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 Logo since January 2004 | |
 Grand Prix Circuit (2003–present) | |
 Indy Circuit (2003–present) | |
| Location | West Kingsdown, Kent, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°21′24″N0°15′45″E / 51.35667°N 0.26250°E /51.35667; 0.26250 |
| FIA Grade | 2 (both layouts) |
| Owner | MotorSport Vision (January 2004–present) |
| Opened | 1950 |
| Major events | Current: GT World Challenge Europe (2014–2019, 2021–present) NASCAR Euro Series (2012–2019, 2021–present) BSB (1991–present) BTCC (1958–present) British GT (1993–1997, 1999–2004, 2006–present) TCR UK (2018–2019, 2021–present) Formula Ford Festival (1976–present) F4 British Championship (2015-present) Former: Formula One British Grand Prix (Intermittently 1964–1986) European Grand Prix (1983, 1985) World Touring Car Championship Race of UK (2006–2010) Champ CarLondon Champ Car Trophy (1978, 2003) World SBK (1993, 1995–2008) A1GP (2005, 2007–2009) DTM (2006–2013, 2018–2019) W Series (2019) World Sportscar Championship (1967–1972, 1974, 1977, 1979–1982, 1984–1989) FIM Endurance World Championship (1966–1968, 1978–1979, 2001) Sidecar World Championship (1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2015) 2012 Summer Paralympics |
| Website | https://www.brandshatch.co.uk/ |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2003–present) | |
| Length | 3.916 km (2.433 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 1:12.276 ( Adam Carroll,A1GP Ferrari,2009,A1GP) |
| Indy Circuit (2003–present) | |
| Length | 1.944 km (1.208 mi) |
| Turns | 6 |
| Race lap record | 0:38.032 ( Scott Mansell,Benetton B197 Judd, 2004,EuroBOSS/F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1999–2002) | |
| Length | 4.221 km (2.623 mi) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race lap record | 1:16.170 (Tony Worswick,Jordan 194 Judd, 2001,EuroBOSS/F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1988–1998) | |
| Length | 4.182 km (2.599 mi) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race lap record | 1:13.860 ( Emanuele Naspetti,Reynard 91D,1991,F3000) |
| Indy Circuit (1976–1998) | |
| Length | 1.938 km (1.204 mi) |
| Turns | 6 |
| Race lap record | 0:38.760 ( Luiz Garcia Jr.,Reynard 95D,1996,F3000) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1976–1987) | |
| Length | 4.207 km (2.614 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 1:09.593 (Nigel Mansell,Williams FW11,1986,F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1960–1975) | |
| Length | 4.265 km (2.650 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 1:21.100 ( Niki Lauda,Ferrari 312B3,1974,F1) |
| Club Circuit (1954–1975) | |
| Length | 1.995 km (1.240 mi) |
| Turns | 5 |
| Race lap record | 0:49.600 (Alan Fowler, Mercury 3-Ford,1972,Group 5) |
| Original Circuit (1950–1953) | |
| Length | 1.609 km (1.000 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
Brands Hatch is amotor racing circuit inWest Kingsdown,Kent,England. Originally used as agrasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of theBritish Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. The venue is owned and operated byJonathan Palmer'sMotorSport Vision organisation.
Brands Hatch offers two layout configurations. The 1.198 mi (1.928 km) "Indy Circuit" layout is located entirely within a natural amphitheatre offering spectators views of almost all of the shorter configurations from wherever they watch. The 2.433 mi (3.916 km) "Grand Prix" layout has played host to severalFormula One Grands Prix, including those with moments such asJo Siffert's duel withChris Amon in1968 and 1992 World Driver's ChampionNigel Mansell's first win in1985. Noise restrictions and the proximity of the Grand Prix loop to local residents mean that the number of race meetings held on the extended circuit is limited to just a few per year (usually for higher-profile series such as theBTCC and theBSB).[citation needed]
The full Grand Prix circuit begins on theBrabham Straight, anoff-camber, slightly curved stretch, before plunging into the right-hander at Paddock Hill Bend, with gradients of 8%.[1] Despite the difficulty of the curve, due to the straight that precedes it, it is one of the track's few overtaking spots. The next corner, Druids, is a hairpin bend, taken after an uphill braking zone atHailwood Hill. The track then curves around the south bank spectator area into the downhill, off-camberGraham Hill Bend, and another, slightly bent stretch at theCooper Straight, which runs parallel to the pit lane. After the straight, the circuit climbs uphill though the decreasing-radiusSurtees turn, before moving onto the back straight where the track's top speeds can be reached. The most significant elevation changes on the circuit occur here at Pilgrim's Drop andHawthorn Hill, which leads into Hawthorn Bend (with some parts approaching 7%). The track then loops around the woodland with a series of mid-speed corners, most notably the dip at Westfield and Dingle Dell and the blindSheene curve. From there the track then emerges from the left hand and camberedStirlings Bend onto the short straight to Clearways and rejoins the Indy Circuit forClark Curve with its uphill off-camber approach to the pit straight and the start/finish line.[citation needed]
The BritishRallycross Circuit at Brands Hatch was designed and constructed by Trevor Hopkins, a four-times British Rallycross Champion. Completed around 1981, the circuit spans approximately 0.9 mi (1.4 km). A notable feature is the starting point on the startline, followed by a right turn and descent on loose terrain at Paddock Hill Bend. After navigating the left-right Esses at the bottom, the circuit rejoins the Indy Circuit, leading up and around Druids hairpin. A 90-degree left turn through Langley's Gap and across the knife-edge connects back to the Indy Circuit, but in an anti-clockwise direction. Subsequently, cars proceed from Cooper Straight, swooping up the old link road and returning to Paddock.[citation needed]
Brands Hatch was originally the name of a natural grassy hollow that was shaped like anamphitheatre. Although the site was originally used as a military training ground, the fields belonging to Brands Farm were first used as a circuit by a group of Gravesend cyclists led by Ron Argent,[2][unreliable source?] with the permission of the local farmer and landowner, Harry White. Using the natural contours of the land, many cyclists from around London practised, raced and ran time trials on the dirt roads carved out by farm machinery. The first actual race on the circuit was held in 1926, over 4 mi (6.4 km) between cyclists andcross-country runners. Within a few years,motorcyclists were using the circuit, laying out a three-quarter-mileanti-clockwise track in the valley. They also saw the advantage of competing in a natural arena just a few hundred yards from theA20, and with the passage of time, a kidney-shaped circuit came into use. The first motorcycle races were "very informal" with much of the organisation being done on the spot. Initially, the racing was on a straight strip approximately where Cooper Straight came to be when the track was tarmacked. Brands Hatch remained in operation during the 1930s, but after being used as a military vehicle park and being subject to many bombing raids duringWorld War II, it needed much work before it could become a professional racing circuit.[3]
In 1932, four local motorcycling clubs joined forces (Bermondsey, Owls, Sidcup and West Kingsdown) and staged their first meeting that March.[citation needed]
Motorcycle racing quickly resumed after World War II and in 1947, Joe Francis (managing director of Brands Hatch Stadium Ltd.) persuaded the BBC to televise a grass track meeting, the first motorcycle event to be televised on British TV.[4]
Following World War II, cinders were laid on the track of what was by then known asBrands Hatch Stadium and motorcycle racing continued. That was until 1950 when the500 Club managed to persuade Joe Francis,[5] that the future for his stadium lay in car and motorcycle road racing. The group behind 500 c.c. single-seater racing cars was the 500 Club and it, together with the owners, invested the sum of £17,000 on a tarmac surface.
ThusBrands Hatch was born as a motor racing venue, and on 16 April 1950, the opening meeting was scheduled for the first purpose-built post-war racing circuit in England, approval having been given by the RAC following a demonstration by a handful of 500s in February. Amongst those giving the demonstration was a very youngStirling Moss. The Half-Litre Car Club for 500ccFormula 3 organised that first race on 16 April, with 7,000 spectators coming to witness these cars complete in 10 races.Don Parker won the first race. Before the year was out, five meetings had been held, with the events running to a similar programme. The June meeting was a Moss benefit for he won all five races he entered in the WorksCooper and set a new lap record. The August Bank Holiday meeting saw for the first time, involvement of the national press with theDaily Telegraph sponsoring the main event of the day. The old cinder track had been 0.75 mi (1.21 km) in length, but the tarmac circuit was lengthened to 1.000 mi (1.609 km) and now ran anticlockwise. TheMaidstone & Mid-Kent Motor Club invited a number of sports car drivers to test the circuit on 5 November, this being the first time that any car other than a 500cc had used it, and they ran clockwise.
