To mark Brands Hatch’s centenary season in 2026, BBC Radio Kent transmitted its popular Breakfast show live from the circuit earlier this morning (9 October).
1996 Formula One World Champion Damon Hill joined the broadcast to share his own memories and thoughts on 100 years of Brands Hatch history:
“I would have been going to Brands Hatch from a very early age because the Grand Prix was held there, and I used to go to see my dad race as well. I probably was a baby when I first went there.
“But I do remember certainly being there in the late sixties, and I went to some Grands Prix. I went there also in '76, I think, to see the first bike races and the transatlantic bike races. And then, of course, I became Champion of Brands in 1984 on my motorbike, so I raced there an awful lot.
“My debut car race was put on by (CEO at the time) John Webb, who basically backed me to come and do some racing for him. John was a great showman. He knew how to put on ingredients that got people through the gate.
“And so having Graham Hill's son doing his first motor race at Brands Hatch was probably too tempting for him, even though it was a bad move for me. I was thrown in the deep end. It was an absolute disaster from my point of view, but I managed to recover from it and put things straight afterwards.
“And then I came to be a regular in Formula Ford at Brands Hatch as well, and then Formula Three.
“And I did actually do some testing for the Williams active-suspension car on the short circuit, which was insane because the car lapped the circuit in about 35 seconds or something ridiculous. But it was quite fun.
“The old Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit was one of the greatest circuits of all time. It had a beautiful flowing nature to it: uphill, downhill and through the woods, and then popping out into view through this fantastic banked arena that you've got as you come past the start line. So you could see half the circuit, but then the cars would disappear. And there was this massive excitement when they would reappear as they came back into Clearways. And once you've got a crowd in there, then it was a real amphitheatre. It had a very special feel to be at Brands Hatch.
“You got a real sensation that you're flying, because you're dropping through Paddock Bend. You arrive and then it's a completely blind corner. Then you fall into this amazing dip at the bottom and then you shoot up towards Druids. And Druids seems to go on forever and ever. And then you go down through what was a massive compression, which used to be called Bottom Bend.
“But now it's my dad's name, so I don't know how he managed to bag the one with the bottom in it! But anyway, it's called Graham Hill Bend now. It seems apt that it was my dad that got that corner.
“But, as I said, bikes were the first thing that I really got a kick from. And to see the bikes going around Brands Hatch was unbelievable. I just couldn't believe what I was watching when I saw them.
“It’s astonishing. And I think that that's why it's an amazing discipline, and that’s what sport is about: showing what humans can do, the potential we have.
“I’d like to say, Happy birthday Brands Hatch, and thank you very much for everything you've given me. It's probably millions of fans now, isn't it? And long may it continue to be a place for people who love motorsport.”
Click here to listen to the full BBC Radio Kent Breakfast show from Brands Hatch.