Brands Hatch GP 2026

The Hitek Electronic Materials Alfa Romeo and Italian Intermarque Championship made its first visit to the historic Grand Prix circuit in 15 years as part of the Historic Sports Car Club’s Legend of Brands Hatch Superprix meeting. The club were delighted to be part of the circuit’s 100 year anniversary Century of Power celebrations in what was their own 60^th anniversary year.

An excellent 25 car entry was headed by the three 4C cars of defending champion Toby Broome, this year’s Modified class pacesetter Jack Berry and Thomas Laudage, always a welcome addition having made another trip across the channel to join us on the grid. Mervyn Miller was making another appearance in his 156, Ian Woolfenden was in the Giulia Veloce along with championship regulars Scott Austin, Barry McMahon and Andy Page. Rounding off the class was the eagerly awaited debut of the Maserati Gransport Trofeo of Mike Hilton, an exciting addition to a very competitive grid.

Power Trophy leader Stacey Dennis in the Giulietta was joined once again by Mark Skeggs’s GTV and Dave Messenger’s 156, with Richard Ford making his first appearance of the season in the class in his refurbished GT.

In a strong Turismo class, leader James Powell was joined by George Warren’s GTV, Simon Scott’s Alfasud Sprint, Jasper Gilder’s 33, Sam Kay’s 33, Steve Godfrey’s 156, and Antony Britton’s Mito.

Paul Plant was leading the Twin Spark class and was joined by James Ford, also in his 156, and David Pickup’s 147. It was a welcome return to the track for Marcus Robinson’s 156 and we also welcomed Bianco Motorsport’s James Millar making his debut in the championship.

Of the 26 strong field that contested the last Alfa race on this circuit configuration in 2011, only 3 drivers were on the entry list this time, Barry McMahon, Dave Messenger and Paul Plant.

QUALIFYING

This would be the first time tackling the Grand Prix circuit in a competitive situation for many of the drivers and for a number of those it would be the first time they had ever driven on the track. This was borne out in the first couple of flying laps with the vast majority posting times in excess of two and a half minutes as the drivers familiarised themselves with the fast sweeping corners, compressions and hidden crests of the GP loop. Toby Broome was inevitably one of those at the head of the leaderboard on lap 3 but his time was eclipsed by Steve Godfrey’s 156 with a time of 2:24.652, before Scott Austin resumed normal service with the first sub 2 minute time also on lap 3. By lap 4, Toby had got to grips with the 4C on the unfamiliar layout and posted a time of 1:45.867 to put him on provisional pole, following that up with what would turn out to be the pole time of 1:41.679 on lap 5. Unfortunately, Toby was only able to complete one more lap before having to retire the 4C with a terminal engine problem. Meanwhile, Mike Hilton was making his first appearance of the year, not in his customary 4C but in the stunning Maserati Gransport Trofeo and setting progressively quicker times, his time of 1:43.304 on lap 7 good enough to take second spot on the grid. Jack Berry had also taken a few laps to get into the groove and his time of 1:43.99 on lap 8 would be good enough for third. Andy Page in the familiar 116 Giulietta pulled out a time of 1:44.241, also on lap 8 to take fourth ahead of Barry McMahon who was struggling with gearbox problems. He managed a best of 1:45.373 before retiring the car toward the end of the session.  He decided to withdraw from race 1 and returned the following day with his Giulia to compete in race 2. Scott Austin had been up with the leaders in the mid session but problems with the car would cause him to slow over the last few laps but he was still able to take sixth. Mervyn Miller finished seventh in class and seventeenth overall whilst Thomas Laudage’s 4C and Ian Woolfenden ‘s Giulia Veloce had troubled sessions caused by a split turbo pipe and ecu issues respectively, and would be classified 21^st and 24^th.

Richard Ford was in his Power Trophy GT instead of the twin spark for the first time this year. Despite it being the first time on track since its refurb and Richard’s first time on the GP circuit, his time of 1:49.241 set on lap 4 would turn out to be the fastest outside the Modified class cars to take seventh on the grid. However, he would have to finish the session early with a sticking throttle cable. Stacey Dennis’s Giulietta had been lapping in the low 1:50s for much of the session but took a second and a half off the previous best on lap eight to be the only other non Modified car to post a sub 1:50 time with 1:49.576. Mark Skeggs‘s time of 1:51.391 put him third in class and tenth overall with Dave Messenger fourth in his 156 GTA.

George Warren had been lapping very consistently in the low 1:50’s in his Turismo class GTV, with his best of 1:50.878 being good enough for class pole and ninth overall. James Powell had briefly topped the class leaderboard on lap 3 as had Steve Godfrey on the same lap until George Warren took control with steadily improving times through the rest of the session. Simon Scott in the Alfasud Sprint was third in class, followed by Sam Kay’s rebuilt 33, with Steve Godfrey finally finishing fifth ahead of Jasper Gilder’s 33 whilst Antony Britton’s Mito didn’t qualify due to a broken driveshaft.

