025 season continued last weekend, with our annual visit to the infamous Brands Hatch GP circuit. With qualifying and four races in one day it was set to be an exciting and busy day. With limited chances to race on the GP circuit throughout the year, this round is always popular, and this year’s event was certainly no different,
270R
Following his triple victory at Donington Park, James Hall was immediately the man to beat in the 270R championship. However, with a few new faces joining the grid for this Brands Hatch GP round, it was posed to be more of a challenge this time around.
It was newcomer Alex Coombes who claimed the initial advantage with pole position. As race one got underway, Coombes held onto the lead, however with Tom McEwing hot on his heels, the battle for honours was well and truly on.
By lap two there had been a change for the lead, as McEwing saw his opportunity to sneak ahead. Determined not to lose too much ground, Coombes stayed on the tail of McEwing as the pair battled lap after lap.
As the contest continued, contact between the pair saw both suddenly out of action and the safety car released.
As the race restarted with just over nine minutes to go, and in the absence of McEwing and Coombes, Hall lead the way towards the chequered flag, claiming victory number four of the season. Neville Sykes finished second, with James’ brother, David Hall in third place on his 7 Racing debut.
After starting further back due to race one’s results, McEwing and Coombes had some work to do ahead of race two.
James Hall’s race one victory gave him the initial advantage over the rest of the 270R pack, as he strived to claim his fifth consecutive win of the season. As race two got underway, Hall led the way, however as a fast starting McEwing made his way through the pack he soon landed himself into the lead position.
After a brief safety car period to recover the stricken car of Sykes, the race resumed with 11 minutes left on the clock. As McEwing looked set to have secured top spot, Hall held onto second place for much of the race, as Coombes closed in on him in the final few minutes. As the field headed onto their final tour, Coombes edged ahead of Hall, to claim second place, with James Hall third and James McCullough in fourth place.
310R
After a very wet start to the day, it was Harry Eyre who mastered the tricky conditions to claim pole position ahead of Paul Goldstein for the first race. As the pair lined up on the grid for the start of race one, all eyes were on Paddock Hill Bend, to see who would lead the way.
The returning David Baldwin, from the second row of the grid appeared to make the best start, launching ahead of Goldstein immediately, before launching a challenge for the lead of the race. By the end of lap one, Baldwin led the way ahead of the recovering Goldstein and pole sitter Eyre.
Before long, Baldwin soon had his hands full of the distinctive gold machine, as Goldstein made his move into the lead as the pair rounded Paddock Hill Bend on lap two. From here Goldstein, Baldwin and Eyre toured nose to tail, each vying to secure the best position possible.
As the battle continued, Baldwin managed to regain his lead, just in time for the release of the safety car. At the restart, Goldstein immediately began hassling Baldwin for the lead once again. Behind Eyre, Scott Parker and Caroline Everett had started to close in, as the trio began to scrap for third place.
With just two minutes to go, Goldstein saw his opportunity once again, as he made his move for the lead at Clearways. From here, he had done just enough to stay ahead, claiming victory ahead of Baldwin. Craig Denman finished third, after quietly manoeuvring his way through the pack lap after lap, with the top three crossing the finish line virtually side by side.
A reverse of the top 10 for race two saw Tim Steel line up in pole position, with Rob Goode alongside.
As the race began, Steel held onto the lead, heading the field into turn one with Caroline Everett up to second place from third on the grid. By the end of the opening lap, Everett managed to briefly sneak ahead with a move around the outside, however Steel fought back to lead once more on lap two.
With the top three from race one beginning to fight their way through the field from the back end of the top 10, race one winner Goldstein pulled into the pits and into retirement.
Back on track, Denman had quickly worked his way through the order to lead the way by just lap three. After a brief safety car period, Denman was forced to defend from Steel, as the pair began to swap places, each taking a turn at leading the way.
Before long, the battles for position began to split up slightly. Denman, now back in the lead, was forced to defend from Baldwin, whilst Steel and Everett scrapped over third place. On a charge, Everett was soon into third place and hot on the heels of the lead battle.
Behind, race one pole sitter, Eyre, was embroiled in a fierce tussle for fourth place with Steel. After 25 minutes of thrilling action lap after lap, it was Denman who secured the race win, ahead of Baldwin and Everett. Paul Sethi fought through to fourth place, with Steel and Eyre rounding out the top six.
420R
Sam Smith secured pole position for the first 420R race of the day, with Anthony Barnes starting alongside him in second place.
As this first outing for the 420R grid got underway it was Smith who led team-mate Richard Amos and Mark Stansfield into Paddock Hill Bend. With the top three engrossed in battle, Barnes and Jamie Ellwood began edging closer to the top three, whilst enjoying a tussle for fourth place.
With the action towards the front heating up, Barnes began a resurgence, as he started to make his way back towards the front of the pack.
As those behind battled profusely, Smith managed to break away from the rest of the pack. With Amos forced to defend his second place from Barnes, the battle was well and truly on in the closing stages. With just over two minutes to go, Barnes had closed in on the back of Amos’ 420R.
Ahead, with an eventual eight second advantage, Smith secured a dominant victory, ahead of Barnes and Amos. Stansfield held on for fourth place, ahead of Ellwood and JJ Magalhaes.
Wes Payne enjoyed a very successful outing, to claim 420R sportsman victory over championship leader, Peter Rimer, and David Briault.
Sadly, due to an incident at the start of race two, the race was cancelled and unable to be restarted due to timetable constraints.
Next we head to Oulton Park, for the third round of the 7 Racing UK Championship. Oulton Park always presents superb racing and is an event not to be missed. To join us on the grid, head to our website: https://seven.racing/index.php/product/oulton-park-international-uk-championship-race-entry/