01/10/06 » Thruxton » A runaway victory and lap record for Parris at his home race

The pressure was most certainly on the up and coming 17 year old, Thruxton being Brett’s most local circuit, and one of the biggest meetings of the year for the Formula Jedi series, supporting the last round of the British Formula 3 Championship.

Qualifying in the wet was a daunting task, having never properly driven the circuit before, due to no testing being available. “The only opportunity I’d had to see the track was in my road car on an arrive and drive day, which didn’t really compare to the speed of the Jedi!” In spite of this, Brett got to grips with the circuit immediately and held pole position throughout the qualifying session. The track then proceeded to dry in the lead up to the race.

A disastrous start saw him drop to 10th, but over the next five laps Brett produced his best drive of the season. He was picking off the drivers in front with no hesitation whatsoever, culminating in an impressive lunge for the lead into Campbell corner. From then on he began setting a blistering pace, carving his way through backmarkers and increasing his lead to five seconds. The last few laps were nail biting for the driver and team, as it began to rain on the far side of the circuit. Brett continued to drive a mature race in the tricky conditions and maintained his lead to the finish, taking the lap record on his way, setting an amazing average speed of 112mph.