Team USA Scholarships

Barrett, Miller Come to Grips with Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch England (October 26, 2007)-by Jeremy Shaw

Team USA Scholarship winners Patrick Barrett and Joel Miller today took part in a test day at the challenging Brands Hatch Indy circuit in preparation for this weekend's opening three rounds of the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy.

The two Californian teenagers gained a brief taste of the undulating 1.2-mile track on Wednesday, turning a few laps at the wheel of some school cars, but today marked their first experience driving the 300-horsepower FPA cars.

"A major learning experience," was how Barrett, 18, from Los Osos, Calif., described his day.

"We had to do triple duty," added Miller, 19, from Hesperia, Calif. "Learn the track, the car and the conditions. Everybody else has been doing this all season, so we are definitely behind the eight-ball, but we both definitely enjoyed the day and we're looking forward to the weekend."

In cool but thankfully dry conditions, the pair accomplished most of their goals during three half-hour sessions, which were punctuated by frequent red flags but were otherwise uneventful for the Americans.

"I just wanted to get out there and learn the track, get some experience, and make sure I progressed in every session. Those were my goals for the day," said Miller, "and I was able to accomplish those. The cars are very physical. It's a real work-out around here, but everything went well."

"We were able to somewhat find the limit of the cars," reckoned Barrett. "I think when we get better tires tomorrow [the test session was conducted on old rubber], we'll be much better off.

"This track is the Laguna Seca of England," he continued, "with the elevation changes and tight turns. The laps definitely go by pretty quickly and everything just happens instantaneously. There's no room for resting."

"We'll sleep well tonight," added Miller.

The race weekend will kick off with a practice session Saturday morning, followed by three qualifying sessions during the day to set the grid for each of the three races which will take place on Sunday.

Team USA Scholarship supporters include Doug Mockett & Company, a Torrance, Calif.-based producer and supplier of "Fine Architectural Hardware For Your Fine Furniture," Champ Car World Series, American Honda, Snap-on Stars of Karting, Silicon Salvage, Dyson Racing, Integrated Performance Technology, Pacific Coast Motorsports, Andersen Racing Team, PitFit Training, iRacing.com, AutoRacing1.com, Metalore, Sparco USA, Cooper Tire, Cosworth USA, Champ Car Atlantic, Star Mazda, Buttonwillow Raceway, RACER magazine, FormulaCar Magazine, Pfanner Communications, Speedstar Management, Manifest Group, The Print Network and an array of past Scholarship winners.

For more information, please visit our website, www.TeamUSAScholarship.org, or contact Jeremy Shaw at JShaw@TeamUSAScholarship.org or by phone, 949-766-9504. http://www.TeamUSAScholarship.org/

Barrett and Miller at Brands Hatch
Photo: James Bearne