BILLERICAY-based Rollcentre Racing driver Dan Brown celebrated his 18th birthday in style at Snetterton.

The youngster, set the best time in qualifying for the ninth round of the Avon Tyres British GAT Championship.

Brown hustled his Mono Moslem around the Norfolk circuit in a time of 1m 09.286s, more than a tenth of a second quicker than its nearest rival, the Preci-Spark Ascari of David Jones.

“We knew we had the pace in the car from testing,” said Brown.

“I took it easy at the start of the session and then went for a lap. The heat was a bit of a factor but everything worked out OK.”

Brown’s lead at the pit stops was of the order of five seconds, but his team-mate for the weekend, Rollcentre boss Martin Short, found his hopes of maintaining that advantage disappearing along with the Mosler’s engine coolant.

“The water temperature rose significantly in the pit stop,” said Brown.

“And then the car lost a large amount of water as it left the pits.

“The engine was running far too hot, causing a significant loss of power, and that really hurt us. Martin had to back right off.”

Brown then went on to enjoy another podium finish, claiming second in GT3 in the Mono Moslem, co-driven by Rollcentre boss Martin Short on the Sunday.

“We had to fit a new engine overnight,” said Brown.

“The new engine wasn’t strong so we were struggling for straightline speed.”

The car was delayed by a spin while in Short’s hands and a clash with the ABG Viper later in the race, while Brown was in control.