One of the world's most iconic sporting venues, Brands Hatch
plays host to a multitude of prestigious motorsport events on both
two and four wheels.
Brands Hatch is visited by a multitude of top class national
championships including the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
and Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, both of which hold
their closing rounds here. Other big events include British F3/GT,
the British Truck Racing Championship and there are many club car
and bike meetings. The circuit also hosts historic racing with the
HSCC Superprix and Masters Festivals, which often includes classic
Formula 1 and Touring Car racing.
The Blancpain GT Series brings top-line sports car racing
to the venue, and there's further international action at the
NASCAR-headlined American SpeedFest. Brands Hatch also hosts
festivals for the Mini and Lotus marques.
A natural amphitheatre offering unrivalled views of the action
from various vantage points, Brands Hatch is known as Britain's
best loved motor racing circuit. And you can also experience
it for yourself with a renowned programme of driving experiences
and trackdays on offer.
There has been a race track at Brands Hatch since 1926,
when the land was first used for grass track bike racing. In those
days, competitors ran anti-clockwise, but the direction of the
circuit was switched in 1954.
The heritage of Brands is vast - name any famous driver from the
last 50 years or so and they are bound to have cut their teeth
racing here. Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Barry Sheene, Jack Brabham,
Ayrton Senna, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are among the
countless drivers to have raced and won at Brands over the
years.
Nigel Mansell scored his first Grand Prix victory here, also
winning the final F1 World Championship race at Brands Hatch
in 1986. The circuit became the spiritual home of the World
Superbike Championship in the 1990s and 2000s, and hosted the first
A1 Grand Prix in 2005. Past winners of the Formula Ford Festival
meanwhile have included Jenson Button and Mark Webber. Brands Hatch
continues to make history, with the Road Cycling events at the 2012
Paralympic Games based at the Kent circuit proving a huge success,
with Alex Zanardi's performances voted as the number one moment of
the 2012 Paralympic Games by the International Paralympic
Committee. In 2013 it became one of few circuits in the world to
stage an F1, Indycar and NASCAR event, the latter making its debut
at the American SpeedFest with the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
International racing also continues to thrive with the Blancpain GT
Series.
Brands Hatch's unique combination of dips, cambers, fearsome
corners and hills means it is still one of the world's favourite
racing circuits, and continues to go from strength to strength.
