Hand happy after career-best weekend at Cadwell Park

The Crawley-based teen is in his second season of racing in the junior formula, which caters for 14 to 17-year-olds and now runs with Westbourne Motorsport. They have also given him work experience in their workshops, as well as placing him on their driver development scheme following a successful 2019, his first racing cars.

After the qualifying session at Cadwell Hand he was second quickest and a mere 0.191 secs off pole position. “I got my fastest lap about three quarters into the session, then didn’t really get another clear lap after that,” he explained.

“Everything felt good really, maybe there were a couple of corners I could have improved on, but overall I was happy with that.”

As the lights went out he made an excellent start and led as they climbed the hill into Charlies. Both poleman Alex Solley and former champion Lewis Saunders were involved and on the second lap Solley sneaked ahead.

“I got a good start, just took off, but then Alex got a run on me into the Gooseneck,”Hand said.

Saunders closed in to threaten for second place, but Hand was still focussed on regaining his lost lead. “Alex made a mistake at the Gooseneck, touched the grass and ran wide, so I was back in the lead again,” he said.

But Saunders seized his chance too and for a couple of laps they ran nose to tail, barely inches apart. “I knew Lewis was there and knew he was going to try to get me,” he added.

It was into Charlies on lap seven that Hand was forced to surrender, but with the race red flagged early, he was still a clear second and only 0.866 secs away from a maiden victory. “It was close all the way and a great race for me,” he said.

For the second race he was third on the grid directly behind rival and race one winner Saunders. He managed to follow Saunders and slot into second place from the start and although he quickly consolidated his own place, he started to lose touch with the lead too.

“It was a good start again, better than I expected, but I made one mistake at the Gooseneck, he broke the tow and Lewis was gone,” he admitted.

The whole of the lead group became spread out fairly early into the race. “I pushed hard but need to look after the car with our next races at Croft this weekend. I just couldn’t catch Lewis though, but I finished the race clear second, my car intact, so I’ve got to be happy,” he added.