Five winners going into Round 5 of the season makes Brands Hatch even more unpredictable
The thrilling 2022 Honda British Talent Cup season continues this weekend with action coming from the Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent, England. The titanic battle for supremacy will take place around the historic 3.9km venue, where leader in the standings Johnny Garness (MLav VisionTrack Academy) will hope he can continue his form, whilst second and third, teammate Carter Brown (MLav VisionTrack Academy) and Kiyano Veijer (Microlise Cresswell Racing), hope to close in.
With four race wins in the 2022 season so far, including two in the last three races, Garness has been in mighty form. Last year, he was on the podium at Brands Hatch and with six rostrums so far this season, he sports a 24-point lead in the standings. Having only failed to finish two races (Silverstone Race 1 and Knockhill Race 1), Garness has finished on the podium in all of the others and seems to have no intention of slowing down. Behind, Brown is also in good form with two wins in four races, as well as a podium last time out. A winner at Brands Hatch last year, Brown aims to close in on Garness for the lead. One point behind Brown, Dutch rider Kiyano Veijer is looking for a second win of the year, but he’s lost out compared to his rivals in recent races, with just one podium in the last five. He’ll be hoping to turn his form around and get back in the fight for the win.
Fourth place in the standings and with a win and a podium to his name, Harrison Dessoy (Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage), will be keen to close right in on the top three positions this weekend, having finished every race of the year. He didn’t race at Brands Hatch last year in the BTC, so whilst this will be a new experience for him, a competitive edge will see him in the battle. There’s then a 37-point gap back to American rider Julian Correa (Microlise Cresswell Racing), who is fifth overall and is ready for his Brands Hatch debut, aiming to return to the top six for the first time since Race 1 at Donington Park. Completing the top six, Ryan Hitchcock (City Lifting by RS Racing), like Dessoy, has finished every race of 2022 and aims to repeat his double top five finish from Brands Hatch last year.
Despite two podiums at the start of the season, Harrison Crosby (Banks Racing) hasn’t been able to return to the rostrum since. He heads to Brands Hatch, where he suffered a difficult round in 2021, hoping to fight back after an eighth place at Knockhill. Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing) has likewise been unfortunate in recent rounds and aims to be back in the top six at Brands Hatch. Ninth and tenth are Bailey Stuart-Campbell (Team 151s/Lextec) and Lucas Brown (SP125/Amphibian Scaffolding), both level on 54 points and both chasing a first podium of the year. Having won last time out at Knockhill, Evan Belford (City Lifting by RS Racing) will hope to continue making up for a difficult start to 2022, when he was out injured. He’s 17th in the standings but now back at full speed.
There are plenty of other riders to keep an eye on, particularly Sullivan Mounsey (Wilson Racing/J&S Accessories), who after returning at Donington Park, has been a firm feature at the front. A podium at Knockhill and looking certain for another in Race 2 before he crashed and took out Belford. Harrison Mackay (Wilson Racing/Super Soco) and Clayton Edmunds (MJL Racing) will also be riders to keep an eye on across the weekend at Brands Hatch.
Two 14-lap races await the 2022 BTC field, with Race 1 kicking off on Saturday at 14:05 local time (GMT+1), and Race 2 on Sunday also getting underway at 14:55 local time.