In 1951, season included seven car meetings, all for Formula 3 and they were again organised the Half-Litre Car Club to which the 500 Club had changed its name since becoming aLimited Company. In February, theAston Martin Owners Club tested some 1.5-litre sports cars at Brands Hatch preparatory to the full International season starting.
The 1952 season saw the emergence ofStuart Lewis-Evans.Les Leston raised the lap record to 71.15 mph (114.50 km/h) (50.6sec) – the first time that 70 mph (110 km/h) had been exceeded.
1953 saw the introductions of raised spectator protection banks. This was to be Parker's year for he won theAutosport Formula 3 Championship taking seven races at Brands on his way the title. Some 50,000 people packed into theDaily Telegraph International and as the season came to an end Parker raised the lap record to 74.38 mph (119.70 km/h) (48.4secs). During 1953, theUniversal Motor Racing Club was established, with a racing school set up at Brands Hatch. The Half Litre Club, later to become theBritish Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC), ran many races throughout the 1950s and firmly established the venue as one of Britain's top racing circuits.
The track continued to expand during 1953 and 1954, with the addition of Druids Bend by lengthening the circuit, apit lane and spectator banks[2] and reversing the racing direction to clockwise.[6] While Formula III racing was unquestionably close and exciting, it did have its limitations and now the paying public wanted some variety and more powerful cars to watch. The change in direction of racing traffic resulted in the creation ofPaddock Hill Bend a fast sweeping downhill right-hander. At the bottom the Paddock Hill, a quarter-mile extension to the circuit was added which took the competitors up the other side of the valley to a right-hand hairpin, which is calledDruids Hill Bend. This new section re-joined the old track at another tricky corner,Bottom Bend, and the result was a circuit lengthened to 1.240 mi (1.996 km).
The first race winner on the revised track wasStuart Lewis-Evans, at the wheel of aCooper-Norton Mk.8, with a new name at the inaugural meeting. That name wasN. G. Hill who was a 'graduate' of the racing school.
As the season progressed larger engine machines began to appear starting with small and medium capacity sport cars, thenFormula Libre machines. However, most races were still run for Formula 3 and 1954 saw the first of what was to become the traditionalBoxing Day meeting down in Kent. A total of 15,000 spectators arrived at the Christmas meeting to watch a programme of seven races with the added attraction of ox-roasting andStirling Moss.
It wasJim Russell's year, for he dominated the Formula 3, winning theAutosport National Championship, as well as four of the meeting. Cooper T39s andLotus Mk.9s dominated sports car racing whileArchie Scott Brown had a stranglehold on the over 1,900 cc class, driving either the worksLister-Bristol orLouis Manduca'sJaguar C-Type.
At the August Bank Holiday meeting spectators could avail themselves of the only permanent grandstand at a British motor sport circuit; it had been purchased second-hand from the defunct Northolt pony-trotting stadium and for the 1956 season, a telephone system was installed linking race control, the grandstand and the marshals' posts, while a modern hospital was opened at the circuit, complete with operating theatre.
As larger-capacity cars become more common, 500 cc racing began to decline, but the formula still gave close, exciting racing. The first year that public car race meetings were organised by other than the BRSCC was 1956 – in June, the750 Motor Club joined forces with theClub Lotus to offer a mixture of races, including, for the first time at Brands, saloon cars. This was also the year the Brands grew up, runningFormula One cars for the first time on 14 October. Initially, a long-distance race was planned, but in the end a 15-lap race was run which attracted four work entries fromConnaught (B-Types for Archie Scott Brown, Les Leston,Jack Fairman and Stuart Lewis-Evans) opposed by privately enteredMaserati 250Fs driven byRoy Salvadori andBruce Halford and a selection of independents. Archie won from Lewis-Evans, setting a new lap record in the process at a speed of 75.66 mph (121.76 km/h). Politics caused the cancellation of the Boxing Day meeting that year due to theSuez Crisis.
As a result of Suez affair, forecasts for 1957 season were gloomy, but the programme ran as planned, the two feature meeting of the year being run for the newFormula Two on Whit Sunday and August Bank Holiday. The year saw a continued diversification at BRSCC meetings with fewer 500cc events and more sport-racing machinery. TheKentish 100 was the biggest event yet run at the circuit for Formula Two with two 42-lap heats and attracted a truly International field. Formula Two featured at other meetings but at the August Bank Holiday meeting, Formula 3 proved that it was not yet dead as it was run as the feature event for theDaily Telegraph Trophy.
Jim Clark made his Brands Hatch debut at the Boxing Day event, when he drove theBorder Reivers-enteredLotus Elite into second place behindColin Chapman. At the August Bank Holiday meeting in 1958, an 1,100cc sports car became the first to lap Brands Hatch in under a minute. Its creator had been unable to afford to purchase a Lotus, so had designed his own car; the car was called aLola and its creator wasEric Broadley.
The highlight of the 1959 season was again theKentish 100, with no less than 40 drivers (including 10 Grand Prix names) fighting for just 16 grid positions.Jack Brabham won both 42-lap heats driving the works Cooper-Climax. The feature race at the Boxing Day meeting was forFormula Junior, a new International Formula for single-seater racing cars using production engines up to 1,100 cc; works entries were received fromElva,Gemini, Lola, Cooper and Lotus. This new formula was to prove the death-knell of 500 cc racing.[3]
In January 1960, Kent County Council gave planning permission for the extension of Brands Hatch – an extension which would double the length of the track offering a choice of long or short circuits. The new 2.650 mi (4.265 km) track used, all of this existing one with the extension of Kidney Bend; South Bank became a long, uphill 160° sweep out into the country and making the approach to Clearways very much faster. From South Bank there followed a long straight dipping into and out of the next valley to the right-hand Hawthorn Bend followed by Portobello Straight to Westfield Bend leading to the dip to Dingle Dell, Dingle Dell Corner and the difficult left-hand Stirling's Bend. A short straight then brought the circuit back to Clearways at much higher speed than hitherto. John Hall said, "For the first time ever, Britain will have a Grand Prix track within 20 miles of London.'"
The new track was planned to be completed in time for the August Bank Holiday meeting and was ready for testing in June. The debut of the new track came in August as planned, with works entries fromBRM, Cooper,Ferrari, and Lotus together with independents suchYeoman Credit Racing, ScuderiaEugenio Castellotti andScuderia Centro Sud. Record traffic jams were reported on the A20, and the huge crowd saw the non-championshipSilver City Trophy Formula One race won byJack Brabham in the works Cooper-Climax by just 4.4 seconds from Graham Hill in theBRM P48, after the gearbox of Jim Clark's Lotus expired after leading 22 laps of the 50-lap race. The fastest lap was set jointly by Clark and Brabham, in 1min 40.6sec, at a speed of 94.82 mph (152.60 km/h).
Clark had his revenge a few weeks later when the circuit saw Formula Two cars performing in theKentish 100 with a hard-fought win overDan Gurney; both were driving Lotus-Climaxes, Clark's was a works car and Gurney's a private entry.Soon after, the track was sold toGrovewood Securities Ltd., andJohn Webb put in charge ofMotor Circuit Developments to manage the circuit.
This was the year of the new 1.5-litre Formula One and on 3 June 1961, theSilver City Trophy, was contested over 76 laps of the GP Circuit by Grand Prix cars. Entries were received from Cooper, Lotus, BRM,UDT-Laystall and Yeoman Credit. Victory went to Stirling Moss driving the pale green UDT-LaystallLotus 18/21 Climax from Jim Clark abroad the worksLotus 21 Climax and Tony Brooks driving theBRM P57 Climax. The 7 August meeting saw the Guards International Trophy forIntercontinental Formula cars. In effect the redundant 2.5-litre F1 cars from pre-1961. The race was a 76-lap affair over the GP Circuit; Jack Brabham won in the worksCooper T53-Climax from Jim Clark (worksLotus 18-Climax) and Graham Hill (BRM P57).
The following year 1962 did not see any major meetings at Brands, but on 1 October, the longest race staged so far took place. This was theMotor-sponsored Six-Hour Saloon race. The field of 35 entries included some foreign entrants and victory went toMike Parkes andJimmy Blumer driving a 3.8-litreJaguar Mk II; the German pairing ofPeter Lindner andPeter Nöcker in another Jaguar from aMini-Cooper driven byJohn Alvy andDenny Hulme, a New Zealand mechanic employed by Jack Brabham.
