Brands Hatch Classic Festival summary

Mansell Takes Brands Hatch Lap Record - 38.032s   Monday 24th May 2004, EuroBOSS Press Office:  In the feature race of the csma Classic Festival, 18 year old Scott Mansell became the fastest racer ever to lap the Indy circuit, driving his Zig Zag Benetton Judd V10 majestically around the twists and turns of the Kent circuit to secure the lap record by almost 0.2seconds. Mexican Adrian Fernandez set the previous record in last years' ChampCar World Series race, and the impressive Mansell had clearly set his sights on this achievement, spurred on by a crowd of over 40,000.   He set a blistering pace from the start; putting together a string of sub-39 second laps but lap four was the flyer as he once again demonstrated maturity well beyond his years.   Already this season Scott has broken the lap record at two other classic British circuits, Silverstone national and Donington Park. At only 18 years old, Scott is still the youngest ever driver to win a competitive race in a Formula One car.   Behind Scott, and partly assisted by the introduction of the pace car as a result of debris on the track, an intriguing battle developed for second place between Paul Smith in a Simtek Ford HB V8 and Anthony Hansford in a Footwork Arrows. The pair tussled round the track, with Hansford keeping the pressure on Smith, right up until they crossed the line, with less than 0.5 seconds between them.   Winner and lap recorder holder Scott Mansell:
"The team has worked extremely hard all weekend to make this a possibility. We knew that the weather and the car were right for a record attempt and that we should go for it in the early laps, whilst the tyres were at their best. It is a fantastic achievement to break the lap record by 0.2 of a second and I would like to thank my family, team mates and sponsors Zig Zag for making this possible. With every race I am starting to get the best out of the Benetton Judd."   Paul Smith:
"I am very satisfied with second place and my overall performance, perhaps it's the huge crowd that has spurred me on. The csma festival is a very special occasion and it has brought out the best in me, hopefully I can build on this performance as the season develops. I knew that Hansford was close but there were areas on the track where our Simtek had a distinct advantage and I made good use of them."

-euroboss-