James Hunt in his Hesketh 308 Formula 1 car had no answer to a rumbling Formula 5000 chassis at Brands Hatch earlier this month, but Denny Hulme was untouchable – as usual – in his McLaren M8F Can-Am monster.
The start of an Autocar race report dug out from the 1970s archive? Not at all. Both F1 champions have been dead for nearly 30 years, but these are the fantasies that still play out, courtesy of Britain’s rich historic racing scene as great racing cars of the past roll again in anger.
Inevitably, it’s grassroots club racing that has gingerly led motorsport’s way into the post-lockdown thaw, with the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) among the first to run a race meeting this year that allowed spectators, on the same weekend that F1’s Styrian Grand Prix played out behind closed doors in Austria. The Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix is always one of the historic racing highlights and this year still attracted plentiful grids as racers embraced the chance for indulgence after months of inertia.
On the Saturday Autocar attended, a smattering rather than anything resembling a true crowd assembled to watch, but modest numbers probably suited Brands owner Motorsport Vision as it trialled strict safety measures “to ensure our venues are Covid-secure”.
The British Touring Car Championship, which in normal times draws crowds of nearly 30,000, will be a far greater challenge when it starts in August. As I write, it’s not even known whether spectators will be allowed.
I’ll admit to some trepidation as I drove up to the gates for the Superprix. We’ve been conditioned these past months, quite rightly, to fear anything that usually passes for normal life, and for those who have a conscience, it can still feel uncomfortable to mingle, even within social distancing guidelines. But Brands genuinely felt safe at the Superprix – certainly a great deal more than the last sporting event I attended: an England rugby match, sitting shoulder to shoulder with 81,522 others at Twickenham about a fortnight before the lockdown was announced…
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