Kent kids get VIP treatment at Brands Hatch

Kids from a Kent school were today treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship paddock at Brands Hatch courtesy of current champions, Vauxhall.

The circuit will host the latest round of the UK’s most popular domestic championship this weekend and the kids – from Darenth Community Primary School – got a sneak preview from drivers, mechanics and organisers.

VX Racing’s Irish driver, Gavin Smith, was on hand to answer the children’s questions, which mainly revolved around how many times he had crashed the car and how fast he had been going at the time.

The group of 20 children was then escorted around the garage and team truck by squad members, who explained all the different roles within a touring car team.

“The chance for the children to come and see something like this is quite an inspiration,” said the Green Street school’s head teacher, Simon Manning. “An environment like this is where it really happens. The maths they do at school, the technology and design – they can see where it all fits in. This brings their lessons to life.”

Zoe Thomson, 10, from Darenth, has previous racing experience after entering a karting competition with the school last year. “I sometimes watch racing on the television with my dad and it doesn’t look too hard!” she said. “Last year we had to build a go-kart from a car kit and then race it. We didn’t do very well but I really enjoyed it. We actually got to race the cars ourselves which was loads of fun.”

Zoe and her classmates were allowed to see the workings of a race-winning touring car, which is built from scratch in VX Racing’s Banbury-based factory.

“It was very different from how I expected it to be,” said Zoe, after her first experience of a professional racing paddock. “The whole car was just one big engine. I thought it would be like a normal car.”

Smith, from Dublin, will be hoping to go one better than his second-place finish at Knockhill three weeks ago when he races this weekend. “Brands Hatch is my kind of circuit,” said the 28-year-old, who finished in the top seven for all three races of the opening round at the Kent Circuit last April. “It’s twisty and technical and allows you to really take advantage of the car. I think the fans are in for some fierce racing this weekend.”