Megan Bruce displayed impressive racecraft and consistency with two fourth-place finishes at Brands Hatch, further establishing herself as a frontrunner in the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship.
Megan Bruce continued her excellent late-season form in the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship with a pair of fourth-place results at Brands Hatch. After finishing the first race of the weekend in tenth, Bruce displayed superb racecraft to finish fourth in race two after battling her way through the field. Leading the first lap of the final race, Megan raced among the leading group of drivers to once again finish in fourth, second among the drivers eligible for championship points.
Fresh off the back of an excellent previous round in the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship at Knockhill, Bruce was aiming for a return to the podium at Brands Hatch.
Competing on both the clockwise and anti-clockwise layouts north of the border, Megan displayed consistent front-running pace and this allowed her to step onto the podium while also leading a number of laps. The Brands Hatch Indy circuit would give equally good opportunities to utilise the powerful slipstream effect and thus the three races were set to be close and competitive.
Conditions for qualifying on Saturday morning were tricky with overcast skies and light rain which made the track damp, however it continued to dry during the session. Therefore, lap time improvements were consistent throughout qualifying and building momentum while finding optimum grip were vital to a good starting position. At the end of the twenty-minute session, Bruce had set the tenth fastest time but was just half a second away from a front row starting spot.
Lining up from the fifth row of the grid, it was a tough start to the race for Bruce who was shuffled back through the opening turns. However, she was able to fight back well and end lap one in 12th position. After losing out to Craig Storey on lap three, Megan immediately regained the position with the personal best final sector. She was now looking to regain her position inside the top-10 and overtook Rob Kennerley for 11th position on lap six.
The race amongst the top-10 drivers was extremely close during the middle portion of the race and the slipstream effect was proving powerful along the main straight especially. Bruce was able to utilise this to move into the top-10 with a pass on Craig Boyle, however the top-5 drivers had now broken clear of the field. Three laps later, the race was neutralised and this safety car period allowed Megan to regain touch with the leading drivers.
The race resumed for two final laps and although Bruce was unable to make up any further positions, she finished in tenth and was less than one second away from fourth position to underline the close nature of the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship.
Following her top-10 result in the opening race of the weekend, Bruce lined up from tenth for the second race on Saturday afternoon. Megan made an excellent start and was already gaining positions on the run down to Paddock Hill bend, before ending lap one in eighth position. Displaying good pace in the initial stages, Bruce moved ahead of James Emson at Graham Hill bend on lap three, before claiming sixth position over Nick Bryant on lap five.
Bruce was carrying significant momentum early in the race and after a nice overtake on Daniel Hope at Paddock Hill bend, she was inside the top-5 by the end of lap six. A pass on Zach Lower then followed and this elevated Megan into fourth position, now with a sizeable gap to the leading three drivers. Opening out a gap on the large pack of drivers behind was set to be a challenge, however a series of consistent times saw Bruce grow the margin in her mirror to over a second.
Bruce’s consistency was superb in the middle portion of the race and despite the drivers behind utilising the slipstream, they were also battling for position which allowed her to edge away further. Remaining in a strong fourth position, James Emson was starting to close the gap in the final stages of the race, however a spin for her rival on the entry to Clearways relieved the pressure. Megan was therefore able to secure a fine fourth position at Brands Hatch, second among the racers eligible for championship points with two guest drivers finishing ahead.
Grid positions for the third race of the weekend were based on the results from race two with Bruce lining up from fourth position. Conditions were much warmer for Sunday’s final contest which made tyre management important, together with the increased physicality.
Megan made a fantastic initial launch from the second row of the grid and challenged for the race lead into Paddock Hill bend. Bruce was in second position as the drivers exited Clearways, however she was able to utilise the slipstream to take the lead as the second lap began.
Bruce was one of three drivers fighting for the lead on lap two and although she dropped to third, the positions were changing corner-by-corner. Overtaking Ben Timmons on lap three, Megan was back into second position as the safety car was deployed to retrieve the stricken car of Graham Finlayson. When the race restarted, the drivers were spread out and this allowed Bruce to set the fastest lap of the race in pursuit of race leader Charlie Lower.
Now defending from Timmons, Bruce was able to hold off the championship leader for a number of laps before he moved ahead on lap eight. During the middle portion of the race, Megan was running solidly in a podium position, however the drivers behind were closing in by utilising the powerful slipstream.
On lap 12, Bruce was once again three-wide into Paddock Hill bend, with Harry George moving ahead of both Bruce and Timmons. This lost Megan some momentum and as a result, she was down to fifth position at the end of the lap.
After regrouping, Megan was moving forward once again and overtook Daniel Hope at Surtees for fourth position. Into the closing stages of the race, Bruce was battling hard with both Nick Bryant and Toby Boyes and did a superb job to initially hold position. Although Bryant moved ahead on lap 19, Bruce was able to re-pass her rival and hold fourth position to end a brilliant weekend of racing at Brands Hatch.
Megan ended the final race of the weekend as the second highest points scoring driver once again, underlining both her speed and consistency. The racecraft on display from Bruce over the course of the event was excellent and she has continued to assert herself as a consistent frontrunner in the Mission Motorsport Caterham 270R Championship.
It will be a quick turnaround for Bruce who is back in action in the GB4 Championship at Donington Park in less than one week.
It’s impressive how she managed to recover from a challenging start and show such consistent pace throughout the races. Her fourth-place finishes are a testament to her skill and racecraft.
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