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Kent Kids Get Vip Treatment At Brands Hatch |
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Monday, 25 September 2006 |
| Attachment 17205 |
| Zoe Thomson sits in the VX Racing car with driver, Gavin Smith, and her fellow classmates looking on. |
KIDS from a Kent school were today treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship paddock at Brands Hatch courtesy of current champions, Vauxhall.
The circuit will host the latest round of the UK’s most popular domestic championship this weekend and the kids – from Darenth Community Primary School – got a sneak preview from drivers, mechanics and organisers.
VX Racing’s Irish driver, Gavin Smith, was on hand to answer the
children’s questions, which mainly revolved around how many times he
had crashed the car and how fast he had been going at the time.
The group of 20 children was then escorted around the garage and team
truck by squad members, who explained all the different roles within a
touring car team.
“The chance for the children to come and see something like this is
quite an inspiration,” said the Green Street school’s head teacher,
Simon Manning. “An environment like this is where it really happens.
The maths they do at school, the technology and design – they can see
where it all fits in. This brings their lessons to life.”
Zoe Thomson, 10, from Darenth, has previous racing experience after
entering a karting competition with the school last year. “I sometimes
watch racing on the television with my dad and it doesn’t look too
hard!” she said. “Last year we had to build a go-kart from a car kit
and then race it. We didn’t do very well but I really enjoyed it. We
actually got to race the cars ourselves which was loads of fun.”
Zoe and her classmates were allowed to see the workings of a
race-winning touring car, which is built from scratch in VX Racing’s
Banbury-based factory.
“It was very different from how I expected it to be,” said Zoe, after
her first experience of a professional racing paddock. “The whole car
was just one big engine. I thought it would be like a normal car.”
Smith, from Dublin, will be hoping to go one better than his
second-place finish at Knockhill three weeks ago when he races this
weekend. “Brands Hatch is my kind of circuit,” said the 28-year-old,
who finished in the top seven for all three races of the opening round
at the Kent Circuit last April. “It’s twisty and technical and allows
you to really take advantage of the car. I think the fans are in for
some fierce racing this weekend.”
Qualifying will take place today (Saturday) at 15.30 with the first of three 24-lap races will start tomorrow (Sunday) at 11.20.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 December 2006 )
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