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Free entry for "Day of Champions" Brands Hatch gears up for 2007
14th March 2007 - Report By Melvyn Pettit
Day of Champions
On Wednesday 14 March 2007, Brands Hatch celebrated the launch of the 2007 motorsport season in style with a “Day of Champions” media day, and the added bonus for Motorsport fans, the famous Kent circuit was of free of charge for spectators.
So with the promise of seeing Andy Priaulx giving press passenger rides in the BMW Team UK WTCC it was time to pack the video and camera. +15 degrees, sunny and windless day, and I forgot the sun cream, but thank god for Global warming!
For those of you that have a keen eye you would have spotted no WTCC in the slide-show.
Even though a crowd of thousands saw World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx slide his way around the Indy circuit in a BMW M5, this did nothing to promote the WTCC to the fans. Even the Chevrolet Lacetti WTCC did not take to the track from the pits. So the only racing series not to display their wears for the up coming biggest racing calendar in Brands Hatch 81-year history, was The FIA World Touring Car Championship. This seems a pity for as it stated in the media pack, “Andy Priaulx is perhaps Britain’s most under-celebrated sporting star”.
Note from Andy Priaulx / BMW Team UK PR - Jo Gawith
"BMW planned to have the car at the event yesterday but given that the first WTCC event took place in Brazil last weekend, it wasn't logistically possible. The team's priority is naturally on competing."
So who and what else was on show you ask?
The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) had double championship winner Matt Neal putting on a display in a 2006-spec Honda Integra.
The DTM was represented by the debut German driver Mike Rockenfeller in his Audi A4 ( the car seems wider on the TV screen). The 470bhp monster saloon being one of the most popular attractions of the day.
Steve Horne's 1000bhp racing truck made plenty of smoke as it laid down rubber at the exit of the chicane.
The Coys Masters Historic meeting display laps were from a GT40, Porsche and the Lotus 76 Formula 1 car powered round the track in full JPS period livery. Even though The lotus 76 was the first Lotus to be a “JPS” from new, it was not one of Colin Chapman’s great F1 cars. The four foot pedals (the fourth pedal being the JPS launch control, M5 does it with a button!) and gear-knob button to operate the new electronic clutch, just made the drivers so impatient. The then Lotus team leader Ronnie Peterson finally said “drag out the old one - I’ll race that”.
The JPS Lotus was sometimes accompanied on its laps by A1GP Team Great Britain driver Robbie Kerr demonstrating his machine. Racing fans used to think the Cosworth V8 sounded loud, but the A1GP car drowned it out. McLaren Autosport Award winner Oliver Turvey also got a run-out in the 550bhp single-seater.
Two and three wheel championships were not forgotten, as reigning British Superbike Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari demonstrated his Racing Honda, and also treated a lucky few to pillion rides on a road-going Honda Fireblade. While Tim Reeves and Stuart Graham's World Champion sidecar also provided superb entertainment and passenger rides for the very brave.
So the upcoming racing is looking great at Brands Hatch.