A bizarrely warm and sunny Brands Hatch greeted us after the jump over the dartford cross which was a pleasant surprise for a mid October morning. This was the first time attending a BTCC round and the timetable for the day was packed with 11 races covering Formula 4, Ginetta Juniors, Ginetta GT4 Mini Challenge and Carrera Cup as well as the BTCC.
We started the day with a wander round the paddock to check out what last minute chaos was occurring. Our normal stomping ground is rallying so we’re not unfamiliar with some last minute mayhem when you’re trying to get the car out on event and it looks like it’s the same for circuit racing too.
Watching the out lap for the first BTCC round of the day was the first time seeing a full grid, the shear quantity of cars on track simultaneously was phenomenal. Seeing the swarm come round Paddock Hill bend and through Druid Rise provided an unforgettable spectacle. It’s no surprise with that quantity of cars that a clash and a couple of laps under safety car were inevitable.
The liveries of the BTCC have always been iconic and this year is the same with the brash colours of the Rich Energy standing out. The simplicity of the Car Gods and Rokit BMWs are personal favourites.
Having an opportunity to watch a round of the Mini Challenge was great, it’s a series that has been of interest for a while. Having been a fan of Minis and hot hatches for years this series is perfection. The racing was epic, lots of bumper to bumper action with every car barking like an angry Jack Russell. The one make series is something which has been missing from rallying for years and seeing how well it works on track certainly got some creative juices flowing.
On the subject of single make series, the Carrera Cup had two rounds over the day filling the air with the sound of screaming flat sixes. The first race of the day was unfortunately red flagged due to one car mounting the fence above a marshal post, fortunately the driver was unharmed and their mechanics were able to get the car back in action for the afternoons race. The light was starting to fade in the second race meaning it was headlights on giving Le Mans vibes.
The day at Brands Hatch provided great opportunity to practice panning shots to capture the action. It was also great to see circuit racing has the same service park chaos as rallying, combined with some wheel to wheel racing its certainly got us keen to attend more .We thoroughly enjoyed our day, thank you to all organisers, competitors, teams and marshals for putting on such an exceptional event.
Check out the gallery below for more images.
Images and words by Mitcham Media
