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Sport

Nathan Heathcote narrowly misses out on Sanwa Trophy double at Brands Hatch Mini Festival

By: Dan Wright dwright@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 08:42, 06 August 2024

Updated: 09:28, 06 August 2024

Mini racer Nathan Heathcote narrowly missed out on a stunning double win at Brands Hatch more than a year after he last drove the car.

The 27-year-old from Pluckley stormed to victory in the first Sanwa Trophy event on Sunday, leading from lights to flag at the circuit's 12th Mini Festival.

Nathan Heathcote, from Pluckley, finished first and second in the two Sanwa Trophy Pre-66 races. This was the closest anyone got to the former rallycross star in race one. Picture: Simon Hildrew

He was on course to repeat the result in race two but damaged steering meant Joe Ferguson was able to pass the 2017 British Rallycross champion on the penultimate lap.

Heathcote held on to claim second, finishing ahead of British Touring Car Championship race winner Adam Morgan in a quality 34-car field made up exclusively of Pre-66 Minis.

The meeting marked the former Ginetta racer's first outing since Historics on the Hill at Lydden Hill last June.

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"It's always fun getting out in the Minis, especially after not doing it for a year, and it was really good to put it on pole and take a lights-to-flag win in the first race," Heathcote said.

"The second one was a hell of a race, but I just got pipped at the end.

Heathcote and Nick Swift of Swiftune Engineering at the Sanwa Trophy podium. Swift, whose company powered 41 Minis at the event, thanked daughter Georgie for organising the races, which attracted a 34-car grid. Picture: Andy Gamble (Drive By Shooting)
Heathcote led race two of the Sanwa Trophy but was passed on the penultimate lap by Joe Ferguson. Picture: Simon Hildrew

"He [Ferguson] drove really well, I can't take that away from him, but my steering column must have been bent.

"The tracking was all out and I got caught up with loads of backmarkers at the wrong time, so that's how he managed to pull me in so quickly."

Heathcote was barely challenged in the first event but dropped to fourth on the opening lap of race two.

The ASM Classics-run racer returned to top-spot on the third lap when he dived up the inside of Ferguson at Druids, but contact between the pair at the hairpin damaged Heathcote's steering.

He held the lead until the penultimate tour when his Essex-based rival found a way through at Graham Hill Bend after the pair had run side-by-side through Paddock Hill Bend and Druids.

Matthew Page, from Cranbrook, finished sixth and eighth in the two Sanwa Trophy Pre-66 races. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Aimee Watts, from Tonbridge, finished 12th and 13th in the two Sanwa Trophy Pre-66 races, watched by her dad, former British Touring Car Championship racer Patrick. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Mini master Bill Sollis, from Hildenborough, finished seventh in the second Sanwa Trophy race in Nick Paddy’s unique Mini Van. Picture: Simon Hildrew

Heathcote says he does not plan to use his Bill Sollis-built car again this year "unless another all-Mini race pops up".

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Tenterden-based Swiftune Engineering, which built Heathcote's 1,293cc engine, organised the two Sanwa Trophy races - eight years after the contest was last held.

Star drivers included Freddie Hunt, son of 1976 Formula 1 world champion James, and former British GT champion Mike Jordan, along with competitors from Germany and France.

Company boss Nick Swift, who lent Jordan his pre-66 Mini for the weekend, says the event could return to the Mini Festival next year "if the interest is still there".

"Instead of doing it as an endurance race with a pit stop like we've done before, we changed it to two 20-minute sprints to keep it simple for the spectators," Swift said.

Former British Touring Car Championship racer Ian Curley, from Laddingford, finished sixth, seventh and third in the three Mini Miglia races. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Aaron Smith, from Larkfield, endured a difficult weekend in the Mini Miglias, taking 12th and two fifth-place finishes. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Arnold Duncan, from Lydd, scored two fifth-place finishes and an 11th in the Mini Se7en S class. He’s leading Matthew Page, from Cranbrook, who scored a best result of second in the category. Hamstreet’s Phil Anning, of Annings Race and Restoration, took a podium finish in race three aboard his newly built car. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Spencer Wanstall, from Sheerness, scored two sixth-place finishes and a seventh in the Mini Se7en races. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Rob Perry, from Maidstone, finished 14th and 15th in the S class of the Mini Se7en races. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Warren Salter, from Maidstone, tried his Retro Rallycross Mini Clubman for the first time but suffered mechanical dramas in the Fastest Mini in the World event. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Giles Page, from Rolvenden, finished ninth and 10th, but retired from race one, in the S class of the Mini Se7en category. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Aaron Smith, from Larkfield, finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the Mini Se7en races when not handling his Mini Miglia. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Bertie Woollard, from Goldenhurst, finished eighth, 10th and 11th in the S class of the Mini Se7en races. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Harvey Death spits flame on his way to winning the two Fastest Mini in the World races in his Mini Cooper S V8. Brookland-based Mini favourite Bill Richards withdrew from the event after gearbox failure in testing. Picture: Simon Hildrew
Jeff Smith, Endaf Owens and Nick Padmore battled it out for the lead in the final Mini Miglia race, with Owens taking the win. Picture: Simon Hildrew

"We promote clean, competitive, fast racing and it's gone really well. I think there's a resurgence in people's interest in historic racing again, which is mega.

"We could potentially increase it as the European drivers we've got here are hungry for a round in Europe."

Brands Hatch will host Festival Italia on Sunday, with racing from Ferraris and Alfa Romeos. Adult tickets cost £25 in advance or £29 on the gate, with children under 13 going free.

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