McLaren at Brands

Retro race day set for bumper crowds

Brands Hatch is hosting a retro event this weekend, offering motorsport fans the chance to see classic Formula 1 cars from the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties.

The HSCC Superprix event takes place at the Fawkham circuit this Saturday and Sunday and around 350 racers are expected to compete over the famous circuit, which hosted the British and European Grand Prix from 1964 to 1986.

A scheduled FIA Historic Formula 1 Championship race has been cancelled, but many of the cars due to take part will now race in the Derek Bell Trophy alongside some powerful Formula 5000 and F2 machinery.

A huge grid for this race includes a Surtees TS9 from 1971, while John Delane will drive the Tyrrell 006 that helped Jackie Stewart to his third and final World Championship in 1973.

The field includes three classic cars from 1977: an Ensign, as raced by grand prix winners Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx, a Hesketh from the team that launched James Hunt’s career and the McLaren M26 that brought Hunt three wins in the year he defended his Formula 1 title.

Fans with less distant memories can see the 1990 and 1992 Benettons driven by world champions Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher, while Piquet’s 1988 Lotus 101T, carrying the coveted number 1, will also be in the field.

Tickets are available on the gate from £21 with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk