James Alford heads to his home circuit of Brands Hatch this coming Sunday (8 Sept) on a high after his strongest performance of the season so far in the Racing Hondas Championship.

The Chelmsford racer took a season’s best result of fourth as well as a sixth last time out at Donington Park.

Now he’s targeting a maiden outright podium result in his #11 Class A Honda Civic EK9 which is fettled by himself and his father, Darren.

“There’d be no better place to get that first podium than at Brands Hatch,” says 32-year-old James, an IT consultant by trade.

“Donington was good for the confidence – for me as a driver but also that we’re heading in the right direction with the car.

“We’d got the rear alignment a bit wrong in qualifying but were able to improve it for race one and again for race two when I got the fourth place.

“We’re still a bit overweight with the car (by about 60kg) which we could rectify by spending on lightweighting parts, but the most efficient way would be to spend on finding more power for the engine – our current weight would allow us to go about 12bhp more which would make a difference.”

Alford is one of just a handful of drivers to finish every race so far in 2024 in the points.

“It’s really competitive out there on the track so it’s important to be aware of your surroundings and not get into a situation where you could tangle with others – although there have been a few close shaves along the way!

“Class A of this championship provides a place for people who are racing Hondas in a variety of championships to come together and race one another. And the racing is hard but fair which is all any racing driver wants.

“They’ve got the rules right, particularly with the power-to-weight ratio of cars which evens up performance, the championship organisation is spot-on and the atmosphere in the paddock is mega between everyone, whether you’re rivals in the championship or not.

“The other big bonus is all the other stuff that’s going on during race day – Time Attack, the drifting, modified car club meets, the crowds. There’s a sense of occasion which is a big buzz.”

Brands Hatch’s races on Sunday mark rounds 13 & 14 of this year’s Racing Hondas Championship – the penultimate rounds of the season.

CLICK HERE to book tickets to be there trackside. The day’s exhilarating action also includes the latest rounds of the Time Attack UK and MSA UK Pro Drift championships, plus the Clube Time Attack Organisation’s modified car show Go Japan!