GT World Challenge powered by AWS stages its second round of the season this weekend when the series crosses the Channel and heads to Brands Hatch. The British track is the longest-running fixture on the Sprint Cup calendar – and it's served up plenty of drama since its debut event in 2014.

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2014 – ZANARDI'S CHARGE

SRO can trace its history at Brands Hatch back to 1996, but the Sprint Cup event we know today began in 2014. Grasser Racing swept the inaugural weekend with its Lamborghini, winning the Qualifying Race and the Main Race (a different format was used back then) thanks to Hari Proczyk and Jeroen Bleekemolen. 

Beside this, the most memorable aspect of the race was Alex Zanardi. Just two years after winning a clutch of Paralympic gold medals at Brands Hatch, the Italian legend was behind the wheel of a BMW Z4 GT3. What made this result even more spectacular was that Zanardi – who drove solo with specially-adapated controls – had started from 17th on the grid.

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2021 – DREAMS TO DUST

A British driver hasn't won at Brands Hatch since 2018. But that looked set to change in 2021 as Ben Barnicoat led from pole in his Jota McLaren, handing over to Ollie Wilkinson for the closing stint. That's two British drivers, a British car and a British team...

Wilkinson probably heard the Jaws theme music as Raffaele Marciello closed up during the second half of the race, but the Leeds driver appeared on course to take the win. Then disaster struck: Wilkinson came upon traffic and Marciello tried to make a pass. 

Three into one didn't go and Wilkinson was launched into a horrifying accident, clearing the barrier and landing among the woodland. Remarkably he was uninjured, though the car was destroyed. Marciello took the chequered flag but was later penalised for causing the collision, handing victory to Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor in their Team WRT Audi. 

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2023 – SEVENTH HEAVEN

There have been 22 GT World Challenge races at Brands Hatch. The pole-sitter has won on 12 occasions, with four wins coming from P2 and five from P3. That adds up to 21... 

In 2023, we saw something quite different. Having started from P7, the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi stopped very early in the hope of undercutting its rivals. Ricardo Feller handed to Mattia Drudi, and the Italian took full advantage of the clean air into which he emerged. As the stops cycled through, the Audi rose to the lead. 

This race was also notable for the crew that finished as runner-up. Valentino Rossi scored his first-ever GT World Challenge podium, sharing the #46 BMW with Maxime Martin, giving his many fans at the track reason to celebrate.  

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2022 – WALKING THE LINE

The fastest drivers often walk a very thin line between perfection and disaster. Case in point: Raffaele Marciello at Brands Hatch in 2022.

Marciello was the clear favourite to bag pole, but looked to have blown his chance when the #89 Mercedes-AMG went off at Paddock Hill Bend during his first qualifying run. He was headed for the barriers but managed to escape with relatively minor contact and brought the car back to the pits. 

You can probably guess what happened next. Marciello went back out and took pole. The race felt like a forgone conclusion as Marciello pulled away at a phenomenal rate, building a 10-second gap before handing over the teammate Timur Boguslavskiy. It was a dominant win, yet it had been so close to disaster. 

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2019 – DEBUT DAZZLER

Thomas Neubauer made his GT World Challenge debut at Brands Hatch in 2019 and, it's fair to say, he did not attract a great deal of attention. The Frenchman had a modest single-seater record and was not expected to write any headlines in his maiden sportscar outing, especially as Brands is such a tough track for rookies. 

That all changed in the first race of the season. Neubauer's teammate Nico Bastian did a fine job to qualify P3, while the AKKA ASP team produced a sensational pit stop that put Neubauer in the overall lead. Many expected the young Frenchman to succumb to the pressure being applied by Luca Stolz and Christian Engelhart – factory drivers for Mercedes-AMG and Lamborhini respectively, and both GT World Challenge champions. 

But Neubauer was more than equal to the task, edging away at the front to secure a sensational win. Seven years on, he will be back at Brands Hatch – now a factory driver himself, representing Ferrari alongside Arthur Leclerc. 

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