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The comment of one seasoned motorsport journalist on Ed Brand,
who got his debut season in Junior Rotax Max off to a superb start when he won
an incident-packed first round of the British Super 1 Championship at the Clay
Pigeon raceway in Dorset yesterday (16 March).
The
wet conditions and the circuit’s notorious Billy’s Blind corner produced racing
that often more resembled a demolition derby than a top-flight kart race.
With
drivers’ finishes in three qualifying heats determining their grid position for
the final, surviving the carnage was essential. The 13-year old started his
first race from 18th on the grid and found the experience somewhat ‘bumpy’
-“If anyone was going to spin off, or try
to rejoin the circuit in that race, they all seemed to do it right in front of
me”. This slowed his progress, but Ed was still able to finish in 10th
place at the chequered flag.
The front of the grid
was clearly the safest place to be - and Ed counted himself lucky to start on
the 2nd row for his next race, where a sensible drive saw him finish
3rd. It was 3rd place again in his final heat. Starting
from 14th, the Hertfordshire teenager got
a good start and was up to 8th as the pack emerged out of the first
two corners. By constantly moving up a place with each lap, Ed finished 3rd
and sealed a second-row start for the final.
Conventional
wisdom proves that Championships are won over the course of a season and not at
the first race. But with a field of teenagers as twitchy as squirrels who have
over done it on the Red Bull, patience was a rare commodity.
Indeed,
as the 30-strong pack streamed into the tricky right-hander that is Billy’s
Blind on the rolling up lap, Ed was clipped and launched skyward. Surviving
intact, he was able to slot back into his proper starting position and take the
start. As Ed and two other drivers barreled into Billy’s for the first time
after the start, they were three-abreast. “I
was reminded afterwards of Lewis Hamilton’s move at Silverstone when he raced
in GP2. That move sealed his reputation and must’ve inspired me because as we
came out of the corner and ran towards the first chicane, the other guys
dropped back and I emerged in the lead.”
His
lead lasted just two laps, before Ross Dougan passed him. Ed and Robert
Browning piled on the pressure and Dougan succumbed – allowing them both
through. The more experienced and physically bigger Browning muscled his way
past Ed, but found the younger driver far from a push-over. On the penultimate
lap, Ed re-assumed the lead and held it to the line.
Any detractors about Ed’s title chances before the race suddenly
found themselves wondering whether the youngest driver in the series, was now
the favourite to take overall honours. Brand himself was coy: “It’s easy to get carried away but I’d
rather just take it one race at a time. This is only the first race of the
season and I’m sure things will only get closer. My job is just to keep making
the most of the kit that I’m given and rewarding the team’s hard work and faith
in me.”
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