Brands Hatch

Location: Kent, UK
Races held: 14 (1964 to 1986)
Most wins, drivers: Niki Lauda (3), Nigel Mansell (2), Nelson Piquet (1), Alan Jones (1), Carlos Reutemann (1)
Most wins, teams: Williams (3), McLaren (2), Ferrari (2), Team Lotus (2), Tyrrell (1)
Most poles: Nelson Piquet (2), Niki Lauda (2), Ayrton Senna (1), Elio de Angelis (1), Keke Rosberg (1)
Fastest race lap: 1:09.593, Nigel Mansell, 1986 (race laps since 1982; layouts change over time)
Map: OpenStreetMap

What is a lap of Brands Hatch like?

A road course set in a natural amphitheatre in Kent: it opened in 1950 as a one-mile anti-clockwise track, switched to clockwise in 1954 when Druids was added, and gained the Grand Prix loop through the woods in 1960. It hosted the British Grand Prix in even years from 1964 to 1986, alternating with Silverstone, and the European Grand Prix in 1983 and 1985; Nigel Mansell won his first Grand Prix there in 1985. For 1976 Paddock Hill Bend was realigned and Bottom Straight straightened, shortening the lap from 4.265 km to 4.207 km; at the same time Bottom Bend became Graham Hill Bend, Bottom Straight became Cooper Straight and Pilgrims became Hailwood Hill. After the 1986 race, where a start-line crash seriously injured Jacques Laffite, the authorities judged that the cars had outgrown the venue and the race settled at Silverstone; a deal to bring it back from 2002 collapsed, and the circuit, now owned by MotorSport Vision, hosts the BTCC and British Superbikes.

Lap length: 4.207 km
Direction: clockwise
Layout described: Grand Prix Circuit after the 1976 realignment of Paddock Hill Bend, 4.207 km, used for the Formula 1 races of 1976-1986 (last F1 race: 1986 British Grand Prix)

Order	Name	Side	Type
1	Paddock Hill Bend	Right
2	Druids	Right	hairpin
3	Graham Hill Bend	Left
4	Surtees	Left
5	Hawthorn Bend	Right	fast
6	Westfield	Right	fast
7	Dingle Dell Corner	Right
8	Stirlings	Left
9	Clearways	Right
10	Clark Curve	Right

Sources for the checked facts (12)

Report a correction.

Does pole position win at Brands Hatch?

The pole sitter has won 4 of 14 races here (29%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 6 of 14 races (43%) and from the top three in 10 (71%). Lowest grid position to win: 8th, Carlos Reutemann in 1978.

Winner started from	Wins	Share
P1	4	29%
P2	2	14%
P3	4	29%
P4	2	14%
P5	1	7%
P8	1	7%

Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.

Lap times over the years

Pole position time (where qualifying times are recorded, 1994 on) and fastest race lap (1982 on), per race. Lower is faster. Hover or tap for a year.

All races at Brands Hatch

Race	Winner	Team	Pole	Fastest lap
1986 British Grand Prix	Nigel Mansell	Williams	Nelson Piquet	Nigel Mansell (1:09.593)
1985 European Grand Prix	Nigel Mansell	Williams	Ayrton Senna	Jacques Laffite (1:11.526)
1984 British Grand Prix	Niki Lauda	McLaren	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda (1:13.191)
1983 European Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	Elio de Angelis	Nigel Mansell (1:14.342)
1982 British Grand Prix	Niki Lauda	McLaren	Keke Rosberg	Brian Henton (1:13.028)
1980 British Grand Prix	Alan Jones	Williams	Didier Pironi
1978 British Grand Prix	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Ronnie Peterson
1976 British Grand Prix	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	Niki Lauda
1974 British Grand Prix	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell	Niki Lauda
1972 British Grand Prix	Emerson Fittipaldi	Team Lotus	Jacky Ickx
1970 British Grand Prix	Jochen Rindt	Team Lotus	Jochen Rindt
1968 British Grand Prix	Jo Siffert	Lotus-Ford	Graham Hill
1966 British Grand Prix	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	Jack Brabham
1964 British Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Jim Clark