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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Ed Brand completes season with Rotax World Final podium
All season long, the HRS Motorsport driver has been a front-runner and at the desert circuit located near the shores of the Red Sea, it was no different. Having started the event with the third fastest lap in timed qualifying (out of 72 drivers), Ed then won each of his three heats to earn pole position for the pre-final. A canny second place finish in that race gave him the preferred outside line for the Grand Final itself. “Unusually, the outside row of the grid gave you a better entry line into the first corner, provided that you got a decent start, which I managed to do.” Ed led the thirty-four strong field across the start/finish line at the end of the first lap, and from there held the advantage for the next eighteen. However, the impressive Ukyo Sasahara from Japan had kept a close watching brief on the Englishman, waiting for a mistake. Just two laps from the chequered flag, Brand pushed too hard into a corner and the Japanese dived down his inside, edged him onto the marbles, also allowing fellow Brit Matt Parry through. “I’m disappointed not to have won,” Ed reflected back home in Hertfordshire. “But if I’d started at the back and driven through the pack to finish third, I’d be delighted. So on reflection, third place is a good result.” Ed’s father Mark was equally philosophical, “The Japanese lad drove remarkably well. Ed made a slight mistake and Ukyo went for it. That’s racing, that’s life,” he shrugged. HRS boss Tristram Oman agreed, saying “We got a top three and that’s no disgrace at all.” With the paddock thronged with journalists and TV crews, Ed’s performances throughout the week-long event turned him into something of a celebrity – “Everywhere I went there was a camera shoved in my face” – and led to offers from race organisers to demonstrate his talents in selected international events. Ed has to rely on sponsorship to keep him racing and he acknowledges the support he receives from his family’s firm of plumbers merchants and their suppliers, he says “I would like to thank Brands of Watford, radiator company, Vogel and Noot and Contact Electrical (Watford). Without their help, I would not be able to achieve anywhere near the sort of success I have enjoyed this year.” He added, “I would also to say a big, big ‘thankyou’ to Tristram and Nigel (Horner) of HRS for their incredible hard work, help and support throughout the season. They’re a great team, have designed a monster kart in the CRG Dark Knight, and played a massive part in my most successful season yet.” pic - Bas Kaligis/KartXpress
Ed serves up victory on an O-Plate CRG driver adds 0 to 1
The event, known simply as the ‘O’ Plate - after the number plate bearing the letter O that is awarded to the winner - is one of British karting's most prestigious and therefore hard fought for titles. "It was a dogfight all weekend," said the HRS Motorsport driver. "I really had to work hard for the win, and I did think it would end in tears a few times - but that’s what makes it all the sweeter. To add the British Open to my Super 1 title is just fantastic”. The weekend had begun well for Ed - who competes on the HRS-designed CRG Dark Knight - chassis when he carved his way from 21st on the grid up to 6th place at the finish, setting the fastest lap of the race. In the following encounter, he finished 2nd but suffered a small reversal of fortune in his next two races, when he crossed the finishing line in 9th and 15th positions. Albeit that he again recorded the quickest lap in the third heat and powered his way up the order from 21st place in his last encounter. These results were good enough to give Brand fourth place on the grid for the winner-takes-all final. A steady start saw him maintain his starting place for the first two laps, before he saw a gap and was able to move into 2nd. He trailed the leader for a further tour and briefly assumed the lead before dropping back a place. On lap 8, Ed launched his bid to put the victory beyond doubt. With a furious scrap for the remaining podium places developing behind him, Brand was able to open a gap over his nearest rival and maintain it for the rest of the race, taking the chequered flag over a second clear of the runner-up. The victory has further boosted Ed prior to his appearance at the Rotax World Finals at Sharm el-Sheik in December, where he is hoping to add the international season’s biggest victory to his domestic triumphs. “I came second in the Euro Max championship and by doing so, earned my place at the World Finals. It will be the biggest race of my life so far but with the team I have behind me and the form I’m currently in, I’m going to Egypt with the aim of winning, not to make up the numbers.”
