West Kingsdown, Kent · GB
A classic British circuit carved into a natural amphitheatre in the Kent countryside. The dramatic Paddock Hill Bend plunge and the sweeping curves of the Grand Prix loop have thrilled fans since 1950.
Brands Hatch is a permanent racing circuit, located in West Kingsdown, Kent. Drivers cover 3.916 km (2.433 miles) and 9 corners each lap, run clockwise. Among its named corners are Paddock Hill Bend, Druids and Graham Hill Bend.
It opened in 1950. It appears on the GT and Touring Car calendars. Around 40,000 spectators can attend.
The site was found by accident. In 1926 a group of cyclists stopped to look at a mushroom field and concluded the natural bowl would make a good arena for competition — the name comes from old English, hatch meaning gate. Grass-track motorcycle racing followed, run in the amphitheatre that still shapes the spectator banking today.
Tarmac arrived in 1950, a kidney-shaped mile that opened on 16 April with a race for 500cc single-seaters, run anti-clockwise. The longer Grand Prix loop was cut into the woods at the end of the decade, taking the lap to 2.65 miles, and the first major event on it came in August 1960: the non-championship Silver City Trophy, won by Jack Brabham. The British Grand Prix alternated here with Silverstone from 1964 to 1986.
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