The Club Circuit had six meeting during 1962, and witnessed the coming of Formula Junior. At the Easter Monday meeting, a Formula Junior race saw the lap record tumble to 55.6secs and the first-ever 80 mph lap (actual speed was 80.29 mph (129.21 km/h)) byJohn Fenning, aboard aLotus 20-Ford. The 'Trio' meeting in July saw the end of an era when a 500 took the chequered flag for the last time withMike Ledbrook, driving a Cooper-Norton Mark 8 in the 500 and 250cc race. At the Boxing Day meeting, Hulme won the Formula Junior race driving the prototypeBrabham BT6-Ford, setting a new outright lap record of 54.8secs at an average speed of 82.06 mph (132.06 km/h).
The severe winter of 1962/63 caused the cancellation of most sports, which resulted in empty television screens on occasions. The lack of sport to show virtually createdRallycross, for on 9 February a rallycross-type event was staged on the slushy Brands Hatch car parks in front of the TV cameras (not the Rallycross Circuit used in the 1980s and 1990s). The event had been quickly organised byRaymond Baxter of theBBC and theLondon Motor Club, and sawTimo Mäkinen win easily in the worksAustin-Healey3000.
The secondMotor-sponsoredSix-Hour saloon car race, was a round of the inauguralEuropean Touring Car Challenge. It was run in appalling conditions on 6 July. The large crowd witness the favourite, a 7-litreFord Galaxie driven byDan Gurney and Jack Brabham, floundering in the wet and the Jaguar dominated the race. Victory went to Roy Salvadori and Denny Hulme from Peter Linder and Peter Nöcker after the winners on the road,Mike Salmon andPete Sutcliffe being disqualified for engine irregularities. TheGuards Trophy was run for sports cars and went toRoger Penske driving hisZerex Special, which was based on a Cooper F1 chassis.
TheBritish Grand Prix came to Kent in 1964 and was to be shared withSilverstone in alternate years until 1986. Also the race was given the courtesy titleEuropean Grand Prix and the management rose to the occasion. The date was 11 July, a cool and dry day which saw Jim Clark at his best in theLotus 25 winning by 2.8secs from Graham Hill in theBRM P261, who was followed home byJohn Surtees in the V8Ferrari 158; fourth and one lap down was Jack Brabham driving a car bearing his own name. A further lap down in fifth place wasLorenzo Bandini in the V6 Ferrari withPhil Hill taking the final World Championship point in a Cooper. The race average was 94.14 mph (151.50 km/h) and Clark set the fastest lap at 1min 38.8secs (96.5 mph (155.3 km/h)). The Motor Six Hours had its third and final running on 6 June (still a round of the ETCC), with victory going to theAlan Mann-enteredLotus-Cortinas ofSir John Whitmore/Peter Proctor andHenry Taylor/Peter Harper.
The 1964 season was the busiest so far for Brands Hatch, with 14 car race meeting alone; theBritish Automobile Racing Club (BARC) organised its first meeting in Kent, while the London Motor Car Club organised one in June. The year'sGuards Trophy went toBruce McLaren driving for Cooper in a 3.9-litreOldsmobile-powered sports car.
During the Lombank Trophy Race of 27 December 1965, held at Brands Hatch, driver George Reid Crossman was killed during the last race of the Formula 3 season. [race day program]
With the Grand Prix not due back at Brands until 1966, they promoted a non-championship Formula One race to be known asRace of Champions sponsored byDaily Mail. Therace was run in two 40-lap heats with victory going to Jim Clark (Lotus 33), while his teammateMike Spence, won the second and taking the overall victory. The first 100 mph lap was set by Clark in 1min 35.4secs. The longest race ever run at the Kentish Circuit took place on 22/23 May, this being the Guards 1000 consisting of two 500-mile races for production saloon cars. The overall winner was the worksMG MGB ofJohn Rhodes andWarwick Banks.
TheBritish Grand Prix returned in 1966, the inaugural year of the 3-litre Formula One. The worksBrabham-RepcoBT19 were first and second in the hands of Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme; Brabham completed the 212-mile race in 2hrs 13mins 13.4secs (95.49 mph (153.68 km/h)) lapping everyone except Hulme in the process. Third was Graham Hill in the BRM P261 from Jim Clark (Lotus 33) withJochen Rindt fifth in the Cooper-Maserati and in sixth position, a further lap adrift, was Bruce McLaren in theMcLaren-Serenissima. The event was notable for the only F1 appearance of theShannon SH 1 in the hands ofTrevor Taylor which lasted just one lap. This was also the year that John Surtees won theGuards Trophy on August Bank Holiday Monday driving the 6-litreLola T70. TheMotor Show 200 for Formula Two cars saw a young Austrian named Jochen Rindt win in theRoy Winkelmann-enteredBrabham BT18.
The1967 Race of Champions (still sponsored byDaily Mail) saw the first of two major victories by American cars at Brands when Dan Gurney brought theEagle-WeslakeT1G over the line first by 0.8 seconds from Lorenzo Bandin'sFerrari 312/67. So good was the public's response to the race (run in two 10-lap heats and a 40-lap final) that John Webb decided to make the race an annual event. The other great American victory was to come when the be-winged 7-litreChaparral 2F-Chevrolet driven by Phil Hill and Mike Spence won theBOAC 500 run over 211 laps of the Grand Prix Circuit at an average speed of 93.08 mph (149.80 km/h), from theFerrari 330-P4 ofChris Amon andJackie Stewart. These two had lapped the rest of the field twice, third place going to theJo Siffert/Bruce McLarenPorsche 910. The year saw many firsts; in July,Tetsu Ikuzawa became the first Japanese ever to win a race in Britain, the firstMini Festival was run at Whitsun and theMini-Seven Club ran the first ever all-saloon car meeting in February. But the biggest 'first 'was the arrival ofFormula Ford which was to become the providing ground and starting place for so many drivers. The first Formula Ford race was run on 7 July and was won byRoy Allan in aLotus 51.
1968 proved to be a busy season, with no less than five International meetings; the first was theRace of Champions followed by the BOAC 500, the British Grand Prix, the Guards Trophy, and the Motor Show 200. The former race gave the McLaren marque its maiden Formula One victory when Bruce, driving his own car, led home the field ahead ofPedro Rodríguez in theBRM P133 and his new team-mate, Denny Hulme. Sponsorship on racing cars was just beginning and a television executive was distressed by the 'sailor man' on the side of the Gold LeafTeam Lotus and threatened to withdraw television coverage if the offering item was not obscured, so Graham Hill was black-flagged to have the decal covered!
It was March 1968 at a minor club meeting when 17-year-old riderBarry Sheene lined up on the starting grid, on a works 125ccBultaco, for his first race. It was an impressive debut by anyone's standards. Sheene had worked his way up to second place and threatening the leader, Mike Lewis, when the bike seized and spat its rider off over the handlebars. A rostrum position in the day's 250cc race was a great achievement, but an even better was not very far away. Just one week later, and again at Brands, Sheene took his first race win, and he did it is style by an incredible 12 seconds. And the best was yet to come, for he dominated a field of 350cc machines, riding special 250cc Bultaco (with an enlarged 280cc capacity).[7]
TheManufacturers' World Championship came to Brands in early 1968, followed by theBOAC 500 on 7 April. The winner was theFord GT40 Mk.1 ofJacky Ickx andBrian Redman from thePorsche 908 ofGerhard Mitter andLudovico Scarfiotti, these two being the only cars to complete the full race distance of 218-laps. Two laps further down in third was another 907 driven byVic Elford andJochen Neerpasch and fourth place went to another GT40, driven byPaul Hawkins andDavid Hobbs.
Three months later came theBritish Grand Prix on 20 July, won byJo "Seppi" Siffert. Siffert's victory was noteworthy in that he won in aLotus 49B which was delivered new to the circuit on the first morning of the meeting. It was completed in the paddock and was entered by theWalker-Durlacher team – a private entrant winning a Grand Prix. In second place just 4.4 secs behind was Chris Amon (Ferrari), with his teammate Jacky Ickx third. Fourth was Denny Hulme in aMcLaren M7A, fromSurtees in theHonda RA300 one lap down, and Jackie Stewart a further lap down in theMatra-Ford MS80.
Easter Monday 1969 saw another brainchild of John Webb and the BRSCC's Competitions DirectorNick Syreett come to fruition. This wasFormula 5000 which was based upon the American Formula A, the cars being single-seater chassis powered by American V8 and V6 stock-block engines of up to 5-litre capacity. The need for the new formula was caused by the escalating costs of Formula Three, Formula Two and the decreasing number of non-championship Formula One events as more and more countries demanded a Grand Prix. The winner of the first Formula 5000 race wasPeter Gethin driving aMcLaren M10A with Chevrolet power.