Brand is best of British
The Coles Racing driver had gone into the British Super 1 series’ Junior Max title-decider at the top of the points table, but knew that he could not afford any slip-ups at this crucial stage of the championship. If he was calm beforehand, his nerves were jangling after timed qualifying. The circuit’s electronic timing failed to pick up the signal from the transponder on Ed’s kart and recorded no time, forcing him to start the two heats from the back of the grid. A determined and gritty performance saw him start from 22nd place on the grid and carve his way up the order to cross the finishing line in 9th place - setting the fastest lap on the way. What made this drive special was the fact that Brand had started well, passing seven karts by the time he had exited the first corner, but then found a spun kart directly in front of him. With nowhere to go, Ed had to come to a stop and wait for the kart to move out of his way. Now in last place, he got going again and began his remarkable ascendancy into the top 10. An even more impressive drive in the following heat saw Ed power his way from the back of the field, all the way to 2nd position. Many seasoned team owners put aside their rivalry and went to congratulate Ed’s father Mark on his son’s performance. Mark explained, “John Davis [of Force] came up to me and said, ‘In 10 years of racing, that was the best drive I have ever seen’.” The MSA’s Alan Bryant also commented, “That was very, very good. He didn’t touch anyone. It was perfect driving.” Ed’s heat finishes earned him a 3rd row start for the first of Sunday’s two all-important finals - the points for which would go towards his championship score. From the start, he quickly passed two karts to assume 4th place. A lap later he was into 3rd and with 15 laps to go, moved into 2nd spot. He then caught the leader but knowing that his good friend, Lee Napolitano was not in the running for the championship, Ed maturely opted to settle for the runner-up position rather than risk a crash going for the lead and in doing so, clinched his first British Super 1 crown. Afterwards he said, “To be honest, I’m more relieved than anything. Naturally, I’m delighted to have won and finally lose the ‘bridesmaid’ tag I seemed to have acquired [after finishing second in the Junior TKM and Rotax categories in the previous two years]. This is the result of a lot of hard work and I’m hoping that we can now go onto this weekend’s [26/27 September] British Open Championship [AKA the ‘O’ Plate] at Shenington [in Oxfordshire] and add that trophy to my collection. It would be a fantastic way to finish off what has been an amazing year.” He added, “I would like to thank Adrian and Mike at Coles Racing, Tristram and Nigel at HRS Motorsport, my sponsor, Chris at Vogel and Noot Radiators, plus of course mum, dad and my sister Libby. Oh, and John and William Priest, who got me into all this!” In addition to becoming the 2009 British Super 1 Junior Rotax champion, Ed won the international Rotax Winter Cup in February and just two weeks ago became the Euro Junior Max vice-champion – all on the CRG Dark Knight chassis and with HRS-tuned engines.
Ed is European Junior Max Runner-up!
The HRS Motorsport driver had headed to Salbris fifteen points off the championship lead, knowing that he needed to produce something special if he was to stand a chance of lifting the European Junior Max title. The first glimpse he gave of what would be a dominant performance throughout the weekend, was his fastest lap in timed qualifying, when he was comfortably the quickest of the thirty-strong field. And a glimpse was all that most of his rivals would see of him for much of the event. Ed won all three of the heats to secure pole position for Sunday’s pre-final. Shortly after the start of the first race, he was leading - but suddenly found a wasp had flown up the underside of his helmet and was now trapped. Unaware of what was happening, Ed’s team looked on, baffled by his desperate attempts to free the increasingly angry insect by “fiddling with his visor”, as his father Mark, somewhat prosaically put it. After three nerve-wracking laps, he managed to release it and suffered no further dramas as he recovered his composure, drove to the chequered flag and take his fourth win of the weekend. Having successfully completed this first objective, the CRG driver had it all to do again in the following race. Another faultless drive saw Ed comfortably win by over two seconds - but it was just not enough for him to pip fellow Englishman Josh Webster to the title. “I knew beforehand that I needed something of a miracle and had to win both finals, if I was to stand any chance of beating Josh in the points. I did everything that was asked of me, but it just wasn’t enough,” he said phlegmatically before adding, “But I’m very happy. We showed what we can do today and my other main objective was to qualify for the Rotax World Finals [at Sharm el-Sheik in December]. I’ve now done that, so we have a happy team, mechanic and driver.” “I’m leading the championship, but it will be a very close thing. The nature of the circuit [two very tight hairpins in succession] means that you have to stay out of trouble during the opening lap. My job will be to keep the kart on the tarmac and shiny side up. But after Salbris, I feel like I’m in great form, so we’ll just have to see.”
