Brands Hatch, 15 August, 2021

The annual Festival Italia meeting was held at Brands Hatch on Sunday 15th August, attracting a wide variety of both two and four wheel Italian machinery to the Kent circuit. Fortunately most of the day had reasonable ambient temperatures with intermittent sun and cloud, with only a very short light sprinkling of rain during the first F1 demonstration run around midday.

The seven race programme featured practice and qualifying sessions during the morning, with two races each for the Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship, the Pirelli Formula Classic series, the Ferrari Club Racing series and a single race for the HRDC Classic Alfa Challenge series. Entries for the Ferrari Club Racing series were a little thin on the ground, numbering only seven, the Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic was healthier with 13 entries, whilst the Alfa Romeo races attracted 26 starters in the HRDC Classic group and 29 in the Championship group, quite a large number, and equally variety, of cars on the compact Indy circuit.

There was some good close racing throughout the fields, which all featured different classes, so it wasn’t just a battle for the overall win, but also for class honours. Fortunately there were few incidents, the longest delay being during the first Ferrari Club Racing race, when Christopher Compton-Goddard planted his 458 Challenge car in the tyre wall at Paddock Hill Bend, necessitating lengthy repair work to the walls before the race could be restarted. Apart from the races there were also two periods for F1 demonstration runs, plus a historic Abarth demonstration parade, whilst the day came to a close with an Italian Car & Bike Owners’ Parade.

There was also plenty to see off-track, with display from Italian car and motorcycle clubs spread along the service road behind the main start-finish straight and on the adjacent grassland. For fans of the “Cavallino Rampante” there was a broad range of predominantly modern examples, similarly so with the “Raging Bulls” (aka Lamborghini), which is probably what pushes the buttons most of youngsters today. Abarth was also well represented, as apart from the previously mentioned historic element which were displayed behind the main grandstand when not doing their demonstration laps, there was a virtual sea of the current Fiat 500 based models, in a wide variety of colours and configurations. Add in offerings from Alfa Romeo, De Tomaso, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati and the motorcycles and motor scooters from the likes of Aprilia, Laverda, Moto Guzzi and MV Agusta, together with trade stands and eateries, then there was plenty to occupy the day.


Race Podiums

Race 1 – Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship (Race 1)
1st – #57, Barry McMahon, Alfa Romeo 156
2nd – #34, George Osborne, Alfa Romeo 75
3rd – #5, Graham Seager, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

Race 2 – Ferrari Club Racing (Race 1)
1st – #5, Peter Smith, Ferrari 488 Challenge
2nd – #60, Wayne Marrs, Ferrari 488 Challenge
3rd – #6, Doug Watson, Ferrari 458 Challenge

Race 3 – Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic (Race 1)
1st – #60, Wayne Marrs, Ferrari F355 Challenge
2nd – #73, Tim Walker, Ferrari F355 Challenge
3rd – #46, Tristan Simpson, Ferrari F355 Challenge

Race 4 – HRDC Classic Alfa Challenge
1st – #16, James Colburn, Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT
2nd – #55, Ben Colburn, Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina
3rd – #75, James Wright, Alfa Romeo 75

Race 5 – Ferrari Club Racing (Race 2)
1st – #60, Wayne Marrs, Ferrari 488 Challenge
2nd – #54, Nigel Jenkins, Ferrari 458 Challenge
3rd – #5, Peter Smith, Ferrari 488 Challenge

Race 6 – Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship (Race 2)
1st – #57, Barry McMahon, Alfa Romeo 156
2nd – #34, George Osborne, Alfa Romeo 75
3rd – #5, Graham Seager, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

Race 7 – Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic (Race 2)
1st – #60, Wayne Marrs, Ferrari F355 Challenge
2nd – #34, Gary Culver, Ferrari 328 GTB
3rd – #46, Tristan Simpson, Ferrari F355 Challenge


Keith Bluemel
08/2021.