Indianapolis-style single-car qualifying was introduced for the1969 Race of Champions, but it simply did not catch on – perhaps it did not have the glamour of theIndy 500; Jackie Stewart won the race in the Matra MS80 owned byKen Tyrrell and went on to win his first World Championship with it.
TheBOAC 500 was once again the British round of the Manufacturers' World Championship and was a Porsche benefit,908s taking the first three places, the winners being Jo Siffert and Brian Redman; the second place car of Vic Elford andRichard Attwood was two laps behind, with Gerhard Mitter andUdo Schütz third.[3]
The International race calendar for 1970 opened with theRace of Champions.March Engineering made its Formula One-winning debut when Jackie Stewart won driving Ken Tyrrell's March-Cosworth 701.
TheBritish Grand Prix returned to Brands Hatch on 19 July and saw victory go to Jochen Rindt by less than 33 seconds from Jack Brabham, who had run out of fuel. The Austrian driver of the Lotus was then disqualified following a protest over an aerofoil, but was reinstated before the evening was out. Third place went to Denny Hulme in the McLaren from the Ferrari ofClay Regazzoni; a lap down in fifth spot with the March of Chris Amon with Graham Hill sixth in the other Lotus. Rindt's winning speed was 108.69 mph (174.92 km/h).
Although the World Championship sports race was nowBOAC 1000, but measured in kilometres, not miles, it was another Porsche benefit, the fearsome917s taking the first three places from a 908; the first car home was the Pedro Rodríguez/Leo Kinnunen car from Vic Elford/Denny Hulme and Richard Attwood/Hans Herrmann. The 908 was driven byGijs van Lennep andHans Laine. The race was run over 235 laps at a speed of 92.15 mph (148.30 km/h).
By 1971, the ownership of Brands Hatch was in the hands ofMotor Circuit Developments (MCD), which saw the arrival of another MCD-inspired single-seater formula in the shape ofFormula Atlantic. TheBOAC 1000 sawAlfa Romeo take their first major success in 20 years, with the chequered flag being taken by the33TT3 ofAndrea de Adamich andHenri Pescarolo, who completed the 235 laps at a speed of 97.17 mph (156.38 km/h). They were followed home by theFerrari 312PB of Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni, with the Porsche 917 of Jo Siffert andDerek Bell a further three laps down in third.
Motor Racing is a dangerous game and there had been some fatalities at Brands including the deaths of George Crossman,Tony Flory and Stuart Duncan in the mid-60s. But in October 1971, the season drew to its close with the death of a major driver.Jo Siffert died in an accident in theRothmans World Championship Victory Race. This non-championship event for Formula One and Formula 5000 cars was arranged to mark Jackie Stewart and Ken Tyrrell's joint World Championships. The race was 40 laps in length; 'Seppi' lost control of hisBRM P160 on lap 15, hit the bank at Hawthorn Hill, the car was engulfed in flames and he was asphyxiated before he could be extricated. The circuit came under a great deal of criticism, and it was agreed that a three-year programme of major safety modifications around the track would be commenced before the start of the 1972 season.[5]
The 1972 season was a particularly busy one, with Formula One visiting twice for theRace of Champions on 19 March sponsored byDaily Mail and the John Player-sponsoredBritish Grand Prix on 15 July (bearing the title European Grand Prix), while the BOAC 1000 was the British round of the World Championship of Makes. On 16 April, what was to be the last BOAC 1000 resulted in a complete Italian benefit race with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo filling the first six places. The 235-lap race was won byMario Andretti and Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 312PB, with the average race speed of 105.12 mph (169.17 km/h), fromTim Schenken andRonnie Peterson, a lap down in a similar car. The first Alfa home completed the podium, was the 33TT3 ofRolf Stommelen andPeter Revson. And so to July, 76-laps of the Grand Prix Circuit adds up to just a few hundred yards over 200 miles whichEmerson Fittipaldi completed in 1hr 47:50.2secs (108.67 mph (174.89 km/h)), driving the John Player SpecialLotus-Cosworth 72D, from Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell-Cosworth 003), Peter Revson in theTeam Yardley McLaren-Cosworth M19A, Chris Amon in theMatra-Simca MS120C, Denny HulmeTeam Yardley McLaren-Cosworth M19C, withArturo Merzario taking the last point in theFerrari 312B2.
The following year, 1973, was less hectic; the BOAC 1000 was cancelled when the date offered by the FIA was unsuitable, and the year had an unfortunateRace of Champions. Peter Gethin driving a Formula 5000Chevron-Chevrolet B24 beat the Formula One cars andJames Hunt made his F1 debut inHesketh Racing's March 731. Before the start of that season, £50,000 was spent upon a new grandstand adjoining the Grovewood Suite, while opening seating and new pits were built to comply withFIA requirements. There were also improvements made between Westfields and Stirlings.
It rained again during theRace of Champions in 1974, and the more nimble Formula One cars showed their heels to the Formula 5000 contingent; the winner was Jacky Ickx driving a Lotus-Ford 72E. TheGrand Prix circus returned to Brands for a race on 20 July, and the RAC (who organised the race) came in for censure from the FIA for allowing the pit lane to be blocked during the race, thus preventingNiki Lauda from rejoining at the end to claim fifth place, which he was awarded on appeal. The winner wasJody Scheckter in aTyrrell-Cosworth 007 who covered the 199.75 mi (321.47 km) race at an average pace of 115.73 mph (186.25 km/h), from Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren-Cosworth M23B), Jacky Ickx (Lotus-Cosworth 72E), Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda (Ferrari 312B3) withCarlos Reutemann (Brabham-Cosworth BT44) in sixth.
The BOAC 1000 had become theBritish Airways 1000 and was dominated by the worksMatra-Simca MS670C which finish first and second; first home were the Jean-Pierres –Jarier andBeltoise – withHenri Pescarolo andGérard Larrousse second. Third, no less than 11 laps down, was theGulf-Ford GR7 of Derek Bell and David Hobbs.
The winter of 1974/5 was mild, which was fortunate, allowing both tracks to be resurfaced in their entirety and completed in time for the opening event of 1975.
Tom Pryce had made a name for himself at Brands, driving Formula Ford and Formula F100 cars. He came to theBritish Airways/Daily MailRace of Champions on 16 March as a works driver for theUOP Shadow. He drove theDN5; Pryce carved his way through the field, closing upon Jody Scheckter's Tyrrell-Cosworth when Scheckter's engine blew. This was Pryce's first and only Formula One win - he died a little over two years later during the1977 South African Grand Prix.
It was again Grand Prix year in 1976, and notwithstanding the money already spent, another £100,000 was expended on the track and safety work; the major change was a realignment of Paddock Bend, which resulted in a slight shortening of the circuit to 2.614 mi (4.207 km). Bottom Straight was also realigned making it straighter; this was all done to expand the cramped pit facilities. It was at this time that name changes occurred; Pilgrims became Hailwood Hill, Bottom Bend became Graham Hill Bend and Bottom Straight became Cooper Straight. The Grand Prix took place on 18 July and was somewhat controversial. Following a first-lap accident the race was stopped. This year'sRace of Champions winner and national hero, James Hunt was involved so he took over the spareMcLaren M23D, which he won, but was later disqualified by the FIA, as it was deemed that he had not completed the first lap. Ferrari's Niki Lauda was declared the winner from the Tyrrell of Jody Scheckter andJohn Watson'sPenske PC3. Tom Pryce brought the Shadow home in fourth.
On 25 September, the second British round of the World Championship of Makes arrived for theBrands Hatch Six-Hours; it was run in a deluge which caused it to be stopped for an hour and it was eventually run over 103 laps – 269 mi (433 km) – which Jacky Ickx andJochen Mass won at 97.696 mph (157.226 km/h) driving aPorsche 935/2 Turbo. The race totally dominated by the Stuttgart marque, the first five places going to Porsche 935 Turbos – a934 Turbo was sixth with a Carrera seventh. A little relief came with the eighth-place BMW 320i, two more Porsches rounded out the first ten. In November, Brands Hatch took over the running of the annualFormula Ford Festival (which it still holds to this day) fromSnetterton. This was won by IrishmanDerek Daly in a Hawke DL17.
