Non-stop action at Brands Hatch Masters Festival

The Brands Hatch Masters Festival is bigger and better than ever this year. Three days of action are set to use the Grand Prix and Indy circuits with a whopping 22 races over the three days of May 23rd, 24th and 25th.F1 feverThe FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship takes centre stage with two races on the Grand Prix circuit. Tyrrell, Williams, Arrows, Lotus, Ensign, Shadow and Brabham are in the entry, with Joaquin Folch set to star in his Bernie Ecclestone-owned Brabham BT49C, as will Andy Wolfe (Tyrell 011) and Loic Deman (Tyrrell 010), hot on the heels of his win in Barcelona.Not just racing…There will be more Formula One cars on track with a number of cars ready to do demonstration laps. Steve Griffiths will bring his 1989 Lotus 101, an ex-Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima car in which the Japanese driver took fourth in that year’s Australian Grand Prix. GP Extreme will be bringing a 1996 Benetton B196 as raced by Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi and a Prost AP02 as raced in 1999 by Jarno Trulli and Olivier Panis.Touring cars to starThere will be touring cars everywhere at Brands Hatch, as the Super Touring Challenge, for cars of the 1990s, will be joined by the Masters Pre-66 Touring Car Championship. The Pre-66 action will feature the American V8s against the homologation specials, so look for Henry Mann’s Ford Mustang and Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield (Ford Falcon) taking on Mini aces Nick Swift, Ian Curley and Jonathan Lewis plus the Lotus Cortina of Sean McInerney.  Super Touring; super racingRecreating a golden age of the British Touring Car championship, the Super Touring Car Challenge races on Sunday and Monday, producing action on the Grand Prix and Indy circuit layouts. Jason Minshaw will be one to watch in his iconic Demon Tweeks-liveried BMW M3, with two-time titlist John Cleland (Vauxhall Vectra) taking on Simon Garrad’s ex-Roland Asch Vectra from the German championship, Dave Jarman’s ex-Matt Neal Nissan Primera and Neil Smith’s Alfa Romeo 156.  From far and wideWhile a number of drivers racing at the Brands Hatch Masters Festival are local, spare a thought for the travellers: Laurie Bennett comes from Australia to race his McLaren M1B in the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship; Moscow-based New Zealander Roger Wills jets in to race in the Pre-66 Touring Car and Gentlemen Drivers Pre-66 GT races plus Hong Kong-based Richard Meins who will race his Lola T70 Mk3B in the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship and American Nick Colyvas whose Shadow in entered in the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship. Add in drivers from Germany, Sweden, Norway, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Ireland, Italy and Spain and it is truly an international event.And there's moreThe Brands Hatch Masters Festival isn’t just about racing. Away from the track, there will be loads of things to do and see and there will be something for everyone: there are displays from car clubs, a funfair for the kids, trade stalls and plenty of places to grab something to eat and drink.  Local acesA number of local drivers will be competing at the Brands Hatch Masters Festival including racing dentist Richard Bateman from Westerham Hill, Kent in his Lotus Elan; Ken Welch from Broadstairs, Kent who will race his Mini in the Pre-1966 Touring Car races and Nick Pink from Penshurst, Kent who races his Lola T210 in the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship double-header.

Ticket info at www.brandshatch.co.uk

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