Brands Hatch will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix at the Masters Historic Festival on 24-25 May.
The first race at the iconic Kent circuit saw Jim Clark take his Lotus 25 to victory, beating fellow Briton Graham Hill in the BRM P261 by just 2.8 seconds. Brands Hatch hosted the British Grand Prix a further eleven times as well as the 1983 and 1985 European Grand Prix. Among the names to make it to the top step of the podium were Jack Brabham, Jochen Rindt, Niki Lauda and Nigel Mansell.
The celebrations at the Masters Historic Festival will be headlined by the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship, open to F1 machinery from 1966 to 1985, with McLarens, Williams and Tyrrells all expected to be doing battle across the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Meanwhile, the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association will also stage a race for Grand Prix cars from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
Also on the timetable, Masters Historic Racing will display as many Brands Hatch Grand Prix winning cars as possible, plus there will be multiple demonstration runs from almost every era of Formula 1’s history. Classic Saloons and Sportscars, including the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship, will also be in action.
While the full GP circuit will be in use during the Festival weekend, Bank Holiday Monday (26 May) will also see historic race action, this time taking place on the shorter Indy circuit.
“We are very excited about our Brands Hatch Masters Festival for 2014,” said Masters Historic Racing Event Manager Rachel Bailey “By moving the main days to Saturday and Sunday we are targeting a greater number of European racers and thanks to the inclusion of the HGPCA we will be looking at the evolution of Grand Prix cars from the 1930s to the mid-1980s. It should be a great weekend.”