1977 was a quiet year, with James Hunt retaining hisRace of Champions crown for McLaren. The event was not held in 1978, but this was a Grand Prix year. It was also a year to remember for it was also Indy year. Controversy again loomed at the Grand Prix, but trouble was averted; Niki Lauda had won theSwedish Grand Prix driving theBrabham BT46B 'fan car', but before it arrived in Kent, the car was banned by the FIA. Despite this, Lauda still finished second, in the conventional Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46, behind theFerrari 312T3 of Carlos Reutemann, with the other Brabham of John Watson in third. Fourth went toPatrick Depailler in aTyrrell 008, withHans-Joachim Stuck fifth in aShadow DN9 andPatrick Tambay sixth, in aMcLaren M26.
12 March 1978, saw the return of theEuropean Touring Car Championship (ETCC) to Brands Hatch. Of the four BMW's entered, two did not even make the start. The other two were a Luigi car, entered by BMW Italia forTom Walkinshaw andUmberto Grano, and theJolly Club pairing ofCarlo Facetti andMartino Finotto. The latter were the quickest car, but hopeless pit stops, saw the Luigi car took over the lead on lap 117 (out of 120) and take the spoils. Third was theVW Motorsport Scirocco ofRichard Lloyd andAnton Stocker, as well as their class victory.
Important through the Grand Prix is, the high-spot of the 1978 season at Brands Hatch andSilverstone was the coming of theUSAC Champ Car. John Webb had gone to America to witness the organisation of Indy Racing at first hand and as a result of that visit two rounds of the USAC National Championship were in England. The Silverstone race was wet and the Brands one dry. The costs were £500,000 but, unfortunately the race did not capture the imagination of the British enthusiasts, despite the appearance of such legendary names asA. J. Foyt,Rick Mears,Tom Sneva andDanny Ongais. The Brands race was run on the Club Circuit which was then renamed the Indy Circuit in honour of the guests. The race was won by Mears (Gould Penske), from Sneva with the fastest lap going to Ongais at 104.66 mph (168.43 km/h) (41.4 secs.) – a new outright record.
1979 saw the return of theRace of Champions on 15 April, however the contained only seven regular cars that completed in the World Championship, while the rest of field was made up of entrants from theBritish Formula One Championship. The spoils of victory went to way of Ferrari, withGilles Villeneuve winning in a modified 312T3. Second wasNelson Piquet in aBrabham-Alfa Romeo BT48, from Mario Andretti's Lotus-Cosworth 79 in third. Also, this year the World Championship of Makes arrived for again theBrands Hatch Six-Hours with victory going toReinhold Joest andVolkert Merl in theirJoest RacingPorsche 908/3 Turbo.
The Jolly Club pairing of Carlo Facetti and Martino Finotto, were out of luck again, when the ETCC landed in Kent for the Brands Hatch 500 km. They lost the lead of the race they had comfortably headed for 100 of a scheduled 120 laps, when the gear lever broke. Once again the rival Luigi team were on hand to take a well deserved win, this time being driven the Belgian team ofRaymond van Hove,Jean Xhenceval andPierre Dieudonné with the familiar BMW CSL.[3][8]
The circuit did not see a Race of Champions in 1980 – the Formula One calendar was now so full that the teams could not afford a week to run in a non-championship race and henceforward, British fans would have only one opportunity to see current F1 cars in action per year. A little piece of motor racing history was written whenDesiré Wilson became the first woman to win a Formula One race when she won a round of the British Formula One Championship, driving a Wolf WR4.
27 April 1980, saw the final ETCC race at Brands Hatch, literally sawHarald Neger blow away victory in his Racing Corporation ViennaBMW635CSi. The Austrian stormed through the field in lap one, following a bad practice, but the engine had been over-revved. Now theEggenberger Motorsport BMW 320s took over, and afterHans-Jürg Dürig had to retire with a broken seat,Siegfried Müller Jr. andHelmut Kelleners won the race, with an older BMW 3.0 CSi second with the Belgian pairing ofMichel Delcourt andJean-Marie Baert.[8]
Ayrton Senna da Silva's European car racing debut, 1 March 1981 was impressive, but not sensational, finishing fifth during aP&O Ferries Championship (Formula Ford 1600), driving aVan Diemen RF80. A fortnight later competing in theTownsend Thoresen Championship, Senna totally dominated the race despite a very heavy downpour, winning by 9.4 seconds during 15-lap race on the Indy Circuit. This time driving a Van Diemen RF81. Few knew beforehand that this race would make history – Senna first win.[9]
On 16 March, theBrands Hatch Six-Hours was run and saw a healthy invasion of Italian cars;Lancia Beta Monte Carlos in the hands ofRiccardo Patrese andWalter Röhrl, withMichele Alboreto andEddie Cheever taking the two places forLancia Corse, the winning car being the only one to complete the full race distance of 147 laps, at 99.384 mph (159.943 km/h). In third spot a further lap down was the De Cadenet LM ofAlain de Cadenet and Desiré Wilson. This wasAlan Jones's World Championship year and on his way to the crown he won theMarlboro British Grand Prix on 13 July, in aWilliams-Cosworth FW07B from Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann. Piquet'sBrabham-Cosworth BT49 split the two Williams, Derek Daly and Jean-Pierre Jarier filling the next spots for Tyrrell, with a young Frenchman,Alain Prost for McLaren in sixth. There was a slimmed down calendar in 1981 with but one International, the emphasis being on top-class national racing.
By contrast 1982 was extremely busy. The highlight of the year was theMarlboro British Grand Prix and it was voted the best of the year by the members of theFormula One Constructors Association. Once again the Grand Prix was run over 199 mi (320 km) (76 laps), the winner being Niki Lauda in theMcLaren-Cosworth MP4/1B from theFerrari 126C2 ofDidier Pironi and Patrick Tambay. The winner speed was 124.650 mph (200.605 km/h).
It was a non-Grand Prix year at Brands in 1983, but theMarlboro Daily Mail Race of Champions was successfully staged on 10 April, notwithstanding the fact it was only a week before the French Grand Prix and clashed with a tyre test atPaul Ricard. It was also the last non-championship F1 race to be held in the sport's history. It was won by the reigning world championKeke Rosberg in theWilliams FW08, who narrowly beatDanny Sullivan in hisTyrrell 011. Meanwhile, former world championAlan Jones finished third in his last drive forArrows. To bring some real excitement, noise and spectacle back into British motor racing, the BRSCC inventedThundersports. The new series had its debut on Easter Monday and the country's first major sport car race since the mid-1970s was a resounding success. Then, the year turned into a Grand Prix one after all; following the cancellation of the proposed New York Grand Prix,[10][11] John Webb lobbied FISA in company with the RAC MSA and was granted the opportunity to run theGrand Prix d’Europe on 25 September, thus giving Britain its second Grand Prix that season.
The full circus arrived in Kent andElio de Angelis placed hisLotus-Renault 94T on pole position; the race was 76 laps/199 miles long which Nelson Piquet in theBrabham-BMW BT52B won at 124.411 mph (200.220 km/h). Alain Prost followed him home 6 sec later in theRenault RE40 withNigel Mansell in the second Lotus in third.
In 1984, Brands become the first British circuit to hold Grands Prix in three consecutive years since the 1950s. This was officially the year for Kent to host theBritish Grand Prix but it was fraught with politics as Tyrrell was adjudged by the sport's governing body to have infringed the rules at the Canadian Grand Prix and was excluded from the remainder of the season. A court injunction ensured that the cars started their home race, butStefan Bellof andStefan Johansson qualified the cars on the back row of the grid, the former finishing 11th but Johansson being eliminated in a first-lap accident. The win went to Niki Lauda, driving aMcLaren-TAG MP4/2. Second wasDerek Warwick in theRenault RE50 andAyrton Senna driving theToleman-Hart TG184 into third place. Lauda's winning speed was 124.382 mph (200.173 km/h).
1984 saw the return of theEuropean Formula Two Championship, the first visit since Jochen Rindt's win in 1967, which was also the last race for this category before being replaced by Formula 3000. 23 September turned out to be very wet, with the original race lasting only 16 laps being stopped due to heavy rain. The remaining 31 laps were run later in the day, withPhilippe Streiff in anAGS-BMW winning on aggregate from theMartini-BMW ofMichel Ferté andRoberto Moreno in aRalt-Honda.
On 22 September 1985, Brands Hatch hosted the second British round of theWorld Endurance Championship in the form of theBrands Hatch 1000km. It was to be another Porsche benefit, which the Stuttgart cars taking a 1–2 finish; first was the962C of Derek Bell and Hans-Joachim Stuck (who jointly took the driver's title) with the identical car of Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass second – these two were the only cars to covered the full race distance of 238 laps. Five laps down in third was theLancia-Martini LC2 ofBob Wollek/Mauro Baldi/Andrea de Cesaris.
