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Ed Brand eases into Euro Championship lead

Formula K star wins at Wackersdorf

Victory in the forests of Bavaria gave Formula K Europe’s Ed Brand a narrow lead over his closest title rival in the Rotax Max Euro Challenge, at Wackersdorf last weekend (12/13 May).

Not that he had enjoyed an easy ride to his eventual triumph. In timed qualifying he was, by his own standards, “off the pace” and could only record the 14th-fastest lap.

“I don’t know what happened. I didn’t drive well. It was my own fault,” he said with characteristic honesty, adding: “I went faster (by three tenths of a second) in the first heat than I had done in qualifying!”

He finished 4th in that race before taking a brace of runner-up positions and a win. This was sufficient to give him pole position for Sunday’s pre-final. Scott had qualified seven places behind him, but would quickly charge up the order to challenge Ed for the race win.

It became a close-fought affair with Brand not quite able to catch his rival’s pace and subsequently he settled for 2nd and a hatful of valuable championship points. Once out of Parc Ferme, he decided to make some crucial adjustments to the Formula K chassis but was unable to alter the questionable driving standards, as he explained: “We made a few changes ahead of the main final, but at the start I was hit from behind. This allowed Harrison and Philip Morin to get away and left me fighting to regain track position. I managed to reel them in and, after passing Morin, caught Scott.”

Ed tracked his prey and seeing his chance pounced: “He made a mistake in the chicane and I closed in from a kart-length behind. I passed him as we braked for the next corner. From there I just got my head down and drove away. I won by eight tenths of a second, so it wasn’t majorly close at the finish but it was close enough!”

He added: “I’m leading by two points, so it is not a comfortable gap. I’ve got to keep pushing on. The series goes to Sweden (the Asum Ring at Kristianstad) for the first time for round three. We’re not testing there beforehand, but hopefully I’ll be as fast as normal. We’ll just rock up and see how we do on the day.”

Acknowledging the contribution from his team and partners, Ed said: “I would like to thank Martin Blom and Martyn Reuvers of Formula K Europe, Nigel Horner of HRS and my principle sponsor, Brands of Watford.”

Pic: Chris Walker / www.kartpix.net

Ed Brand fires himself into early Euro title contention

Formula K star on podium in Belgium

Ed Brand raced into immediate contention for the Rotax Max Euro Challenge Crown with a brace of podiums at Genk last weekend (31 March/1 April).

Against a large and quality-packed field of nearly ninety competitors, Brand gave notice of his intent with a respectable 8th-fastest lap in timed qualifying. He followed this with two 3rd-place finishes in the preliminary heats, plus a 2nd and 1st, putting him 4th overall in the interim ranking to put him on the second row of the starting grid for the first of Sunday’s two points-scoring finals.

However his preparations for this event were somewhat hampered by agonizing pains in his ribs. With no time for a thorough medical check-up, Ed simply had to get on with the job of racing.

Remarkably, he went on to take 3rd place and set the fastest lap of the hard-fought 14-lapper. Encouraged by his ability to drive through his discomfort and still deliver a great performance, the 17-year British Super One champion then produced what he later regarded as “probably the best race I’ve ever had.”

After another fourteen laps, the top six finishers were separated by just half a second. “It was so close,” said Ed. “It was one of those races where any one of us could have won. If you made a mistake, five karts could go past in the blink of an eye. Every mistake was punished, but the racing remained hard but fair.”

“People were telling me afterwards it was a classic and that they were saying mid-way through whoever won fully deserved to. On this occasion it wasn’t me, but I’m 2nd overall in the points table and with three rounds to go, I’m in a great position.”

Although his ribs were later x-rayed in a local Belgian hospital and nothing more serious than bruising was found, Ed has just three weeks to return to full fitness before the start of his national, Super One title defence at the notoriously bumpy Whilton Mill circuit, near Daventry on 28/29 April.

“Whilton’s not ideal when you’ve got bruised ribs, but it’s pretty much my home circuit so naturally I want to put on a good show. Also, I switched teams, chassis manufacturer and engine tuners in the closed season and I’d dearly like to give Protrain, Formula K and HRS Racing Engines a first big win of the season. What’s more, I’d like to make history by winning back-to-back titles with two entirely different set-ups. That would be very special.”        

Brand takes first silverware with Formula K 

Gritty drive earns podium on new team debut 

Formula K Europe’s faith in the abilities of Super One champion Ed Brand was rewarded as he delivered a much-deserved 3rd place at Whilton Mill.

Defending Super One and Kartmasters champion Ed Brand demonstrated the potential of the Formula K chassis with a stirring drive from tenth on the grid to an eventual podium last Sunday (29 January).

It was Brand’s first competitive outing on the Italian-made kart and since renewing his partnership with engine tuners, HRS.

Race day started brightly with an encouraging 2nd place in the opening heat. Ed’s fortunes took a temporary nosedive in the following race, but a superb drive in the third heat saw him lift his team’s spirits as he carved his way from 26th to 8th to take a fifth row start for the A final.

Passing four karts in the opening lap, Ed steadily edged his way up the order and by mid-distance was 3rd. Despite the leading pair being comfortably ahead, Brand remorselessly hunted them down – setting the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour. On this occasion, he had to settle for 3rd albeit that a higher finish looked almost certain had there been more time.

“This is a great result for me, the team (Protrain), HRS and of course, the Formula K chassis. Although I couldn’t take the win on this occasion, I feel that we’ve done enough to prove that it’s not a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’. The Formula K is a pleasure to drive, is nicely balanced and allows the engine to deliver its power smoothly.”

He added, “We’ve had a positive start to the year and I have great expectations for the forthcoming season.”