Brand impresses on KF3 debut in CRG KT100
But it was what he had achieved beforehand that underlined his considerable talent. British Super 1 Junior Max Championship leader, Ed had been invited by HRS Motorsport to switch class and sample their CRG KT100 outfit, and he jumped at the chance. It was a further mark of their faith in his abilities that he had not been asked to make his KF debut at a club event, but in front of thousands of spectators at one of British karting’s biggest meetings. And nor did he test beforehand, Ed simply arrived at the Lincolnshire circuit on Friday morning and set up his kart from there. Considering his lack of experience, Brand did remarkably well to qualify in 7th place overall in a close-fought session. In his two heats, Ed took 5th and 3rd-place finishes, putting him 3rd on the grid for Sunday’s first final. Seconds into the opening lap, Ed’s was one four karts abreast going into the second hairpin - and something had to give. The inevitable collision bent his steering and although he limped on, he retired soon after. More drama was to follow at the start of the Grand Final. A large crash left a large section of the field stranded on the track with damaged karts and produced red flags. Ed was far from happy. Having predicted that this might happen, he had moved to the outside line through the first corner, before cutting back to the inside, avoiding all the incidents, to move from 21st to 5th, by the time he exited the first hairpin. With the Clerk of the Course deciding to allow the damaged karts to be repaired and the original grid order to stand, all his good work had been undone. Ed got another superb getaway from the line in the re-run and was up to 12th place by lap seven - but a puncture forced him to dart into the pits. He found the nearest air-line, re-inflated the tyre and re-joined the race. “It was typical, Ed” said his father Mark, dryly. “He said, ‘I’ve paid for this race, so I’m going to finish it’ and he did. Albeit two laps down at the chequered [flag].” Ed commented, “In Parc Ferme, and the paddock generally, a lot of people came up to me and congratulated me on my overall performance. I enjoyed the weekend, it was all just a bit of fun but what I was able to achieve was quite good.” He added, “Tristram [Oman, boss of HRS Motorsport] was pleased with me and told me that I’ve proved that I can switch class and compete with the regular front-runners. I had a very short learning curve, but adapted quickly and delivered. I’m pleased to have re-paid him and the team for this opportunity. The KT100 chassis was fantastic too.”
Ed takes double victories and British Champs lead
The Coles Racing star scored a brace of victories at the demanding Buckmore Park circuit in Kent last weekend (13/14 June) to propel him from fifth position into the overall championship points lead, with three rounds remaining. Timed qualifying went satisfactorily enough for Ed after he recorded the fifth fastest time – just nine hundredths of a second down on the pole-position setting time. In his first heat, a crash dropped him from fourth to twenty fourth and needed a great recovery drive to carve his way back up the order to a creditable eighth place at the finish. In the following encounter, he settled for second place to secure fourth place on the grid for the first of Sunday’s two points-scoring finals. By the end of the first lap of the final, Ed was up to second and pressing for the lead. Two laps later, he moved to the front and began to edge away from the chasing pack. “I got up to the leader, passed him and away I went,” he commented afterwards. “It was hard work though. To lead for 21 laps, keep my concentration and not make any mistakes wasn’t easy.” This approach saw him win by over seven seconds from his closest pursuer, team-mate Spencer Barrow - although Ed modestly acknowledged that he was helped when the drivers, then in second and third place, collided. Leading the field from pole position for the grand final, he benefited from having clear air ahead of him and made an excellent start. “I got through the first few corners and then got my head down and chased my own shadow all the way to the chequered flag.” He added, “Winning is the best way I can thank all the people who support me and make my racing possible. To take two victories over a quality field and at such a tough circuit is always special and I’d like to thank Mike and Adrian at Coles and Tristram and Nigel at HRS Motorsport for their fantastic help and efforts throughout the weekend.”
