East Malling’s Dave Smith will be back at Brands Hatch this month and this time he will be moving up a class.

The Truck Engineer and current British Truck Racing Division Two Champion will be making the step up to Division One for the coming campaign.

Heading into his home round as favourite to defend his 2012 class championship last November, Smith was on course for a strong result on the opening day of the event. Instead he was tipped into a roll that looked to have ended his chances.

Speaking about last season, he said: “It’s a distant memory now, Saturday I had the accident, and the truck was pretty bad on its side. We worked pretty much all night, and early Sunday morning we got the truck out in the first race and won it.

“It was a real up and down weekend, but we did enough and got the points, so it turned out to be good. I had a lot of supporters there, and due to the sponsor coming Sunday, the night before we decided that we had to work hard to get the truck out, so it was good to win in front of our home crowd.”

Smith will not be defending his title this year, having decided to step up to the top class and to take on the opponents he mixes it with on a regular basis.

He added: “One of the Division One teams put their truck up for said. I’ve done Division two for quite a while, won it the last two years, so the next step is to have a go in Division One. When the truck came up for sale I snapped it up.

“The main difference is that the engines in Division One trucks are electronic, which gives a lot more power low down. The chassis is a lot stiffer, and the suspension’s better, so it’s totally different. Naturally the budgets go up; in Division Two, we’re all running on used tyres, whereas here we change them more regularly. Mechanically you’ve got to be on top of them every race.”

With finishing touches being put to the truck it’s not surprising that Smith isn’t prepared to predict his results at the opening round: “To be fair I haven’t really set myself a target, it’s a totally new challenge for me, so I’m just taking it as it comes. I haven’t driven the truck yet, Brands Hatch will be the first time, so we’ll just see how it is. Depending on how we go, we’ll carry on from there, but it’s totally new to me, its left-hand-drive as well, so it’s a completely different thing.”

Regardless of the result, however, Smith is looking forward to the event, he said: “I love it. My home circuit is what I look forward to, especially as it’s the first meeting, it’s the best one for me.”

The opening round of the British Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch will also feature a packed support race bill including Pickup Trucks, the miniature hot-rod Legends, plus Clubmans sports racers and BARC Saloons. Brands Hatch truck racing events also provide lots of fun for all the family off-track too, with a show truck display, go-karting, a fun fair plus free face painting, children’s entertainers and free children’s adventure playground to keep race-goers of all ages entertained all day long.

Tickets for the British Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch on 12/13 April are available from £18, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk