{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Mini Challenge CLUBSPORT Talk Show","title":"MINI Challenge Clubsport Talk Show - Series 2, Episode 1 | Brands Hatch Opening Round 2026","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3723,"description":"MINI Challenge Clubsport Season 2 gets underway with a full driver and management debrief from the 2026 opening round at Brands Hatch.Welcome back to the MINI Challenge Clubsport Talk Show. This is Series 2, Episode 1, and we are diving straight into the action from a brilliant opening weekend at Brands Hatch on the 4th and 5th of April 2026.Across the Cooper, R53 and R56 classes, this episode brings together every class podium finisher - plus championship organisers Tom Halliwell and Glen Copeland - to break down how the weekend unfolded, what surprised them, and what they are targeting as the 2026 season builds towards Thruxton, Pembrey, Snetterton and a predicted 75,000-strong crowd at Donington Park in August.In the R53 class, a five-car field made for some of the tightest class competition of the weekend. Paul Sawyer opened the season with two commanding wins before an engine failure left him running on three cylinders in the final race - yet he still crossed the line in third. Chris Johnson, only in his second-ever race season, produced a remarkable progression of third, second and first across the three races, building confidence and pace with every lap. Ben Trundley rounded out a solid opening weekend with a second, a third and a second, managing a track that has rarely been kind to him. David Gibbons and Lauren Fletcher also represented the class and completed the full set of three races across the weekend.In the R56 class - which also determines the overall results - defending champion Oli Willmott swept all three victories to pick up exactly where he left off in 2025. Nine cars represented the S56 class at Brands Hatch, with Steve Webb, John Wyatt, Adrian Linggi, Ian Trundley, Simon Sinfield and James Dudley all featuring across the weekend alongside the top three. Second place in every race went to Freddy Hewitt, who left Brands Hatch hungry for more and already working hard on what the car needs before Thruxton. Andy Langley - the 2025 R53 champion...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/8FIiexs8inVBVqyu5WBuuKUlI9LwWs6xX3AyLBfNKJo/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jNzky/ZTE0MWU3NGVmYTI1/YzYxMjBjNjcxNDI5/NmZlMi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}