Historic Trophy Season 3 gets off to a thrilling start at Brands Hatch!

If you ever needed proof that you don't need big grids for thrilling racing, then the opening meeting of the Historic Trophy this weekend was about the best evidence you could ever hope for.

At the start of round 1, 4 cars lined up on the grid of Brands Hatch's famous Indy circuit, and once the flag dropped, the action was non-stop for the next 20 laps. Kurzheck took the early lead in her Capri, With Meatball's Mustang alongside into Druids.

Meatball's Mustang probably wasn't the best suited for such a tight track, and in the early phase of the race a couple of uncharacteristic minor errors dropped the season 1 champion down to the rear of the field.

Just after half distance, Kurzheck succumbed to pressure and RichXM655's Cortina slipped into the lead, and while this was going on, meatball had got the hammer down on a recovery drive - overtaking Boozy's Alpine and then setting after the leading pair.

By the end of the race, Rich held on, just, taking the win by less than half a second.

Round 2 started in similar fashion, with cars 3-wide into druids on lap 1. Kurzheck took the lead early on and was able to build a small gap as RichXM655 and Meatball46 engaged in a long dice for second place. Meatball would nab second, briefly, into druids, but then RichXM655 would use the Cortina's superior cornering to hold on around the outside of the hairpin and retake the lead down into graham hill bend.

Eventually, an unforced error around lap 15 took the white car into the gravel at the exit of clearways allowing Meatball through cleanly. From that point on, it seemed the race was settled until another error, this time coming out of druids on the final lap, saw RichXM655 fully spin the car and lose third place to Boozy.

Coming away, the pairing of a win and a second place puts Kurzheck on top of the table, 9 points clear of RichXM655 in second place. Meatball is only one point behind, and boozy props up the table for now.

With two dropped scores in the championship, there's still all to play for, as any new entrants who race in all the remaining rounds have as much of a chance of taking the title as anyone else.

Next week, the focus will switch from roadgoing cars to brutal prototypes as the Can-Am series gets underway, bringing the thunder to Lime Rock. With another short track, coupled to fearsomely fast cars, the racing, once again, promises to be fast and intense.

(Many thanks to Kurzheck for the Race 2 photos. The full set can be seen here)

Round 1: Results

Position	Name	Finishing Time	Gap	Best Lap	Overall Points
1	RichXM655	19:17.639		57.882	30
2	Kurzheck	19:18.065	0.426	56.869	25
3	Meatball	19:18.523	0.884	56.56	20
4	Boozy	19:29.800	12.161	57.807	16

Round 2: Results

1	Kurzheck	19:12.576		56.068	30
2	Meatball	19:16.767	4.191	56.723	25
3	Boozy	19:29.559	16.983	55.979	20
4	RichXM655	19:35.291	22.721	57.835	16

Standings

Kurzheck	55
RichXM655	46
Meatball	45
Boozy	36