BUMPER GRIDS PROMISED FOR ENDURANCE SPECTACULAR AT BRANDS GP CIRCUIT NEXT WEEKENDBrands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent will be the setting for one of the most spectacular race meetings of 2005 next weekend, 25th/26th June, when the burgeoning Britcar series teams with its continental cousin Belcar for two days of truly memorable endurance action. Run by the European Endurance and Racing Club (EERC), Britcar is now firmly established as one of the world’s premier racing championships and, along with its Belgian counterpart, will serve up bumper grids featuring the widest possible variety of machinery.With just over a week to go until the big event, an incredible 179 cars in total have been entered into the entire meeting with a grid of 57 cars expected for Belcar, 42 cars across three classes in Britcar, 39 cars from four classes in Production S1 and 41 cars in the Britsports/GoldArts event.Commenting ahead of the race weekend, EERC boss James Tucker said: “We’re very excited about the whole Britcar/Belcar event and with almost 180 cars now registered to take part, it shows what a huge race meeting this will be. We’re very confident it’s going to be a major success story.“For anyone who hasn’t been to an EERC meeting before, they really should consider coming along to see us at Brands Hatch as not only will they get to witness the best in British endurance racing at one of the world’s most famous circuits, they’ll also have the opportunity to see the excellent Belcar Championship in action.”Next weekend’s races will make up the fourth meeting of the season for the 10-round Britcar package, having already visited Silverstone International Circuit, Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, and Snetterton this year.Britcar popularity continues to riseWith former British GT Championship teams such as Hawthorn Motorsport opting to switch to the Britcar series, the championship’s profile is growing literally day by day with further exciting developments including the debut of Xero Motorsport’s Chevrolet Corvette at Brands Hatch and the appearance of Bo McCormick and Calum Lockie in their Ferrari 360 Challenge.Last time out at Snetterton, Britcar saw the Class 2 BMW M3 E36 of Harry Handkammer and David Leslie and Iain Dockerill and Nigel Greensall’s Class 1 Porsche GTS Cup take a race win apiece, but with former British Touring Car Champion Tim Harvey joining the ranks for next weekend’s event they may not necessarily have things all their own way.In addition, Barry Horne and Kelvin Burt will partner Bill Cameron in a Porsche GT3 996 in Class 1 while Adam Sharpe, Steve Hyde, Bill Binnie and Alan Bonner will race the stunning Ford Falcon V8. In Class 2, expect to see the usual mix with BMWs and Porsches pitted against the likes of Lotus Exige, Lotus Elise, Marcos Mantis and TVR Tuscan machines.For Belcar, meanwhile, the event marks the Belgian category’s only race outside the Netherlands this year and will be its fourth meeting of 2005 having already raced at Zolder and twice at Spa-Francorchamps so far this season.Leading the way in the Belcar driver standings is Belgian Marc Goossens in his Chevrolet Corvette C5R, with driver combo Finn Pertti Kuismanen and Belgian Vincent Vosse seven and a half points adrift in their Chrysler Viper GTS-R. However, the Grand Touring Car rankings see Kuismanen and Vosse leading Goossens and Dutch partner David Hart by seven points.Returning to the home-grown side of things, Production S1 and Britsports/GoldArts always provide fantastic racing and they’ll form a key part of the whole Britcar/Belcar event. In Production S1, the Class C Mazda RX8 of Natasha Firman and Mark Ticehurst will be hoping for a repeat of their Snetterton victory but they’ll certainly have their work cut out.A wealth of different cars will be on the Production S1 grid at Brands Hatch with Honda Civics, BMWs, Audi TTs, Renault Clios, Alfa Romeos, Volvos, Volkswagen Beetles and a pair of Ford Focus racers all set to contest the EERC’s biggest meeting of the year so far.Britsports/GoldArts, meanwhile, will see drivers in track specials from the likes of Radical, Juno, Zeus, Chiron, Pilbeam, Lola, Caterham and Westfield all vying for the top step of the podium, with seasoned campaigners such as Dave Mountain taking on the youthful exuberance of competitors like Dominic Lesniewski.The timetable of events, which may be subject to change, sees qualification for all categories taking part on the morning of Saturday, 25th June, while there will be races for Britcar, Britsports/GoldArts and Production S1 during the afternoon, along with a qualifying session for the Belcar competitors.On Sunday, 26th June, the Belcar field will take part in a 15-minute warm-up session from 10am with Britsports/GoldArts action to follow and the 125-minute Belcar race scheduled to begin at 12.10. The second 100-minute Britcar race of the weekend is expected to commence at around 14.50 with Production S1 rounding off the on-track action at 16.45 for another 100-minute outing. Don’t forget either, The Blues Band will be providing superb off-track entertainment on Saturday evening from 18.30.Admission to the Brands Hatch race meeting is priced at just £10 for advance ticket sales or £12 on the gate, while children under 12-years-old can attend for free. To book, please contact the MotorSportVision ticket hotline on 0870 9509000 or visit motorsportvision.co.uk