Stars of the future

Today's day out was at Brands Hatch, for the end of the A1 Grand Prix season. For the un-initiated, it's a great viewer spectacle, with all the cars identical and the set-ups almost identical too. That makes for great, open racing, a fair bit of wheel-to-wheel action and a real emphasis on driver skill.

To indicate, this was taken under race conditions exiting Druids Hairpin:
On the right, eventual winner Nico Hulkenberg from Team Germany. Only 18, but already being managed by Willi Webber (who found 2 brothers by the name of Schumacher), I don't reckon it'll be long before he tells his Dad to stuff the forklift driver's job and starts setting Formula 1 alight.
On the left, Robbie Kerr from Team GB. Robbie won the Sprint Race and finished second in the Feature Race. Another name to note.

Brands is a really good circuit, with plenty of twists and turns enabling you to see a lot of the action. You can get really close to the track (bring earplugs!) and wander around until all the little ginger kids are sunburnt and heading for the shade. Here's the outside of Druids Hairpin:

My favourite photo point has to be the inside of Surtees, where you get about 7 metres away from the cars zipping round a sweeping uphill left hander:

There was a full day of racing, with amateurs & enthusiasts (£10k a season to race the Ginettas - and apparently no upper weight limit, as I saw some of the fattest blokes to ever squeeze into a race car!!), and plenty more young stars of the future. I saw Alex Brundle (son of) racing in the Formula Palmer race, and here's Jolyon Palmer (son of - with the Bedford Aerodrome Palmersport track in his back garden, you kind of knew how he was going to grow up!) overtaking up Hawthorn Hill to claim second: