International GT racing returns to Brands Hatch this weekend when the Blancpain GT Series roars into action, with superstar drivers taking to the wheel of the planet’s greatest supercars on the famous Grand Prix circuit. 

The Blancpain GT Series is the world’s most competitive championship for supercars.

A multi-million pound grid including the Audi R8, Bentley Continental, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo, McLaren 650S, Mercedes SLS AMG and Nissan GT-R will be fighting for supremacy at the Kent track.

Not only are these cars spectacular to look at, a symphony of exotic engines will provide the season’s best sounding race.

Brands Hatch hosts the second Sprint round of the championship, which features two one-hour races with pitstops for driver changes.

The opening races at the French Nogaro track were fought between the BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil and Belgian Audi Club Team WRT squads.

They each took a win, with less than half a second covering them in both encounters.

The list of drivers chasing a prize fund of 100,000 Euros at Brands Hatch is headed by reigning series champion Laurens Vanthoor (Audi), and features former Le Mans winners, and ex-Formula 1 drivers.

These include Markus Winkelhock (Audi), who led his debut Grand Prix in 2007, and Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz), who won the DTM German Touring Car championship event at the Kent circuit eight years ago.

Despite retiring from full-time racing, Schneider will be making his Grand Prix circuit debut next weekend.

“Brands Hatch with the famous Paddock Hill, is something special, and every lap we did in DTM there was really challenging,” he said.

“I like the circuit very much and I’ve heard so much about the GP circuit from many drivers, and this is one of the reasons that I want to do Brands Hatch this year.”

British hopes lie with former British Touring Car race-winner James Nash, who races for the front-running Belgium Audi Club Team WRT squad and McLaren junior driver Rob Bell.

Also expected to star on their home track are the MRS Nissan pairing of Craig Dolby, who raced in the Superleague Formula race at Brands Hatch in 2010, and Sean Walkinshaw, son of the late F1 Arrows team boss Tom.

They complete an international line-up of hot-shot drivers for the season’s fastest race.

Nash said: “It’s always nice going to tracks like Brands.

“It’s great as it still has a lot of character.

“In my opinion this is the most competitive GT series contested by some of the best drivers in the world.”

The event also features a line-up of supporting supercar races from the GT Cup Championship, plus action from the MINI Challenge, Sports 2000 Le-Mans-style cars and the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship. 

Spectators can get close-up to the GT cars during a free pitwalk and autograph session just before the two Sunday races, and there will also be a display of over 100 supercars on raceday.

Off-track entertainment also includes a funfair, free children’s adventure playground and go-karting.

Tickets for the Blancpain GT Series at Brands Hatch on May 9 and 10 are available from £21, with free entry for U13s.

For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit brandshatch.co.uk

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