Tubs snapped at the perfect moment - PJ Motorsports photography

RAF Classic Racing Team Race Report

CRMC Round 4 – Brands Hatch Indy

The RAF Classic Racing Team arrived at the roasting hot Brands Hatch Indy circuit for Round 4 of the CRMC Championship. Often described as one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, Brands certainly doesn't leave much time to relax. Every lap is flat out, every mistake is costly, and with races coming thick and fast, the team barely had time to put the kettle on before it was time for the next outing.

By the end of the weekend, however, there was plenty to celebrate, with race wins across multiple classes, podium finishes throughout the paddock and one rider earning the title of King of Brands 2026.

Joe Woodward

Joe's weekend was one of steady progression that developed into outright dominance.

After battling a variety of niggling issues during the early races, Joe gradually found his rhythm aboard all three of his machines. The Molnar Manx rewarded him with two third places before finishing the weekend with back-to-back victories in the Classic 500 class.

The Kawasaki ZXR750 followed a similar pattern. Early podium finishes soon became race wins as Joe unlocked the bike's potential around the demanding Kent circuit. By the final chequered flag he had claimed consecutive victories in the Period 3 Superbike class and, with a National Classic third, National Post Classic victory and National Supermono third also added to the tally, there could be little argument that Joe had earned the title of King of Brands 2026.

Perhaps his most impressive achievement came aboard the KTM Supermono. Forced onto the reserve bike, Joe still managed to remain competitive throughout the weekend, overcoming unfamiliar machinery to secure consistent results despite one unfortunate retirement.

Joe leads the way - PJ Motorsports photography

Symon Woodward

Symon enjoyed another excellent weekend aboard the Yamaha RD250, renewing his friendly rivalry with Jerry Longland throughout the Post Classic 250 Air Cooled races.

The pair traded first and second positions over the course of the meeting, with several memorable moments spent racing side by side in places where perhaps neither rider should really have been attempting an overtake. Fortunately, both emerged smiling.

A fresh rear tyre completely transformed the handling of the Yamaha, curing the chatter that had plagued previous meetings and allowing Symon to ride with far greater confidence. If Brands is anything to go by, it may not be long before Woodward Senior is back on the top step on a regular basis.

Another Woodward up front - PJ Motorsports photography

Dorian Eardley

Brands Hatch has never ranked among Dorian's favourite circuits, but you would never have guessed it by the end of the weekend.

After steadily building confidence throughout the meeting, Dorian's pace improved with every outing aboard the Manx Norton. Fourth places early in the weekend became a second before finally taking a well-earned victory in the final race.

Unlike previous meetings, the Norton behaved impeccably throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Dorian's van, which chose to provide the mechanical entertainment instead. Thankfully, whatever curse Brands Hatch seems to hold over Dorian remained firmly confined to the car park rather than the circuit.

Dorian Tucked in - PJ Motorsports photography

Gavin Heggs

With the Yamaha TZ350 still awaiting the return of its freshly Nikasil-coated barrels, Gavin climbed aboard the team's faithful Honda VFR750 for the Superstock 750 races.

The VFR had remained virtually untouched since its previous outing, save for the installation of a Dynojet kit. Practice soon highlighted one area requiring rather more attention when distinctly underwhelming braking performance was traced to a heavily worn set of brake pads. A quick replacement transformed the bike and allowed Gavin to focus on the more difficult challenge—himself.

The weekend became something of a battle against a mental block rather than the stopwatch. Consistent podium finishes showed the pace was there, but confidence remained elusive. A little fortune smiled on Sunday morning when Garry Kendrick crashed out, promoting Gavin to second place, while the final race offered another opportunity to close the gap with Garry competing on his wet-weather machine. Chasing a slightly slower target allowed Gavin to increase his own pace and finish the weekend with growing confidence aboard the VFR.

Gavin finally getting amongst it - PJ Motorsports photography

Toby "Tubs" Welford

Making his first CRMC appearance of the season, Toby "Tubs" Welford arrived in suitably understated(?) fashion aboard what can only be described as the enormous green library truck.

Despite missing the opening rounds of the championship, Toby wasted little time getting back into the rhythm, producing a string of podium finishes aboard his Kawasaki ZXR400. Perhaps most encouragingly, he was able to cling onto the back of the rapid Tom Bond for much of the weekend, giving him plenty of confidence that some entertaining battles lie ahead during the remainder of the season.

Toby was joined by friend Will, who, although not part of the RAF Classic Racing Team, quickly became the centre of attention when his engine failed on Saturday. What followed perfectly demonstrated the spirit of the classic racing paddock. With spanners flying and sleeves rolled up, the RAF team rallied around to complete an engine swap in time for Sunday morning practice. It was a fantastic display of teamwork, camaraderie and mechanical determination—qualities that remain just as important in the paddock as outright speed on the circuit.

Tubs flying along - PJ Motorsports photography

Another Successful Weekend

Round 4 at Brands Hatch proved to be one of the RAF Classic Racing Team's strongest performances of the season so far. Race wins came across multiple classes, every rider left with something to smile about and, perhaps most importantly, nearly everyone left with machinery still capable of loading itself into the van.

With momentum building across the team and confidence growing with every meeting, attention now turns to the next round, where the RAF Classic Racing Team will be looking to continue its run of podiums, race wins and the inevitable last-minute paddock engineering that has become something of a trademark. As ever, huge thanks go out to our friends, supporters, sponsors, the club and the wonderful orange army.

The Royal Air Force Motor Sport Association supports tens of disciplines, both two and four-wheeled. More information on the RAFMSA can be found on Facebook, the Sports Federation home page, Twitter and can be found with a quick search on MODNet.

The RAF Classic racing team races in the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) offer live timing and has race results going back years. You can find more of the team on Facebook, Blogger and YouTube.

There is a strong contingent of the RAFMSA MCRR in No Limits Racing, they can be found on Instagram with some fantastic videos shared by competitor James on his YouTube channel, and many others can be found on there too. There is also an interservice race held at all NLR.

All serving RAF Classic Racing Team members race under the banner of the Royal Air Force Motorsports Association (RAFMSA) alongside our veteran former members and associate members. If you are serving and wish to get involved with motorsports you can find all the contact details you will need on the RAFMSA website or get in contact directly with us.

This blog post was written and edited by Gavin Heggs.

Some more photographs from the weekend from PJ Motorsports photography: