RACING REPORTS

BRANDS HATCH: MGCC BY GRAHAM KEILLOH APRIL 24-25

WILLIAMS OVERCOMES TROUBLE FOR A WINNING BRACE

Mike Williams winning MG Cup races is not a surprise, but his two wins at Brands Hatch were not simple. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to take part at all due to technical problems with his Metro.And then, once arrived, he had two close battles with Morgan Short, son of racer and team boss Martin, just upgraded to a frontrunning MG ZS 180.

In race one Williams had to pass Short twice, as his first overtake was negated by countback after a red flag caused by Ian Boulton hitting the Surtees barriers and rolling. Then in race two Williams after a mid-distance spin had to recover the lead from Short, who was impeded by a fuel shortage.

“We had so many issues with the car, because of the new regs I’ve had to downgrade to a standard engine,” said Williams. “It was just an awful week waiting to happen and all of a sudden it’s become fantastic. It’s still buzzing me.”

The MG Metro Cup, which shared the track with the MG Cup, provided plenty of its own drama. Its top three runners came together at race one’s restart, leaving Phil Goodwin leading. He soon though pulled off when his car lost drive.

Tim Shooter inherited first, while a fast-recovering Mark Eales – one of the trio in the restart contretemps – spun out of second on fluid on the last lap. Shooter won the second race too after passing David Javes.

Oliver Sharp won both Triple M Challenge races for pre-war machines in his MG N Type Magnette. The first win was dramatic as leader Tony Seber spun at Surtees on the final lap, letting the closely pursuing Sharp