Champions put on a show at eventful Brands Hatch Mini Festival

Past champions came to the fore in the Mini Miglia triple-header at last weekend’s annual Mini Festival at Brands Hatch as Kane Astin, Ian Curley and Aaron Smith shared the race wins between them in a trio of typically entertaining races.

An untidy qualifying session had helped former Super Mighty Minis racer Elliot Stafford claim pole for the first race, but he was immediately relegated to sixth on the opening tour as 2015 champion Astin swept into the lead ahead of title rivals Curley, Smith and Rupert Deeth.

The lead quartet, who were later joined in battle by series returnee Sam Summerhayes, then indulged in a characteristic close tussle before Curley and Deeth tangled at Graham Hill Bend on lap 14 of 20. Deeth dropped back to fifth in the aftermath, but the incident proved more costly for Curley as incurred accident damage ultimately led to a puncture and retirement. The clash also relieved the pressure on Astin, who duly went on to seal victory, while Smith also benefited as he took the runner-up spot ahead of a recovering Deeth.

Double champion Curley made amends in race two, leading from start to finish after fending off Smith, Astin and Summerhayes. Four-time title winner Smith looked set to record another second place, only for Summerhayes to snatch the position with a last-lap lunge at Clearways. Astin followed through to grab third from Smith as the trio charged towards the flag.

Eager to make up for that frustration, Smith quickly made his way to the front of the race-three field and held off the battling Astin and Deeth – the latter having been forced to charge through from the back of the grid after his car broke down on race two’s formation lap – for the remainder of the race to claim the win.

The lead battles were just as fierce in the trio of Mini Se7en encounters, although caution periods and red flags did disrupt the racing across the weekend. Damien Harrington emerged the victor in the opener after sweeping past Ross Billison on the run down towards Graham Hill Bend on the second tour.

Series leader Spencer Wanstall claimed his first success of the year in a hectic race two ahead of Harrington, while Billison withstood a last-lap challenge from Bradley Jordan to take third in a race where any one of them could have emerged victorious. An excursion into the Paddock gravel dropped Harrington to 10th in the finale, but a race stoppage came to his aid and enabled him to bounce back and defeat Billison once more.

Safety car interruptions also affected the first Sanwa Trophy contest for pre-’66 Minis as 2017 British Rallycross champion Nathan Heathcote took the spoils in his 1965 Mini Cooper ahead of Phil Bullen-Brown. Third place was taken by Historic Formula 1 ace Nick Padmore in his Cooper S after a wiring loom problem had caused his car to cut out during qualifying.

Heathcote repeated his achievement again in the sequel as he led home Padmore, while Bullen-Brown eventually secured third having been frustrated trying to find a way past Summerhayes for much of the 21-lap race.

A heaving entry list of pre-’66 Minis also meant a standalone 30-minute race was held – thanks to the efforts of Mini racing stalwart Nick Swift – to recognise the 50th anniversary of the Mini Spares industry. Heathcote led Bullen-Brown in the early stages before the race was neutralised after Giles Page (Cooper S) rolled spectacularly at Paddock. Despite the car sustaining extensive damage, Page was miraculously unhurt.  

After racing resumed, Heathcote lost over 10 seconds at the compulsory pitstops after stalling, which enabled Scott Kendall – who had taken over Bullen-Brown’s Mini at the stops – to run out a comfortable victor ahead of the Cooper S of father-and-son duo Stephen and Alfie Woodrow. Third place was taken by a brave Matt Page, who admitted his father’s shunt had been an understandable distraction during the race.

Neven Kirkpatrick made a successful comeback to Mighty Minis racing by winning the first of two bouts held across the weekend after defeating brother David and championship leader Olly Samways. A blistering start from the third row helped Samways take the race-two spoils as Neven Kirkpatrick claimed second ahead of a delighted James Jenkins.

The new threat to the established Fastest Minis in the World

Howell was able to get the better of established frontrunner Death in race one

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

In four of the previous five ‘Fastest Mini in the World’ events at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival, Harvey Death has been the driver to beat at the wheel of his 360bhp V8 Cooper S, while other victors in the recent past have included Richard Billingham in his two-litre Vauxhall Astra VXR, turbo-powered Austin Mini Clubman and Bill Richards in his venerable Maguire Mini Duratec.

However, since 2024, all three former winners have faced a new challenger in the form of a Honda K20-powered Austin Mini Seven, a car prepared and engineered by Pete Crudgington and driven by Classic Sports Car Club Swinging Sixties racer Matthew ‘Ollie’ Howell.

The duo, who have a successful history of their own having been a winner at this Fastest Mini event in 2004 at Silverstone at the wheel of a Mini Marcos MkVI, enjoyed a solid debut with their new machine at Brands last year, recording two runner-up placings in the car’s first outing since Crudgington purchased it over five years ago.

“When we acquired the car from James Dunkley, it was originally a rolling shell and came equipped with a Honda B-Series engine,” Crudgington explained. “But we switched to the Honda K20 unit, prepared by DY Engine Services, not only to develop the power, but to improve the rigidity.

“The car is now capable of pulling around 300bhp, meaning it can reach speeds of up to 130mph on the Brabham Straight here at Brands.

“Together with my sons, who are also engineers, we have designed the suspension, carbon and 3D scanning on the car and shortened the rear wing, so it has been a real family effort to get the car to this standard.”

Car tweaks enabled Death to regain the upper hand in the second contest

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

The immediate performance was evident at the Mini Festival last year, when Howell outqualified Death until teething problems forced them to give best in the races.

“Ollie led the first 12 laps [of race one] and was battling with Harvey for the lead, but we later discovered we had an engine problem which meant we lost close to 100bhp,” Crudgington added. “We always learn more about the car from two 15-minute races across a weekend rather than just working on the engine on the dyno.”

Changes for 2025 appeared to have the desired effect when Howell again qualified on pole for the opening race last weekend and went on to claim a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Death and Richards, suggesting the “gremlin” from 2024 had been eradicated.

“It’s an easy car to drive and damn good fun,” Howell remarked. “The car has no power steering so it can be quite physical on your shoulders, though. Everything happens so fast and the closing speed can catch you out, so you have to be aware.”

Tweaks to the suspension and gearbox helped Death get the better of Howell in the second race but, as the event continues to gather interest both domestically and from abroad, the future of the race appears secure and the Howell/Crudgington partnership and their ‘Special K’ Austin Mini Seven looks set to remain a contender in the coming years.