A fortnight later, for the second time in three years, Britain staged two Grands Prix in one season; in July, the British Grand Prix was held at Silverstone, but the loss of a race in New York City made a date available in Europe towards the end of the season. The management team led by John Webb made a bid for it and won the right to host theGrand Prix d’Europe on 6 October. It was fitting that Nigel Mansell should score his first Grand Prix on this occasion, at the wheel of aWilliams-Honda FW10B, completing the 75 laps of the Grand Prix Circuit, at a speed of 125.795 mph (202.447 km/h) from Ayrton Senna'sLotus-Renault 97T and teammate Keke Rosberg in the other Williams. Alain Prost brought hisMcLaren-TAG MP4/2B home in fourth, to win become the 1985 World Drivers' Championship.
In October that year, rumours started to circulate regarding the future of Motor Circuit Developments; at the time the property ofEagle Star Holdings which had been sold toBritish American Tobacco. This caused some alarm as to the future of the circuits. Thanks to the efforts of John Webb,John Foulston, the then Chairman ofAtlantic Computers plc and a staunch enthusiast of motorsport, secured the future of Brands Hatch,Oulton Park andSnetterton for 'the foreseeable future' in a £5.25m bid. Early in 1987, he addedCadwell Park to his fold, which came to be known as the Brands Hatch Leisure Group.
The Kentish Circuit was to host theGrand Prix only once more and that was on 13 July 1986 (making five years in a row), after which it was to be run continually at Silverstone. The reason for this was that the international motorsports governing body at the time, FISA, had instituted a policy of long-term contracts with circuits. Brands Hatch was perceived as a poorer facility, and it did have very little run-off and room to expand, something Silverstone as a formerWorld War II airfield had in acres. Silverstone and the BRDC had signed a seven-year contract with Formula 1 and FISA at some point in 1986, to run from 1987 to 1993.[12] The 1986 race saw Piquet take pole at 140.53 mph (226.16 km/h), the fastest lap ever recorded at Brands up to that point, and 22 mph faster than the pole time set for the 1976 race on the same layout. Race day saw a major first lap accident at Paddock Bend whereJacques Laffite (Ligier-Renault JS27) broke both legs after going head-on into the wall on the right side of the track, which spelt the end of his F1 career and Brands Hatch as a Formula One circuit. It was his 176th Grand Prix, equalling Graham Hill's record. Nigel Mansell'sWilliams-Honda FW11 had rolled to a stop shortly after the start but, as a result of the race stoppage, he was able to use the spare Williams (which was set up for his teammate Nelson Piquet) and he took the restart, eventually winning from Piquet. Mansell won at a speed of 129.007 mph (207.617 km/h). Alain Prost was third in hisMcLaren-TAG MP4/2C with fourth going toRené Arnoux in the other Ligier, with the Tyrrells ofMartin Brundle and Philippe Streiff taking the final points.
A week later, the World Sports Car Championship contingent arrived in Kent for theBrands Hatch 1000. The first three places were taken byPorsche 956s, the winning car ofBob Wollek andMauro Baldi (Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 956 GTi) being the only car to complete the 238 laps, at a speed of 104.608 mph (168.350 km/h). Second home wasJoest Racing's 956 of Derek Bell, Hans-Joachim Stuck andKlaus Ludwig, with theBrun Motorsport 956 ofThierry Boutsen andFrank Jelinski third, four and five laps down respectively.
Almost exactly a year later, Brands echoed to the sound of the sports car, although the championship was now called, World Sports-Prototype Championship for Teams (WSPC) and the race was theShell Gemini 1000 run on 26 July 1987. This was the year of the 'big cats', with theTom Walkinshaw Racing run Silk Cut Jaguar team and theirXJR-8 ofRaul Boesel andJohn Nielsen, who won at an average speed of 111.80 mph (179.92 km/h) with the Richard Lloyd Racing entered Porsche 962GTi of Mauro Baldi andJohnny Dumfries second, these two being the only cars to run the full distance. Third, no less than nine laps adrift, wasJan Lammers and John Watson's XJR-8.
If the Grand Prix was lost to Brands, large-capacity single-seater racing cars were not entirely so and on 23 August, theIntercontinental F3000 Championship was run, as the early years of the championship, the cars were all Cosworth-powered Lolas, Marches and Ralts. The race was over 45 laps, making a distance of 117 mi (188 km), whichJulian Bailey won at 119.30 mph (191.99 km/h) in aLola T87/50. In second place wasMaurício Gugelmin, followed byRoberto Moreno, bothRalt RT21-mounted, withStefano Modena andYannick Dalmas.
The big sports cars returned again on 24 July 1988. The 'big cats' were victorious again, this time usingJaguar XJR-9s, driven by Martin Brundle, John Nielsen andAndy Wallace. They were the only car to complete the full race distance, averaging 112.31 mph (180.75 km/h). in second place was the Joest Racing Porsche 962C of Bob Wollek and Klaus Ludwig, with third going to Mauro Baldi andJean-Louis Schlesser in theirSauber-Mercedes C9 .
A little under a month later, the F3000 brigade arrived. Practice was marred by a series of worrying accidents, butJohnny Herbert took pole position with his teammateMartin Donnelly alongside in theEddie Jordan RacingReynard 88Ds. In the race, they were in a class of their own with Herbert taking a huge lead as the race was stopped following an accident at Paddock Bend. At the restart Donnelly moved into the lead fromPierluigi Martini, butGregor Foitek and Herbert touched, resulting in a bad accident and a second stoppage. Herbert was seriously injured, suffering major leg fractures. At the third start, Donnelly went away to score a debut win in the Formula, at 120.8 mph (194.4 km/h), from Martini in aMarch 88B andMark Blundell in aLola T88/50.
On 23 July 1989, the WSPC contenders arrived in Kent, for theBrands Hatch Trophy. Following changes to championship rules, the race distance was down to 115 laps of the Grand Prix Circuit, making a race distance of 299 mi (481 km), which was won by the Sauber-Mercedes C9 of Mauro Baldi andKenny Acheson, at an average speed of 111.15 mph (178.88 km/h). into second place came a Porsche 962C contested by Bob Wollek and Frank Jelinski, from the second Sauber of Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jochen Mass. The British cars were placed fourth and fifth, theAston Martin AMR1 ofDavid Leslie and Brian Redman beating theJaguar XJR-11 of Jan Lammers and Patrick Tambay.
A month later, on 20 August, the International F3000 Championship was held over 48 laps of the Grand Prix Circuit, which Martin Donnelly won the second successive year in aReynard 89D at 120.66 mph (194.18 km/h). Second was teammateJean Alesi, followed byÉrik Comas in aLola T89/50.[3]
Brands Hatch Racing was aFormula Oneentrant in1980. They competed in the1980 British Grand Prix with driverDesiré Wilson,Williams as manufacturer of theWilliams FW07 with aFord engine andGoodyear tyres.[13][14][15] As car number 43 its qualifying position of 27th was not good enough to qualify for the race. In the following years, they were involved insports car racing between 1980 and 1984:
| Year | Date | Race | Car | Drivers | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 16 March | 6 Hours of Brands Hatch | Tiga SC80-Ford Pinto | Divina Galica Mark Thatcher | 11th |
| 1984 | 20 April | Thundersports The Gold Cup Oulton Park | Lola T610-Ford-Cosworth | Steve Kempton John Bartlett | - |
| 1984 | 23 April | Thundersports Brands Hatch a.k.a.Thundersports Easter Monday | Lola T610-Ford-Cosworth | Steve Kempton John Bartlett | - |
| 1984 | 22 July | Thundersports Brands Hatch a.k.a.John Player SpecialBritish Grand Prix | Tiga TS84-Ford-Cosworth | Gary Brabham Tim Lee-Davey | 8th |
| Lola T610-Ford-Cosworth | Steve Kempton Duncan Gray John Bartlett | DNF |
Exactly a year later on 19 August 1990, the Formula 3000 cars were back to contest the eighth round of the Championship.Allan McNish won the 125 mi (201 km) race at 108.26 mph (174.23 km/h) in aLola T90/50 with a Mugen engine, followed byDamon Hill in an identical car, with a Cosworth power plant. The final step of the podium was taken byMarco Apicella. The Sports Prototypes did not return to Kent in 1990, going toDonington Park instead.
The 1991 International Formula 3000 Championship returned on 18 August for another 125 mi (201 km) race around the Grand Prix Circuit.Reynard 91Ds filled the first three places, first home beingEmanuele Naspetti at 123.9 mph (199.4 km/h), driving with Cosworth-power, fromAlex Zanardi in a similar car. Third went toChristian Fittipaldi in the Pacific Racing Mugen entered Reynard.