In the Twin Spark class, David Pickup, newcomer James Millar and Marcus Robinson had all enjoyed brief spells at the head of the leaderboard before Paul Plant, one of the few drivers that had previously competed on the circuit quickly established himself in provisional pole with a succession of times inside the existing lap record culminating in a pole time of 1:53.162. James Ford had spent the first few laps familiarising himself with the GP loop before putting in a creditable lap time of 1:53.643 to secure second spot. Dave Pickup would line up alongside taking third in class, with Marcus Robinson a couple of rows back in fourth and James Millar fifth and 22^nd overall on his first competitive outing.

Thomas Laudage and Ian Woolfenden would not be able to resolve their problems from the qualifying session and would be classified as non starters for race 1, leaving 20 cars out of the original 25 to line up for the race.

RACE 1

As the cars crossed the line to start the race it was the 4C of Jack Berry that led into Paddock Hill Bend from the Maserati of Mike Hilton followed by Andy Page’s 116 Giulietta and Scott Austin’s 156. James Powell’s Turismo class 147 would be the first casualty, pulling off at the bottom of Paddock Hill bend with coil pack failure. At the end of the first lap it was Jack’s 4C by just under a second from the Maserati followed by the Modified cars of Andy Page and Scott Austin, the latter having fixed the issues that had affected the second half of qualifying. Leading the non Modified class cars was Richard Ford’s GT, having fixed the throttle cable problem, from the Giulietta of Stacey Dennis and the GTV of Mark Skeggs. George Warren’s Turismo class GTV was eighth having pulled out a gap from the leading 156 Twin Sparks of Paul Plant and James Ford who rounded off the top ten. Dave Pickup’s 156 was next, a further four seconds adrift, ahead of the second and third placed Turismo cars of Sam Kay and Simon Scott, separated by just a couple of tenths. Mervyn Miller’s 156 was fourteenth, with Marcus Robinson’s 156 Twin Spark going well in fifteenth ahead of Dave Messenger’s Power Trophy 156. Steve Godfrey’s 156 was next, ahead of James Millar’s 156 Twin Spark and Jasper Gilder’s Alfa 33.

At the front of the pack, Jack Berry had held off Mike’s Maserati until lap 5 when the engine cut out due to a blown fuse causing the 4C to retire. On the same lap, a split fuel pipe caused an engine compartment fire which also forced the retirement of Mervyn Miller’s 156. Mervyn had pulled off at Clearways and marshalls attempted to get the fire under control. The race continued for about six minutes but when there seemed to be an issue with the surrounding grass on fire the race was concluded with 14 minutes of the twenty minutes scheduled time elapsed. Mike’s Maserati Trofeo had managed to hold off any remaining challenge and finished 23 seconds clear of Andy Page’s 116 Giulietta with Scott Austin’s 156 a further couple of seconds adrift, these being the only finishers in the class.

In the Power Trophy class, Stacey had taken the lead from Richard’s GT on the run to Pilgrim’s Drop on lap 3 with Mark Skeggs also getting past on the following lap. Richard had retaken second spot on lap 6 and held that position to the end of the race with Stacey taken fourth overall and the class win, Richard fifth overall and second in class with Mark third and Dave Messenger fourth with an out of sorts 156.

In the Turismo class, George Warren’s GTV held the lead throughout taking the class honours with Simon Scott’s Alfasud Sprint second, Sam Kay having retired the 33 with overheating gearbox oil. Steve Godfrey took third in the 156 with Jasper Gilder fourth in his 33. The leading Twin Spark cars of Paul Plant and James Ford were never far apart, the gap coming down to less than half a second for the last few laps, crossing the line with less than two tenths separating the pair. Dave Pickup took the third podium spot with Marcus Robinson finishing fourth and newcomer James Millar fifth.

Race 1 Results

RACE 2

With Sam Kay and Mervyn Miller unable to start race 2 and  Mike Hilton having already signalled his intention to withdraw in order for his Maserati Trofeo to take to the hill at Goodwood, the addition of Barry McMahon’s Giulia took the entry to a total of 18 taking to the rolling start on the Sunday afternoon. It would be the 116 Giulietta that assumed pole position in Mike’s absence with Scott Austin alongside. The Power Trophy cars of Stacey Dennis and Richard Ford would form the second row wiith the Turismo GTV of George Warren and the 156 Twin Spark of Paul Plant making up the third row. An unusual grid indeed with all four classes represented in the first half dozen grid slots!

