Ending the season with an Iberian adventure

And so we come to this, my final events of what has been an incredibly busy season. After two years of disruption and limited travel due to the pandemic, it seemed fitting to bring the curtain down on 2022 with a road trip around Europe.

On the schedule were two exciting race events – at Navarra in northern Spain followed by Portimão in southern Portugal. So we were in for quite a journey! We packed up our 1972 Winnebago Brave, hitched the trailer and loaded both my usual Cooper T53 and the new Brabham BT11A and set off: our destination, Navarra!

“At Navarra it would be my first time driving the new Brabham”

That was a weekend of firsts for me, as I’d never been to Navarra, and it would be my first time driving the new Brabham. Navarra, as it turns out, is brilliant! It combines very modern facilities with a demanding and technical track, which is a great blend. It’s no wonder MotorSport Vision boss Jonathan Palmer has just bought it – I have a suspicion it will start appearing on a lot of UK series calendars soon…

Adapting to the Brabham against my usual Cooper was a challenge. The suspension is much better so everything happens that bit quicker as you use the limits of the tyres more, and get close to the limits of grip faster. The Hewland gearbox is also lovely and light against the more bolt-action of the Cooper.

My debut didn’t go half badly. I put the Brabham on pole and won the first Historic Grand Prix Cars Association race, and then finished second to Rudi Friedrichs in the second after a great fight. Rudi’s a superb driver, and is always great to race against.

Sadly, Charlie Martin suffered a bearing failure in the gearbox of the T53, so didn’t score, but we got the car repaired in time to head down to Portimão – including a night camping in Madrid and a visit to the city’s excellent Prado Museum.

After a lengthy road trip, we arrived in Portimão for the Algarve Classic Festival, and my son Ben met us there as he’d brought our Cooper Monaco out for a play in the two-hour GT & Sports Car Cup race. Myself, Ben and Charlie all shared the Monaco, but it was the first time we’d raced it since we rebuilt the engine last year and we were a bit nervous about the fuel consumption. We’d calculated we’d brim it and should have a litre left at the end but, when running second, we ran dry halfway round the last lap! We were still classified third though.

Add in a podium each for the Brabham and the Cooper in the HGPCA races and as a team we enjoyed a trophy from every race!

Cue a long old drive back to Santander to catch the ferry, which was a fitting end to an endurance-themed day, and we completed what has been a memorable season.

Next for me is a drive down the Skeleton Coast through Angola and Namibia – to wind down rather than compete. See you on the other side!