Brands Hatch
Track Days
Circuit Guide
Brands Hatch, mention that name and almost everyone you speak to has an opinion on the incredibly fast and somewhat hair raising circuit! The track opened it’s door’s in the 1960’s as a grass track motorcycle circuit and since then it’s evolved substantially over the decades being beautifully carved into its topographic surroundings, in course creating one of the most exciting circuits Europe has to offer!
As far as track days go there is two configurations of the lap you can drive, the 1.2 mile Indy circuit which features the amazing Paddock Hill Bend followed by a few straight forward corners before turning right at Surtees to complete the lap in usually around the one minute mark, this layout is also very popular with club racers and provides some brilliant ‘gladiator arena’ style racing which is always action packed!
If you're lucky enough to get onto one of only 10-15 Grand Prix Circuit trackdays in the season, then prepare yourself for one hell of a ride! On the Grand Prix lap you take a hard left at Surtees immediately making the climb up to the back straight before shooting under the bridge and plummeting down into the braking zone for Hawthorns! You now have a series of fast corners with some incredible compressions which require serious concentration and millimetre perfect precision to thread the car through the back side of the track at speed!
To complete the lap you have one last blast down to Clearways where a large gravel trap lurks on the exit for those who misjudge their braking point! Providing you’ve made it through Clearways you power on down to the finish line through a very fast and undulating straight with only a moment to breath before the rollercoaster ride into Paddock Hill Bend starts all over again!
In our opinion, Brands Hatch GP is one of those tracks still lost in time, and we absolutely love it for that reason! Of course it’s a safe track, but it’s extremely fast and doesn't half feel it thanks to it’s small run offs and high trees hanging over the track! When you’re powering around the back end of the GP circuit, you cant help but feel a little nostalgia knowing the great drivers who are household names today that would have been propelling themselves at break neck speeds in 1000 bhp F1 cars at what is largely completely identical to the track we see and drive today!
If you haven’t been to Brands Hatch GP before, we urge you to go and we’re pretty certain it will quickly rise to the top of your roster as an all time favourite!
Now the talking is done, why not enjoy the video above with an onboard of Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit with RMA managing director, Leyton Clarke in the incredible Porsche GT3 RS!
Our Chief Instructors View.
"Brand's unique combination of dips, cambers, fast, fast corners and the awesome Paddock Hill bend makes it one of the all time great circuits. Even the Indy, which is technically challenging is pretty exciting but the full GP is something else, where the quick guys can reach 150mph plus on the long straight leading into Hawthorns. Unfortunately planning restraints make GP days few and far between so make sure you don't miss out".
View the RMA Track Day Calendar to book or see the next available Brands Hatch track days.