When the safety car entered the pits and the cars were released for their rolling start, it was the two Modified cars of Andy Page and Scott Austin first into turn 1 followed by the Power Trophy cars of Stacey Dennis and Richard Ford. Jack Berry, James Powell and Barry McMahon were at the back of the grid and they started to work their way through the field on the first lap. By the end of the lap, it was still Andy Page from Scott Austin with Stacey Dennis third, George Warren fourth, Richard Ford fifth and Mark Skeggs sixth. Jack Berry had already worked his way up to seventh in the 4C, ahead of the leading Twin Spark cars of Paul Plant and James Ford, their 156s again just fractions of a second apart as they crossed the line. Barry McMahon had worked his way up to tenth and would soon be past the Twin Sparks into eighth spot. Dave Messenger was next ahead of the Twin Spark of Dave Pickup, the Alfasud Sprint of Simon Scott and the Twin Spark of Marcus Robinson. James Powell had made his way up to fifteenth in the 147 Turismo class car ahead of the Twin Spark of James Millar, the Turismo 156 of Steve Godfrey and the 33 of Jasper Gilder. Scott Austin had got past Andy Page to take the lead on lap 2 whilst Jack’s 4C and Barry’s Giulia had moved up to fourth and sixth respectively on the same lap. On lap 3, Jack’s 4C started to have problems once again, pulling into the pits at the end of the lap. Barry was already past and he also passed Andy and Scott to take the lead of the race on that lap. Barry continued to lead to the chequered flag to take the win, whilst Andy Page’s 116 Giulietta passed Scott Austin’s 156 on lap 6 to move into second, holding on to the postion to until the final lap when Scott retook the position to finish in second spot with Andy third. The Alfa Workshop pit crew had got to work on the 4C enabling Jack to rejoin one lap adrift and he was able to bring the car home in seventeenth position and fourth in the Modified class.

In the Power Trophy class, Stacey’s Giulietta led from Richard’s GT which on lap 4 slid off the track at Graham Hill bend allowing Mark’s GTV to move into second with Richard rejoining on the Cooper Straight in third behind George Warren’s Turismo class leading GTV, having lost around 12 seconds. On lap 6, Richard passed George’s GTV to move back into sixth but was seventeen seconds adrift of the leading Power Trophy cars. Mark was lapping over a second quicker than Stacey at this point and the GTV was right behind the Giulietta by the end of lap 7. For the next couple of laps the gap was fractions of a second and Mark managed to take the lead on lap 9, holding on and taking the class win by 4 seconds at the end. Richard finished third, around 17 seconds adrift at the flag with Dave Messenger’s 156 fourth.

George Warren had an untroubled run lapping consistently in the low 1:50s to take the chequered flag first in the Turismo class. James Powell had steadily made up ground from his starting position at the rear and took second after a fine drive through the field. Simon Scott was third in the Alfasud Sprint with Steve Godfrey finishing fourth and Jasper Gilder in fifth spot.

In the Twin Spark class, the leading pair continued to circulate with fractions of a second separating them with James seizing the opportunity to take the lead as the pair exited Hawthorns on lap 3. The gap continued to be within a second for the next couple of laps until, on lap 6, Paul’s 156 started to have problems with the ABS, affecting his laptimes by about 2 seconds a lap. At this stage, Dave was in third  about 10 seconds adrift but lapping in similar times to Paul.  The 156 Twin Sparks of James Millar and Marcus Robinson were having their own battle for fourth spot with James getting passed Marcus on lap 3 and the pair also lapping within a second of each other for the next few laps. James Ford took the Twin Spark win in tenth overall, with Paul second and Dave third. James Millar held the gap to Marcus to finish fourth in class by a margin of 4 seconds from Marcus in fifth.

New lap records were set in all four classes in race 2. Barry McMahon eclipsed Anthony George’s 156 turbo’s long standing lap record with a 1:39.965 whilst James Ford in his 156 Twin Spark was inside Dave Messenger’s time by two seconds after race 1 and shaved a further half second off that with a 1:52.003 in the second race. The Power Trophy and Turismo lap records had not been established before the event, so Mark Skegg’s time of 1:45.426 and James Powell’s time of 1:49.988 in race 2 set new lap records in the Power Trophy and Turismo classes respectively.

We were very grateful to BTCC driver Aron Taylor-Smith for presenting the overall and class awards and Turismo class double winner George Warren was awarded Driver of the Weekend.

The championship leader after round 8 is Stacey Dennis with Paul Plant second and David Pickup third.

In the Modified class Jack Berry leads from Andy Page second and Scott Austin is third.

In the Power Trophy class Stacey Dennis leads from Mark Skeggs and Mark Purcell is third.

In the Turismo class James Powell leads from George Warren and Steve Godfrey is third.

In the Twin Spark class Paul Plant leads from David Pickup and Richard Wadlow-Smith is third.

The next championship rounds are also at Brands Hatch but this time on the Indy circuit on 9^th August as part of the Festival Italia meeting.

Race 2 Results