Race Report: CMMCS Season Opener at Brands Hatch

The new season started exactly as the old one finished, around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on April 4/5th 2026.

Qualifying

It was a cool start to the weekend, with the occasional drizzle hanging in the air. With only a ten-minute qualifying session to open the season, getting out quickly and straight on the pace would be paramount. Things would initially go according to plan, with the Team HORNET Renault Megane emerging from the pit lane at the very head of the pack, with plenty of clear air ahead to work with.

This, however, would prove to be a frustrating session. It would quickly become apparent that al was not well aboard the #41 Megane, which was experiencing gear selection issues. Fourth gear was proving difficult to find in its H-pattern gearbox, with a positive movement of the gear lever being greeted with neutral. With little time to diagnose the issues out on track, or develop a strategy to drive around the issue, the best time achieved was a 56.206, the best part of a second off what the car is known to be capable of.

This would be enough to secure pole position in class T1, and second place overall in the Production Saloons entries. The #41 would line up fifth on the grid when combined with the Super Saloons.

Race One

Prior to the first race, the gear shift mechanism was changed inside the cockpit. It was hoped that this would remedy the gear selection issues faced in qualifying, but the proof would only come when the lights went out.

From fifth, the Megane would immediate drop behind the rapid starting Super Saloon of Colin Claxton in his #86 Ford Escort, which surged through to second place overall from the third row of the grid by the time the pack arrived at Paddock Hill Bend. As for those gear selection issues, it quickly became apparent that the changes made prior to the race had not had the desired impact, and places were lost to Martin Reynolds' #27 Ford Escort Super Saloon, Steve Dann's #34 VW Polo Super Saloon (that would retire moments later with a blown fuse), Nick Proudlock's #71 Subaru Impreza Super Saloon, and Adrian Matthews' #132 Volvo C30 Production Saloon.

Slowly, though, a method of driving round the absent gear began to develop, and the lap times began to drop into the mid 55-second region. As the Team HORNET machine began to approach the pack once more, there was drama up ahead. Neal Gardiner, leading the Production Saloons in his #188 class T2 Honda Civic, suffered a spectacular exit as an oil leak sent plumes of smoke across the track at Clearways.

This put Team HORNET into second overall in the Production Saloons, right on the tail of the #132 machine of Adrian Matthews. at the start of lap 13, a gap opened up on the inside for Paddock Hill Bend, and through went the Renault. Almost immediately, an opportunity into Druids presented itself for an attack on Nick Proudlock's #71 Subaru Impreza Super Saloon, the move completed at Graham Hill Bend despite Proudlock's best efforts in defence.

Ahead lay Colin Claxton in his fast-starting Escort, which had faded as the race wore on due to a developing misfire. With three laps to go, a defensive move by Claxton into Graham Hill Bend compromised his exit onto the Cooper Straight, allowing the #41 Megane to cut underneath and draw level, securing the position at Surtees.

Team HORNET would complete the race in fifth position in the combined field, and was the first Production Saloon home.

Race Two

Knowing what was going to happen with regards to the poorly gear shifts made the start of the race somewhat simpler than the earlier affair. The start was considerably more controlled than before, with the #41 holding position and staying with the pack to begin with. At the start of lap four, an opportunistic lunge at Paddock Hill Bend saw the Team HORNET Renault vault past Sean Fairweather's #74 Ford Sierra Cosworth Super Saloon, taking full advantage of the slick tyres taking a while to fully come up to temperature and pressure. Sadly, this would only last a couple of laps before the power of the Ford saw it blast back past, accompanied by the rapid #34 VW Polo Super Saloon of Steve Dann.

What followed was a four car scrap against Fairweather, Dann and Matthews in his #132 Volvo C30 Production Saloon. The four-car scrap was never separated by much, and positions would regularly swap between them as cars held each other up attempting passes, only to find themselves falling behind.

In the end, the powerful Super Saloons were able to secure their position at the front of the fight, with Fairweather leading Dann home, ahead of the Team HORNET Megane and Matthews' Volvo. The race would finish with Team Hornet in sixth place when combined with the Super Saloons, again the first-placed Production Saloon.

Team HORNET's next race will be in the Classic Sports Car Club's Fox Transport Turbo Tin Tops series at Malory Park on April 18th, with the next round of the CMMCS Production Saloons scheduled for May 23rd