International motor racing returned for the1996 BPR 4 Hours of Brands Hatch, when a round of theBPR Global GT Series for GT1 and GT2 sports cars was staged there on 8 September. ThePorsche 911 GT1 of Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen led home threeMcLaren F1 GTRs driven by Andy Wallace/Olivier Grouillard,Pierre-Henri Raphanel/Lindsay Owen-Jones and John Nielsen/Thomas Bscher.
In October 1999,Octagon, a part ofInterpublic, commenced negotiations for the purchase of Brands Hatch Leisure Group. In December an agreement was reached, with control of Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park and Snetterton passing to the new owners for £120m.[16] Octagon obtained the right from the FIA to run the British Grand Prix from 2002 and announced the intention of rebuilding the Grand Prix Circuit, whilst at the same time negotiating with the British Racing Drivers Club to run the Grand Prix at Silverstone. An agreement was reached which ensured that the Grand Prix will be run at Silverstone for 15 years. Because of this agreement, the layout of the Grand Prix Circuit at Brands Hatch stayed nearly identical to before.[3][17]
The circuit has acurfew of 18:30 due to ahousing estate built near to Clearways bend. Race engines cannot be started until after 08:30 and must be turned off by 18:30.[18] Despite this, Brands Hatch holds race meetings on almost every weekend during the motorsport season, ranging from small club series to major international races attracting up to 50,000 spectators.
After Octagon failed to obtain the necessary planning permission and subsequent leasing of the British Grand Prix to Silverstone, this left Brands Hatch without any top-line single-seater racing. However, high-profile single-seater did return in 2003, when theLondon Champ Car Trophy, a round of theCART Series, was held at the circuit. Despite attracting around 40,000 spectators to seeSébastien Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing Lola) win, the race was not retained for subsequent seasons.[17][19][20]
Over the winter of 2002/03, the Dingle Dell chicane was reprofiled and removed. The motorcycle racing governing body (FIM) requested the change ahead of the World Superbike Championship visit in August, but it also allowed the installation of extra gravel traps should the CART be switched from the Indy Circuit to the Grand Prix configuration. Shortly after completion, Barry Sheene died, and the new complex was renamed theSheene Curve.[21][22]
One of the biggest developments in the circuit's history occurred in January 2004, whenJonathan Palmer'sMotorSport Vision company completed the purchase of Brands Hatch and the other Octagon venues (Cadwell Park,Oulton Park, andSnetterton).[23] Palmer immediately implemented a programme of improvements to the venue, designed to heighten customer experiences both for spectators and competitors.
25 September 2005, the inauguralA1 Grand Prix of Nations was held at Brands Hatch. A1 Grand Prix was a single-seater one-make series where the drivers represented their nation, as opposed themselves or a team. The first race, an 18-lap Sprint sawNelson Piquet Jr. lead flag-to-flag to win forA1 Team Brazil, ahead ofAlexandre Premat (France) andMatt Halliday (New Zealand). The 35-lap Main race also went to Piquet Jr. withAustralia'sWill Power second, andMexico'sSalvador Durán third.[24]
On a rainy and cold 21 May 2006,SEAT andChevrolet shared the honours on the first visit of theWorld Touring Car Championship (WTCC)'s to Brands Hatch. Despite the weather, a good crowd came to the circuit to witness two races that were both run on soaked asphalt. SEAT Sport secured a 1–2–3 finish withYvan Muller taking the flag ahead of teammatesPeter Terting andJames Thompson.Alain Menu was welcomed back to the pits as a hero by the RML garage at the end of Race 2 as he achieved the team's first WTCC victory. SEAT'sRickard Rydell finished second on the podium with fellow SEAT driver, Thompson obtaining another third place of the day.
2006, also saw the first visit of theDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) on 2 July. In the warm English sunshine, 21,500 fans witnessedTom Kristensen, who seemed to be a sure winner in hisAudi A4, but with 16 of the 85 laps to go, his car shot off with problems. The winner was the Swede,Mattias Ekström. Second and third wereJamie Green andBernd Schneider.
The A1 Grand Prix cars returned on 29 April 2007, for thefinale of their 2006/07 season. This timeGreat Britain was victorious in the Sprint with Robbie Kerr driving, with Nico Hülkenberg (Germany) andEnrico Toccacelo (Italy) third. Hülkenberg reversed the result in the Main to win from Kerr with Toccacelo again in third.
A perfect pit stop strategy, great overtaking manoeuvres and a vast experience enabled Bernd Schneider (AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse) to take the DTM victory when the series visited in 2007. Only 0.543 seconds behind wasMartin Tomczyk, with third going to Mattias Ekström, both drivingAudi Team Abt Sportsline entered A4s.
23 September 2007, saw Alain Menu claim victory in Race 1, after not putting a wheel wrong all race. The Chevrolet driver came under pressure fromN.Technology's James Thompson on numerous occasion but theAlfa Romeo never got close enough to overtake, Third across the line wasColin Turkington'sBMW. Race 2 sawAndy Priaulx take his first ever win at the wheel of a touring car at Brands. The man fromGuernsey lead homeFélix Porteiro (BMW) andRobert Huff (Chevrolet).
Brands Hatch held thefinale again on 4 May 2008. Like the previous season, Robbie Kerr won the Sprint race theAmerican,Jonathan Summerton andIreland'sAdam Carroll taking the next two steps on the podium. The Main race went to way ofTeam India'sNarain Karthikeyan from Kerr in second andNeel Jani (Switzerland) third.
WTCC witnessed BMW and Chevrolet share the glory when they returned to Kent for theWTCC Race of UK, 27 July 2008. Jörg Müller ofBMW Team Germany and Alain Menu for Chevrolet claimed a win each. The German inherited his win when Robert Huff (Chevrolet) went off while leading. As for Menu, this was his third WTCC win at Brands in three years, closely followed home by Félix Porteiro andAlex Zanardi in third.
31 August 2008 saw unstable weather conditions, andTimo Scheider (Audi Team Abt Sportline) defended an extremely narrow lead against the Mercedes driver,Paul di Resta. In front of a weekend crowd of 26,800, Mattias Ekström recovered with a drive to finish third.
Brands Hatch has held sixteenSuperbike World Championship, since 1993, whenGiancarlo Falappa's double victory in the pouring rain, including two rounds in 2000. Brands has featured in many of the pivotal moments in the championship's history, includingCarl Fogarty's double victory in 1995, and more recentlyJames Toseland's double in 2007, not forgettingShane 'Shakey' Bryne's double as a "wildcard" entrant back in 2003. The last visit in 2008 sawRyuichi Kiyonari take his first two World Superbike wins of his career, although this was overshadowed by the death ofCraig Jones in a supporting World Supersports race. Unfortunately, the circuit owners,MotorSport Vision and the championship organisersFG Sport decided not to return to Brands Hatch in 2009, over a dispute about an increased sanctioning fee.