Down to earth approach nets trophy for Ed at Kart Planet CRG star finishes third to maintain European title challenge…
Competing for the first time at the splendidly named Kart Planet circuit at Busca, Piedmont in northern Italy - with the still snow-capped Italian Alps in the background - Ed got off to a nervy start during timed qualifying. “I went out too early. Another class had been on track prior to mine and they use different tyres. The DD2 karts had laid down a different type of rubber on the surface of the circuit - I should have waited for other karts to clean that up and lay down the right sort of grip for my class. As it was I just slid around on the DD2 stuff.” Knowing that he would have to produce some fireworks in his heats if he was to qualify well for the first of the two finals, Ed didn’t disappoint. He finished second in the first race, and recovered brilliantly from being punted off the track in the following race to claim tenth at the chequered flag. Disaster struck in his third and last heat, when a crash forced him out of the race. This put him down in 23rd place in the intermediate classification before the finals, and would be his corresponding grid position for the pre-final. The HRS driver then delivered a gritty, tigering drive through the order in sweltering heat (over 35°C) to finish in a creditable 7th place. Picking off two places in the opening lap, Ed briefly held fourth spot before being demoted down to seventh in what was becoming a terrific scrap between the top eight drivers. On lap nine, Ed jumped up to third place - and held onto it in the remaining seven laps. He said “I’m happy although I felt that I could have perhaps won but third is no disgrace. I’m fourth overall in the points and the quality of the field is excellent. You never get an easy race”. He added, “To go to a circuit I’ve never seen before and fight my way from 23rd to 3rd, return home with silverware and vital championship points - well that’s pretty much job-done, I’d say.”
Brand value rises with another win Coles Racing’s Junior Max star takes second British Championship victory
The CRG Dark Knight driver took his second victory at the spectacular Rowrah circuit in Cumbria last weekend (25/26 April). Brand was too hot to handle in Timed Qualifying and duly posted the fastest lap to secure pole position for his two eliminatory heats. The first of which he won comfortably, crossing the line over two seconds ahead of his closest rival. A tougher second heat saw Ed just pip the third-placed driver by four one-hundredths of a second - but it was enough to secure the number one position on the grid for the first of Sunday’s two finals. “The circuit has been resurfaced recently, making it much smoother and faster - but almost impossible to set the kart up perfectly for prior to racing. I was fortunate that my kart felt very good from the word ‘go’ and again in the final, it was ballistic,” Ed explained. Although he was chased hard, Ed romped to a dominant win – his second of the campaign. “Once I’d survived the opening corners, I was quickly able to get my head down and open a gap. With everyone fighting hard behind me, that gave me the opportunity I needed to make the break.” However, there is a phlegmatic saying in the sport to sum up the unexpected lows, ‘that’s motor racing.’ As the field streamed out of the pits and onto the undulating Cumbrian circuit, Ed discovered that his engine had developed a mystery gremlin. “It just wouldn’t run properly at all. I think something in the carburetor had broken and I had to quickly return to the pits to see if my team could fix it. Unfortunately, in the few seconds they had available before the start, nothing could be done and I had to get out of the kart and become a spectator.” He added, “I sulked for a few minutes, but then got over it. I’ve had three podiums out of four, so we’re going quite well - but I’m 5th in the points now and this shows that consistency will be crucial over the rest of the season.”
