Team F4V Media Release –
• Second event of Legends season mix of highs and lows for Team F4V
• Best race finish of P10 for Nathan Anthony in Heat One of Rd4
• Horley driver thanks friends, family and sponsors for local support
Sun-kissed Brands Hatch was the venue for six action-packed Legends Cars Championship and Elite Cup races over the weekend, 11th/12th May, where Team F4V driver Nathan Anthony emerged with a best result of 10th and departed the track second in the Masters class standings.
Day one was a mixed bag for the Horley racer, with two mid-pack finishes in the round three Heats followed by a luckless retirement in the Final. In the latter, Nathan started on the sixth row and aimed to make good progress but on the very first lap a parts failure triggered retirement.
Rewind to the beginning of Saturday’s track time, Nathan showed good pace in qualifying practice and in the ballot draw for race one he took 10th on the grid. Slipping a couple of positions on the first lap, the No.29 Se-Van was back into 11th within the next two laps but Nathan had to ultimately settle for 14th place at the chequered flag on lap 10 after a busy battle in the pack.
Starting Heat Two 13th on the grid, he delivered an improved 12th position result – a mere three thousandths of a second shy of 11th on the sprint to the chequered flag at the end of 10 laps. Racing well throughout, the First 4 Vans, Towergate Insurance, Blue Lizard, Blue Chip Warranty, Creative Funding Solutions, Moove and Mowermate supported driver was happy with the performance.
Sunny skies were in evidence again for Sunday and Heat One of round four produced Team F4V’s best result of the weekend. Beginning the race seventh, Nathan raced well and although edged back to ninth on the first lap he moved back into eighth before the Safety Car had to be deployed due to Lenny Woodcock’s car becoming stuck in the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend.
At the resumption on lap nine he maintained a top eight placing just behind reigning champion Will Gibson, but on the run to Druids on lap 11 the Se-Van was held out wide and Nathan was shuffled back to 10th as a result, where he ended the elongated 13-lap contest.
Heat Two, shown live on ITV4 and ITVX, would require a terrific fight through the order with Nathan starting 20th on the grid. Rising to the occasion, and delivering a couple of fantastic opening laps, he avoided any drama and gained no fewer than nine positions to knock on the door of the top 10.
Breaking into 10th on lap three, the yellow and blue Se-Van was right in the thick of the action and even though elbowed back a couple of places on the fourth tour Nathan’s pace meant he could certainly try and hit back. After running slightly wide at Clark Curve on lap seven, though, he was pitched into a spin across the track. Thankfully recovering safely, he took the finish in 24th.
The round four Final was also shown on ITV4 and ITVX but the dramatic encounter didn’t deliver as Nathan had hoped. Starting 12th on the grid, he had to take swift avoiding action at the second corner, Druids, due a multi-car tangle. Taking to the gravel on the outside, he smartly managed to rejoin over the grass on the exit but dropped to 18th as a result. The race was red flagged to allow clearance of the stricken cars and in the re-started contest Nathan had to settle for 17th.
Nathan Anthony:
“It’s definitely been a mixed weekend for us, we had some good pace but there was a bit of misfortune in the races and we didn’t really deliver on the potential as a result. There was some good, fun racing – and it’s always great to be racing at Brands – but we did lose a lot of points with the non-finish on Saturday and then the last couple of races on Sunday.
“We’ll be back at Brands for the next two rounds in a few weeks, so I’m aiming for a much more consistent weekend then. We’re still second in the Masters and although we have lost some ground in the overall championship, it could have been worse!”
Brands Hatch will host the fifth and sixth rounds of the Legends Cars Championship season over the weekend 8th/9th June. In terms of the Legends Cars Elite Cup, the final two rounds of that series will take place in August at Knockhill in Scotland, running alongside the BTCC.
Legends Cars Championship and Elite Cup Standings (after Rd4):
14th Nathan Anthony, 680pts