Back in 1999, the event was dominated by Fogarty's fan, his following was enormous. He would attract a record crowd of 100,000 spectators to Brands (unofficially, the figure was nearer 120,000). The grandstands were red withDucati jackets and shirts. The flags were covered with the menacing image of the "Foggy Eyes" and Union Jacks. Despite all this support the American,Colin Edwards (Honda) taking the double.[25][26][27]
2009 saw thelast A1 Grand Prix, and this was held at Brands Hatch, following the cancellation of the final round in Mexico. Adam Carroll won both races forA1 Team Ireland. The Sprint podium was completed by Team India's Narain Karthikeyan and Mexico's Salvador Durán, withHolland'sJeroen Bleekemolen and Swiss driver Neel Jani doing the same in the Main race.[28]
Once again Alain Menu proved to be one of the men to beat when the WTCC revisited Brands in2009; the Swiss overtook his teammate Robert Huff in the early stages of Race 1 and added another victory to his impressive tally on this track. Huff finished second from an aggressive Andy Priaulx (BMW).Augusto Farfus (BMW) turned pole into victory in Race 2, with teammate Jörg Müller following him home in second.Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT) won a tough fight for third with Priaulx and Rickard Rydell (SEAT).[29]
DTM returned to Kent for their annual visit on 6 September 2009. Paul di Resta delivered a timely victory forHWA Team and Mercedes-Benz, after he made a good start from pole position, as he fended off the first corner challenge of Timp Scheider's Audi, to claim Mercedes' 150th DTM win.[30]
On 18 July 2010, Yvan Muller and Robert Huff gave RML's Chevrolet a 1–2 finished the WTCC Race 1 of UK, ahead of Independent runner, Colin Turkington'sTeam RAC BMW who drove agreat race to take the final podium position from Alain Menu on the penultimate lap.BMW Team RBM's Andy Priaulx converted pole position into a Race 2 win on home turf. Turkington went one better in race two to bring his BMW 320i across the line in second to complete a great result for British drivers. Gabriele Tarquini secured the final podium spot forSR-Sport and SEAT.[29]
With an impressive display, Paul di Resta takes another DTM in 2010. After 98 laps, he crossed the finish line with his AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse, 7.4 seconds ahead of his teammateBruno Spengler, thus repeated last year's victory. Double champion, Timo Scheider (Audi) completed the podium.[31]
Martin Tomczyk headed an Audi 1–2–3 in a wet race at Brands Hatch, on 4 September 2011. Mattias Ekström secured second, just two seconds behind and closing.Edoardo Mortara was third, just two seconds ahead of top Mercedes driver, Gary Paffett in fourth.[30]
On 20 May 2012,Gary Paffett(Mercedes-Benz AMG C-Coupé) won his home DTM race, from pole position. His margin of victory over Bruno SpenglerBMW M3 DTM was five seconds.Mike Rockenfeller completed the top three in theTeam Phoenix Audi A5 DTM, making it three different manufacturers on the podium. This was Mercedes' fourth win out of seven races at Brands Hatch.[32]
The DTM competitors returned to Brands, May 2013, whereMike Rockenfeller dominated with a lights-to-flag win, in hisAudi RS5. The reigning champion, Bruno Spengler was second for BMW with his fellow Canadian,Robert Wickens taking third forMercedes-Benz.[33] However the DTM cars did not return in 2014, as the series expanded into Eastern Europe and China. DTM chief, Hans Werner Aufrecht said that "while Brands andZandvoort had been good venues for the championship, Hungary and China were stronger markets". Meanwhile,Jonathan Palmer, head of Brands owner MotorSport Vision, said the decision to part with the DTM was a mutual one. "We have enjoyed hosting DTM at Brands Hatch for eight years but we have agreed with ITR that it's time for the event to move on. We witnessed great races at these circuits and have to say thank you for the good cooperation," he said.
After a four-year hiatus, it was confirmed that DTM would return to Brands Hatch in August 2018, this time competing on the full Grand Prix layout.[34]
TheBritish Superbike season finale has also been regularly hosted at the circuit, with the 2011 deciding round proving particularly dramatic, asTommy Hill andJohn Hopkins frequently overtook each other on the final lap, with Hill emerging as the champion by 0.006 of a second.[35] Brands Hatch typically hosts three rounds of the series, including two events on the Grand Prix circuit.
The opening and closing rounds of theBritish Touring Car Championship are also held at Brands Hatch, with the champions typically crowned at the circuit in October.
Brands Hatch had hostedBritcar's 'Into the Night' race from 2008 to 2011. After a four-year hiatus, it hosted the final round of the 2016 season in the night again and this event continues annually.
Truck racing has also developed into a large family-friendly event, with the series final event of the year concluded with a large fireworks display which attracts huge crowds.
The circuit also hosts a major events on the historic racing calendar on May Bank Holiday: the Masters Historic Festival.
Despite the curfew, the early evenings during the autumn months allow some racing to take place in darkness and theBritcar 'into the night' race has been a regular on the calendar, with the Lotus 1000 km reviving a tradition that started in the 1960s with the BOAC sportscar races.
The circuit has also launched a number of innovative themed festivals celebrating motorsport of different cultures, including the American SpeedFest, Festival Italia and Deutsche Fest. The American SpeedFest, launched in 2013, features theNASCAR Whelen Euro Series has become one of the venue's biggest events of the year. These festivals feature large off track entertainment areas, running concurrently with the on track racing.
In the early 1980s, Rallycross was beginning to attract more sponsorship and enjoy a higher quality of competition, frequently broadcast on BBC Grandstand.[citation needed] The Rallycross Grand Prix ran at Brands Hatch between 1982 and 1994 and was an open competition for anyone who owned a Rallycross car. This led to an appealing race with eclectic mix of cars and drivers, most notably Denis Marcel's in aMatra Murena,Stig Blomqvist in his ownAudi Quattro, andCor Euser in aMG Metro 6R4. Also, the location of the circuit and the marketing effort of the organizers contributed to its success. In a popular move,Group B rally cars were permitted from 1987 until 1992.[citation needed]
Recent versions atLydden Hill andCroft have not recaptured the magic of the original Grand Prix, which remain some of the sport's best ever.[according to whom?][36]
Aside from circuit racing,Single Stage Rally uses the tarmac and other inner sections of the circuit like the pits and other roads at the venue. The annual Modified Live and Race Car Live events also follow an exhibition format.
The circuit has hosted theMotocross des Nations four times.
In 2011, it also hosted one of the rounds of theMini 7 Racing Club season.
During the week the circuit offers some general test days and driving experiences, and can also be hired out for private testing andtrack days.
Since 2015, Brands Hatch hosts the Revolve24 Circuit Challenge, anultra-distance cycling event featuring 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour races for soloists and relay teams up to 8 riders.[37][38]
In September 2012, Brands Hatch was the base for theroad cycling events of the2012 Summer Paralympics.[39] Riders raced around a course that starts and finishes at Brands Hatch and encompasses both the circuit and local roads surrounding it.[40]
Notably, the men'sH4time trial[41] androad race[42] were won by Italy'sAlex Zanardi, a racing driver who had extensive experience as a driver at the track. Zanardi first drove at Brands Hatch in 1991 in theFormula 3000 series, and had last driven at the track in theWorld Touring Car Championship in 2009 – eight years after losing both legs in anear-fatal 2001 racing accident during a CART FedEx Championship Series race in Germany.[41]
The unofficial all-time track record set during a race weekend on the Grand Prix Circuit configuration is 1:06.961, set byNelson Piquet in aWilliams FW11, during qualifying for the second (final) qualifying for the1986 British Grand Prix.[43] The outright lap record for the Grand Prix configuration is 1:09.593, set byNigel Mansell in hisWilliams FW11 at the circuit's last Formula OneGrand Prix in July 1986,[44] although changes to the circuit over winter of 2002 for the 2003 season means that the lap record in its current configuration was set byAdam Carroll withA1GP Powered by Ferrari car in the2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Great Britain with a lap time of 01:12.276. The record on the shorter Indy Circuit layout is 0:38.032 seconds, set byScott Mansell with aBenetton B197 Judd during the 2004EuroBOSS season.[45]
On two wheels the outright lap record for the Grand Prix configuration is 1:24.466, set byBradley Ray, riding aYamaha YZF-R1 in the July 2025 round of the British Superbike Championship.[46]Bradley Ray holds the two wheel lap record on the Indy Circuit at 0:45.201 seconds. He set this on hisSuzuki GSX-R1000 at the April round of the 2018 British Superbike Championship.[47]
In DTM,Miguel Molina set a time on the Indy Circuit of 0:41.896 in aAudi A4 DTM 2008, withAnder Vilariño setting a laptime in the2013 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season of 0:49.032 in hisChevrolet Camaro, andTom Ingram setting a time of 0:47.157 in theHyundai i30 BTCC. At the2010 Brands Hatch Superleague Formula round,Craig Dolby set a time of 1:13.460. In GT3,Raffaele Marciello drove a lap of 1:22.557 in aMercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. In the2007 FIA WTCC Race of UK,Yvan Muller drove hisSEAT León for a time of 1:33.980. After DTM switched to the GP layout for the DTM in 2018,Philipp Eng set the fastestDTM lap of 1:17.862 in 2019.
As of November 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Brands Hatch are listed as:
Brands Hatch has appeared in several pieces of media, ranging from film to television and racing video games.
Racing films that have utilized Brands Hatch include:
Non-racing films and television series that have used Brands Hatch includeCI5: The New Professionals (1999),The Saint (1967) andMy Fault: London (2025).[154]
It has appeared in multiple video games. InF1 2013, it appeared as a classic track appearing in the game with other classic circuits such asEstoril,Jerez andImola.[155] Within theGran Turismo series, the circuit appeares inGran Turismo 6,[156]Gran Turismo 7[157] andGran Turismo Sport.[158] InForza Motorsport, the track has appeared in all iterations sinceForza Motorsport 6.[159][160] Other notable games includeiRacing,[161]Shift 2: Unleashed,[162]Assetto Corsa Competizione[163] andAutomobilista 2.[164]
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