Louie Capozzoli will make a welcome return in the #199 LDR Performance Tuning Mini Cooper entry at Brands Hatch this coming weekend, as the QUAIFE MINI Challenge Trophy heads to West Kingsdown in Kent for Rounds 6 & 7.

The Brackley-based racer is currently 15th in the overall standings with 86 points to his credit, having lost a significant amount of traction after the second race weekend at Thruxton.

After a great start in Round 4, a hefty first-lap incident whilst he battled for the top three, saw his car written off and ended his weekend abruptly in Andover

But in the weeks since then, both Louis and the team have been hard at work to totally rebuild the car, ready for what look to be two exciting 15-minute races this coming Saturday, alongside the British Trucks, who headline the event.

“After the Thruxton incident, I’m just raring to go. I feel like I’ve got a lot of passion built up inside of me and I can’t wait to go out on track and really show that even after the crash and the disappointing end, we can still have front running pace like last time out,” said the 18-year-old, who took fourth back at Round 3 almost a month ago.

“The amazing work from LDR Performance Tuning and myself during the week having to fix the car has made me feel over the moon and I can’t wait to get out there.”

Along with there being a dedicated live stream from the BARC, there is also a welcome return of fans to the circuit, with a maximum-allowed capacity of 4,000 spectators for the event, which has pleased Capozzoli ahead of the weekend.

“For me, the fans are what make us tick. It’s all well and good going racing, but if you don’t have that urge on from the fans at the side lines, it can be a bit upsetting.

“That’s especially when you do really well and there is no one there to really cheer you on at the end of it. The return of fans is a real improvement, and I can’t wait to get out there and put on a show for everyone.”

The 1.2-mile circuit is the shortest round on the calendar, where momentum and consistency is key to success, as qualifying is paramount to success at the track, with Capozzoli being under no illusion that it is going to be easy.

“Urgency is of the essence here at Brands as it is really short and a bad qualifying can essentially hamper any good results here, and races aren’t as long as you think they are.

“It is a really technical track and it is something I’ve really experienced before, especially corners like Paddock Hill Bend and the turns afterwards. So it is about having that perfect medium of both aggression and smoothness to find the perfect lap time.”

Race schedule (Brands Hatch –  Saturday june 5th):

Qualifying: 10:10am (15 minutes)

Round 6: 12:45pm (15 minutes)

Round 7: 3:15pm (15 minutes)

BARC Live stream link: https://youtu.be/d_uyDz6ED_Q

Timing available via TSL: https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/212222