Feature
The GT World Challenge
Europe field charges towards
Paddock Hill
AZ EDWARDS
Jonathan Palmer stepped into acquire it with his MotorSport Vision business.
Recognising what had been lost, former F1 driver Palmer – who made his Grand Prix debut at the circuit and won the Brands Hatch 1000km in 1984 – invested heavily not just in infrastructure but in operational philosophy. Brands Hatch was repositioned as a living, working circuit, capable of hosting everything from toplevel series to grassroots racing and track days – and it started to thrive once again.
Palmer brought Webb back as a consultant – a symbolic gesture which reconnected with the circuit’ s original identity – and within a short space of time international events had returned. Hosting the inaugural A1GP‘ World Cup of Motorsport’ race in 2005 brought back the crowds and the World Touring Car Championship and DTM followed. Brands Hatch was back to its prime, a racers’ circuit offering a huge range of different motorsport disciplines.
The Ferrari 330 P4 of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Peter Sutcliffe competing in the 1967 Brands Hatch 6 Hours race
THE CENTENARY SUMMER
As it enters its centenary year, Brands Hatch is now one of the busiest motor racing circuits anywhere in the world. It is alive with an annual calendar that is filled with all levels of motorsport, from the flagship GT World Challenge and BTCC to the club events that make the sport’ s amateur racers tick.
Motorcycles – whose presence predates cars at the circuit – remain central, with the British Superbike Championship delivering some of the most intense racing every season but four wheels are thriving too.
One reason for this is the emphasis on family-themed events, such as the hugely successful American SpeedFest which combines exciting race action from the NASCAR Euro Series and adds a themed support programme, highspeed demonstrations and off-track entertainment that includes a car show and country music festival. Created in the true spirit of Webb’ s original vision,
48 Revolution Magazine