is brands making a return ?

[Mike_Wooshy]

on www.cart.com
on the schedual right at the bottom it says "Brands Hatch, UK event status to be determined with track owner/promoter."
remember john palmer owns brands & is wilsons manager (i think). what do you all think ?

[ss_collins]

Looks potentially intersting don't it??

[gi_gav]

Now that is interesting...

Frankly, i don't want to get my hopes up, but the fact that it's there after the website seems to have been recently updated...

I for one would love to have them back here. I'm sure i'm not alone in that.

Perhaps it'll come down to how the series is doing financially by mid-season.

Well spotted though Mike

[sgw2]

Refresh your screen. It isn't there now. Looks like it was just a glitch cuased from moving the web page content to the new format.

[Mike_Wooshy]

maybe on the GP loop would be good (thats IF they come) althou it would be doubtful untill saftey is done, but can you imagine the speeds down through clearways on the start finnish straight ?

[gi_gav]

Maybe my computer's holding out its hopes too, cos even when i refresh it's still there!

It does sound too good to be true though

[codename_47]

Originally posted by Mike_Wooshy
maybe on the GP loop would be good (thats IF they come) althou it would be doubtful untill saftey is done, but can you imagine the speeds down through clearways on the start finnish straight ?

Sorry to do this....but...

Brands Hatch kicked the British Touring Cars off the GP loop because they are only allowed to use it for X amount of days a year, and it would be more profitable for them to rent it out on Trackdays.

So IF they did come, it'd be on the Indy Loop again, probably....but since Brands is in about as good financial shape as Champcars, who is going to pay for the trip? :confused:

Not reading too much into this, sadly! (I'd certainly go if they did come though!)

[Mike_Wooshy]

ye, its just been there a while & was curious dont wanna get any ones hopes up & i did say it was would be doubtful :P

[Stephen Green]

I believe the GP loop has a licence for 23 days use. So far BSB and BTCC are both on the Indy Circuit so days are still available I guess. The debris fence erected by CART last year has now all but disappeared (thank goodness) and so they would either have to race without it or, pay rather a lot of money to JP to have it erected again.

Personally I would love to see CART there again this year and if anyone can pull it off, it will be JP. I also believe that if they do come back to race it will be on the Grand Prix Circuit as that was the previous agreement which covered the next four years.

By the way JP is indeed Justin Wilson's manager and so it may not be as far fetched as you think!

[stmookeyj033]

Personally I would have prefered to go to Rockingham than to Brands, particularly if the GP circuit is not being used.

[Stephen Green]

I notice the two free dates are in September and November. If CART do come back to Brands Hatch it would have to be in September as November would be too cold and crowd numbers would be down as a result.

[Amar7605]

Why can't they use the full road course at Brands Hatch? Remember last year when CART talked about using the full course eventually?

[Kicking-back]

There's concern the run-off areas on the full road course aren't big enough, and there's an on-going debate with local home-owners and environmentalists about whether they can cut down trees to make bigger gravel traps.

[Stephen Green]

The original deal with CART was to run on the Indy cicuit last year and the Grand Prix circuit the next four years. There's plenty of room for run offs without chopping down trees (many of which have preservation orders on them) and making huge gravel traps. The local residents are not a concern in this case as the Grand Prix loop has a licence to be used for 23 days racing per year.

[gomick]

spewing i missed the brands hatch race last year - hope it goes ahead, i luv that indy circuit

[Kicking-back]

I stand corrected, Stephen.

The lack of use of the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch is criminal!

One of the best in the world, yet these days a race at Brands is almost inevitably on the short circuit.

[Stephen Green]

I agree KB but the restricted licence had to be agreed some years ago to placate many of the local residents. The Indy Circuit does provideb spectators with a fabulous view as they are able to see most of the track, especially as it is in a natural amphi-theatre.

[spider]

Surely with the right backing and right promotion, and with enough support in advance it’d be worth CART coming back over here – if the demand is there, then surely it’s worth doing…? There’s enough space to cater for the safety improvements, but is there the money? JP is a businessman, having an asset in OWRS now (which his Shareholders can’t see live without leaving these shores) I wouldn’t be TOTALLY stunned if they came back – JP will get inside knowledge of the series through Justin, so if he sees a way of catering for OWRS in a profitable way then I’m sure he’ll make a pitch for it…?

It would be a Unique Selling Point for brands – Silverstone has the GP, Brands would have Champ Cars…?

Fingers crossed eh? ‘t was stunning seeing those beasts at Brands last year.

[Stephen Green]

What safety improvements?

[spider]

Fencing around the long circuit, and extended gravel traps for starters. I heard somewhere that the cost of bringing Brands up to the required (FIA) standard would be approximately £200k - that doesn't strike me as a huge cost...?

[Stephen Green]

The safety fence that was on the Indy Circuit has all been taken down now. To be honest it was more of a danger than a safety feature, especially for marshals. What or where do you expect them to put new gravel traps? I believe Brands Hatch holds an FIA licence.

[spider]

It does hold an FIA licence, but it's not the grade that allows them to hold major FIA events on the long circuit.

Shortening the main straight slightly would be a good place to start, grew up working at Brands and with Ben Edwards, who agreed with me on that. Dingle Dell has already been made safer, for the bikes, but I also believe it was for the 04 Champ Car race.

PT stated last year that he believed the catch fencing on the long circuit would have to be strengthened and doubled in height if the long loop was to be used. Personally I think the track is too narrow on the long loop too...just a personal opinion - but I remember seeing sportscars and F3000 racing wheel to wheel down the main straight and couldn't help whincing whenever they get close to eachother - if the track was 2 metres wider it'd be far safer and would encourage even more overtaking...

[Stephen Green]

If you mean debris fence, then there is virtually non on the GP loop and to alter the main straight would be extremely difficult because of the two tunnels that run under Paddock Hill Bend. As for the width of the circuit, that's a matter of opinion I guess. F3's GT's and many other series run there with no promlems at all, as have BTCC over the years. I agree with you that Dingle Dell is now much safer as I marshalled there two weeks ago for Britcar but I think the work was done mainly at the request of the FIM for WSBK rather than for cars.

If you worked with Ben would that make you a driver/instructor?

[spider]

Uh huh, nope - weird this, but I worked in the commentary box as a runner when I was...9-12! It was Ben's first commentary box, as he was instructing, and winning in Caterhams at the time - he's VERY quick, or certainly was!

Sorry, my poor description, I meant the run to Hawthorns (the back straight) - I've always (wrongly) referred to this as the 'main' straight. It just appears to narrow, I remember saying that to McNish, back in 91 at the F3000 meet (aged 10!) and he agreed it was a tad...marginal to make an overtaking move into Hawthorns - but that's part of the skill I guess!

Champ Cars are very wide, thus 2 abreast 'round the back could be...interesting! Lets put it like that!

[Stephen Green]

Ahhh right, now I see what you mean. I remember Ben very well from his days driving the Caterham and then commentating on Eurosport. He was also the Chief Instructor at Brands back then too. It's a shame he didn't get the ITV job instead of James Allen.