Ten Minutes with.....ex Jamun works driver and Brands Hatch meister, Chris Hall.
HoFF1600 - When and where was your 1600 debut and what were you driving?
CH - Snetterton 1978, Arrow (one off car built by a guy called Ed Johnson from Purley). Wrote the car off in my first race when the suspension broke!!
You drove for Jamun almost exclusively, which chassis was the best?
The Jamun M91. Won Champion of Brands, Winter Series & 7th in Festival with that car.
Jamun and Ray must have been big Brands rivals, is that true?!
Definitely. Really respected Bert Ray. Bert had some tough drivers with Andy Charsley & Andy Stapley.
Who was your biggest rival in the CoB?
On a regular basis Andy Charsley in the Ray plus before that my old mate Rick Shortle in the Getem and Reynard.
Can you describe your favourite race?
It was 1992 the weekend before the Festival. I believe it was called the International Trophy race at Brands Hatch. I won by passing Jan Magnussen and Jonathan McGall around the outside of Paddock!! Of course it was wet. Jan went on to win the festival.
You raced nationally in 1992, just how tough was it being in the only Jamun vs the might of the factory teams?
Incredibly tough but on several occasions we were a top five finisher, with a best of 3rd at Donington.
Who was the toughest, most forceful driver you went up against?
I have to say Dave Coyne. Only had one real chance to actually race wheel to wheel with Dave and it was at Brands. Again the weekend before the Festival in 1991 ( It may have been 1990?). I tried every trick in the book to pass Dave and got alongside once or twice, but Dave had me covered very forcefully but also very fairly. He won and I finished 2nd rubbing his gearbox with my nose!
Your favourite Festival story/memory?
It has to be when I finished 7th in 1991. I actually thought I was going to win the Festival that year. I started the final on the second row, I think alongside either Russell Ingall or Warren Hughes. Made a decent start but was actually being held up by Warren. At that time I was in 4th. I went for the outside line around Druids and of course the outside was damp. Got sideways and lost 3 positions in a flash! Just could not recover from that mistake as the field was so tight and competitive.
And finally...
What are you up to these days?
Living in Daytona Beach area, Florida and still racing. I do a lot of private coaching around the USA, and with one of my clients race a 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup car. I pinch myself now and then that I earn a decent living from this sport and there seems no end to my career. Since I have been in the USA I have raced NASCAR, ALMS, sprint cars, sports cars, formula cars and you name it. Still love it all............
My thanks got to Chris for sharing his time and thoughts with me, for more information on the man himself, look up www.chrishallracing.com
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