24/06/06 » Snetterton » Title hopes are kept alive with a second place finish

Quickest in Friday testing, it looked as if the hours that the team had put in to the new Suzuki engine had paid off. Qualifying for race one, however, was not so successful, with a drying track making tyre choice difficult. Out on wets, Brett maintained P2 until the dying moments of the session, when slick tyres became significantly quicker, dropping him to P5.

Qualifying for race two was a step in the right direction. P2 but only 0.1 of a second away from pole, indicating that the now Suzuki engined car was capable of challenging for race wins.

Race one saw Brett making a rapid start, turning 5th on the grid into 2nd at the first corner! The chase was then on for the lead, lapping quicker than anyone else on track, Brett made his move on lap 4. Forcing his way down the inside into turn 1, Brett came out in the lead, which was unfortunately short lived.

“… The leader had squeezed me onto the grass whilst I was attempting to out-brake him, which meant when I came to the next corner I had no grip whatsoever. Massive understeer caused me to run wide off the circuit, dropping me to 3rd…”

Still lapping the quickest of anyone, it was only two more laps until he was back up to 2nd. Brett continued to close down on the leader, but eventually ran out of laps in which to fight back, coming across the line P2, his best finish of the season. It was on the slow down lap however, where disaster struck. A loud bang and an outbreak of fire lead Brett to make an early and swift exit from the car! It is thought that the new Suzuki had suffered from oil surge. The blow up meant that Brett was unable to take up his 2nd position on the grid for race two, with significant fire damage to the car, and a new engine required for the next round at Cadwell Park.