TKC Live Brands Hatch

The SKCC had been invited along to Brands to show our faces at TotalKitCar Live. It's best described as mid-way between a kit car show & a disappointment. It's a sound idea, a race track is rented for the day & manufacturers rent pit-space so they can take prospective customers round the track. the public turns up to see the cars & watch the track action & everyone goes home happy.



SKCC area & erm another club's less densely packed area

Except that being November, It wasn't the ideal time of year & the public mostly stayed away in droves. It wasn't all bad news, the club met up at a golf club for the traditional full English & a very nice breakfast it was too.

I had taken Neil along for the ride (he of the "man cave") & after we were fed, we convoyed(ish) to the circuit, out allotted club stand was between the only other two clubs with a stand, the Kent & Essex kit car clubs, each of which had about five cars on. The SKCC rocked up with 30 & COMPLETELY filled our area.

Just gorgeous

I was going to leave the car uncovered, but thought better of it & put up the hood before walking down to the pits. There were some interesting cars there, a couple of Cobra replicas, the gorgeous GD T70 Moda, a few bike engine Furys, a Hayabusa powered Mini, a space-framed, GRP bodied, bubble-arch Escord MkI with the V8 made from two Hayabusa top ends & a new start-up Company called Ewens Sports Cars, wit a newly designed chassis which looked to be very well engineered in deed. Also Zenos were there with the pre-production E10, it's not a kit car, but it is very minimalist & again has very impressive engineering.

Lining up for the track action

Mean while cars were going round the track. It was wet, it was slippery & there were a few spins, but it was interesting to note that one of the fastest cars out was the 'busa powered front wheel drive Mini which was keeping up with the cobras (one of which sounded like the Wehrmacht was going past) without too much trouble, I guess when it's slippy torque is more of a hindrance than a help. Then it TIPPED with rain while Neil & I were talking with the man from Zenos. Due to the rain, no "real" customers were coming in so we chatted until it stopped, he seemed a really genuine guy who just wants to make a really good car.


Ear defenders at the ready!

Mmmmm GT40 & corners

 At last it was time for the "parade lap". By the time we'd wrestled the soft top back into it's stowed position we were last in the queue, but no matter. In front of us was a MkII Escort & a black seven, we all headed off behind the control car - obviously all hanging back to give some acceleration space. The parade followed the control car up & round the first bend & the seven held a beautiful drift, the Escort thought it'd try it's luck at the same trick & ended up 90deg to the track one way, then the other before he got a handle on it. It was slippery though, the back of the Fury jiggled a couple of times - easily controlled with a little opposite lock though.


So then it was time to go home. It was an enjoyable day, but for me only because the SKCC were out in force. Had I gone on my own, I could've seen it all in an hour which is a pity.



Zenos - impressive



THAT Escort