Palmer leads battle of the Brits at Brands Hatch
F2 drivers go head-to-head in karting showdown
The FIA Formula Two Championship may not arrive at Brands Hatch
until next weekend (18/19 July), but the competition between
British drivers has been hotting up with a pre-race karting battle
at the Kent circuit.
Formula Two drivers Henry Surtees, Alex Brundle, Jolyon Palmer
and 'honorary Brit' Edoardo Piscopo were joined by WTCC ace Rob
Huff as they took to the 280 metre track - which is a replica of
the Brands Hatch Indy circuit - for a one-hour team endurance
challenge with members of the media.
18-year-old Jolyon, who is the son of ex-F1 driver and 1983 F2
champion Jonathan Palmer, took overall honours after 'Team Palmer'
completed 167 laps of the circuit. Jolyon also set a new lap
record, navigating the karting circuit in 19.000s.
'Team Huff' narrowly missed out on victory, finishing in second
place after also completing 167 laps: "Most of us drivers began in
karting, so it's great to come back to where we started out," said
Huff. "Motorsport gives you the chance to really get people
involved in what we do and my team, Michelle from the News of the
World and Jonathan from Yahoo! Eurosport, performed really
well."
Although they led the challenge early on, 'Team Piscopo'
finished in third position after becoming the victim of some rather
humorous underhand tactics. During a driver change between F2 pilot
Edoardo and Kent on Sunday journalist Tom Howard, Alex Brundle
jumped into the Team Piscopo kart and drove it off the track!
'Team Brundle' finished in fourth
position, ahead of 'Team Surtees' who managed 163
laps despite having to change karts during the race due to a
technical problem.
All four F2 racers will be hoping home advantage comes into play
as they go go head-to-head against the likes of Red Bull
Junior Team's Robert Wickens and current championship leader Andy
Soucek when Formula Two arrives at Brands Hatch next weekend.