Historic Super Prix – Brands Hatch

Report by David Harbey 

28 July 2020

There was much anticipation in the historic racing fraternity as Motor Sport Vision who operate Brands Hatch, and the Historic Sports Car Club who run the races, announced new dates for the Legends of Brands Hatch Super Prix. Entries rolled in as racers were keen to get back on track.

MSV provided useful information on their website, screen grab below, including guidance for day visitors and clearly identified those areas which were, in deference to coronavirus, off limits. Regardless, I wasn’t intending to visit either paddock as, on this occasion, the races were on the Grand Prix circuit.

My only previous visit to Brands for a race on the full circuit was the 1968 Grand Prix when we travelled en famille from Derby on Friday after my Dad had finished work, slept in the car at the track on South Bank and saw Jo Siffert win in the Rob Walker Lotus 49 – the last win for a private entrant.



These three photos are scanned from 35mm slides and taken with an Ilford Sportsman camera; as you can see the lap of honour was a little different in those days !

PistonClick has covered events on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit before and there is a guide available which primarily covers that area - Brands Hatch Photographic Guide - this report seeks to fill in some of the gaps as we spent most of our time on the GP loop.

We started at A on the track map above as the cars come under the bridge used to access the car parking at South Bank and behind Druids. 

Walking from B to C takes you to the inside of Hawthorns. It’s a loose path with a steep drop down to where the rally stages starts and then climbs back up through the trees. As you emerge, it is possible to look back and see the cars start to climb back up to Hawthorns.

There are a couple of windows in the fence for the accredited snappers but it’s not really possible to get close enough if you stay behind the spectator barrier. Here’s my best effort for illustration purposes only.

Hawthorns is a fast right hander where the spectators are above the track and you can get a good panning shot at the apex. Andrew captured the mighty McLaren M8F and the more nimble Gunston sponsored Chevron B19, then got carried away in post processing …

I opted for the classic shape of the Chevron B8, the B16 and the thunder of the Corvette.

The stretch from Hawthorns to Westfield and then Dingle Dell has extensive fencing, meaning that even simple panning shots are not possible. Our next stop was between Sheene and Stirlings – D on the map.

The Historic Formula Fords were coming out for their qualifying session - engine noise, engine noise, engine noise, crump ! Kit Lawson had gone a little wide exiting Sheene, lost the back end and nosed into the barrier.

There is still a lot of fence, but there is an interesting rear three quarter shot as the cars speed off to Stirlings.

Beyond Stirlings at E on the map, there’s a view back to the corner with a couple of photographer’s windows in the fence. It may well be occupied when you get there as it seems to be fairly popular.

You will need to move around and possibly use a step to get a clean shot through the window. I have left the bottom of window in a couple of the photos of the Historic F2 cars.

The 70s Road Sports race brought a variety of cars including a few Alfa Romeos, which is never a bad thing ! The pace was set by the yellow TVR and Gold Leaf colours Lotus Elan.

Our trip round the GP loop finished overlooking Surtees at F on the map. There is a fence and so a step is useful here although you may be able to shoot through the top levels of the fence. Guy Smith – yes, the Le Mans winner - was out for the second event in his new Lotus Cortina and leading a large field.

A couple of laps into the race, a combination of a Mustang engine letting go and a collision on the pit straight led to what was clearly going to be a longish stop. A collective decision was made to grab the chairs, an ice cream and a spot overlooking the hairpin at Druids for the rest of the day.

The cameras were thus not to hand as Smith’s throttle stuck open approaching Druids. He put the car as sideways as he could but still hit the barrier with some force; fortunately, the only damage was to the car. Hmmm, cameras were ready when the Classic Formula Ford and Historic F3 came out to play next.

With understandable caution and limited marshal numbers there were one or two more Safety cars than normal, but in the circumstances, we were grateful for the chance to go and shoot some motorsport – just as much as the competitors seemed to appreciate the opportunity to finally race in 2020.

Having taken 50+ years to see racing on the Grand Prix loop, the plan is to return for the Masters Historic meeting in August. Meanwhile, the HSCC are at Oulton Park in August, Cadwell Park in September and Silverstone in October.