Ed turns up the heat Coles driver stokes up early Super 1 title challenge with winning performance at Whilton opener…
Leading the 30-strong field into the first corner, the Coles Racing driver got a perfect start for the first final. Whilst his pursuers fought hard behind him, Ed began to open a gap of several kart lengths. However, his pursuers kept him honest and pressed him hard all the way to the chequered flag - even reducing Ed’s lead - although not sufficiently enough to be able to mount a serious challenge for the front spot. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed this to Brand, who brought his CRG dark Knight home without any further dramas, to score first blood in the title chase. Ed again got the poleshot in the following race - followed by his team-mate Spencer Barrow. The distinctive black and yellow racesuits of the Coles duo began to break away, and it soon became evident that victory would solely be fought out between Ed and Spencer. Four minutes from the end, Barrow took up the running with Ed sitting just inches off his rear bumper. As the official prepared the chequered flag, Ed upped the pressure and began to push hard for a way past. The pair ran side by side through the first half of the lap, banging wheels and rubbing sidepods as they slugged it out. With only three corners left, Ed realised that, rather than risk a crash, settling for second would give him the early championship lead and so he dropped back to secure the points. He said rather sagely, “I was tempted to go for my second win of the day but decided to play it safe. There’s a long way to go - the title is won over a season not in a day.” Pics Chris Walker
Created as a curtain-raiser to the 2009 Rotax Euro Challenge series, the event had attracted twenty five of Europe’s top junior drivers (from thirteen different countries) and from the outset the young Englishman faced a stern challenge. “I was second fastest after timed qualifying with just two one-hundredths between me and pole position. The rest of the field was separated by little more than two tenths of a second.” Despite his front row starting position for the three heats, Ed was in a potentially vulnerable position for his three heats. He explains, “The first corner at Campillos is a tight right-hander followed by a short straight and then a series of tricky bends. At the start they’re pretty densely packed with karts. There was quite a bit of wheel-banging.” Two 3rd-places and an 8th gave the 14-year old fifth place on the grid for the pre-final. He was up to 3rd place but, as the chequered flag was readied, the driver ahead – Aavo Talvar - suddenly slowed. “Talvar knew if he finished in second place that would be his starting position for the main final. He didn’t want to do that, so slowed right down, hoping that I would pass him. I was thinking the same thing, so I tucked up onto his rear bumper. He was zig-zagging and brake-testing me as we approached the finishing line, but I was so close behind him that I had nowhere to go clouted him across.” Further drama followed. During the final’s rolling-up lap the pole-sitter, Mark Megens’ coil failed, leaving Ed having to maintain his third spot but with an open gap ahead of him. This played into the hands of Talvar, who needed no prompting and swept across from the left to lead the pack into the first corner. “We’d put brand new tyres on for the final and they had virtually no grip at the start. It took me a lap to put enough temperature into them before I could challenge for the lead. I managed to get through and then tried to pull away.” He succeeded but a slight mistake midway through the fourteen-lap encounter saw his pursuers close in on the CRG pilot, “The chasing group caught me but fortunately a scrap broke out for second place. This handed the advantage back to me, although my winning margin was just half a second at the end.” Greeted in Parc Ferme by rapturous applause from the Coles team, Ed was equally delighted, “I’m on a high right now. This (victory) means a lot. I’ve won something before the main season has begun (both at home and internationally). I hope that we can build on this and challenge for the British and European titles.” He added, “The KT1 chassis felt fantastic and was perfectly suited to the track and conditions. I’ll be getting the Dark Knight for this weekend’s club race at Whilton. I expect it to be perfect there and when we go to the other Super 1 circuits. I must thank Tristram (Oman) at HRS for giving me a great kart, everyone at Coles Racing and of course, Neil McKernan, my mechanic.” pic : Chris Walker/Kartpix |
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After
winning the British Open and Super 1 titles and finishing a close second
in the European championship, Ed Brand added third place in last
Saturday’s World final (12 December) to his impressive haul of trophies
in 2009 at the Ghibli Raceway, at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. 
Junior
Max star Ed Brand completed a double at Shenington, near Banbury last
weekend (26/27 September), by adding the British Open title to his Super
1 championship victory completed earlier in the month.
Ed
Brand showed genuine star quality with a brilliant performance in the
final round of the Euro Max kart championship in France last weekend
(12/13 September) 
The
end result won’t tell the full story. The post-race reports will simply
show that Junior Max star, Ed Brand finished two laps down, in 24th
place, in last Sunday’s Kart Masters Grand Final (2 August). 
Ed
Brand produced two superb performances to win the latest round of the
British Super 1 kart championship and put himself at the top of the
leaderboard. 
Perhaps
inspired by a trip to Monaco to watch the Grand Prix the weekend before,
Ed Brand delivered a gutsy performance to keep the pressure on his
rivals for the European Rotax Max Junior crown, last weekend (30/31
May). 
Just
two rounds in to this year’s British Super 1 Championship, and already
Ed Brand is shaping up to be a serious contender for overall honours at
the end of the season. 
Ed
Brand was in sparkling form at Whilton Mill, near Daventry last Sunday
(5 April). Quickly getting to grips with the new event format of timed
qualifying, followed by a heat prior to two finals, he recorded the
pole-setting time - before winning the single heat by over two seconds. 
Coles Racing’s Ed
Brand scored his first international victory in last Sunday’s (15
February) Rotax Winter Cup after a nail-biting Junior final in Spain.