The Brands Hatch 1000 km was an

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

event that was part of the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...

for varying years from 1967 until 1989. Originally a six-hour race running under the name

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

500, the event was eventually extended to 1000 kilometres under a number of different sponsorship titles.

History

In 1966, a non-championship sports car race was held at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

for a distance of 500 miles, with drivers David Piper and

Bob Bondurant Robert L. Bondurant (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road rac ...

easily taking victory in an

AC Cobra The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United ...

. With the success of this initial event, the

would add Brands Hatch to their calendar, while the

British Sports Car Championship The British Sports Car Championship, was a British domestic motor racing championship which was originally created for sports cars complying with Appendix C of the International Sporting Code. For 1966 the championship was for Group 7 (racing), Gro ...

replaced their

Guards Trophy Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

event. However, unlike the initial race's set distance of 500 miles, the new event would be run for six hours. Even with a timed race,

stepped in as the primary sponsor and chose to retain the 500 mile distance in the name, earning the popular title BOAC 500. The 1968 race took place on 7 April, a date which will be remembered as that on which

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

, originally expected to take part in the race, instead took part in a Formula 2 race at the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

in Germany where he crashed and was killed. As the speeds of competitors improved during the early years, the drivers would actually set distances beyond even 600 miles. It was therefore decided in 1970 that the event would be extended to a set distance of 1000 kilometres, which was the distance used by five other events in the World Sportscar Championship's calendar. The race, now retitled the ''BOAC 1000'', would continue in this form until it was temporarily dropped from the series in 1973. It would once again be part of the schedule in 1974, but this time with

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

replacing BOAC as sponsor. The race would however not return again in 1975 and would go on a three-year hiatus. Following some reconstruction of Brands Hatch in 1976, the World Championship of Makes (split from the World Sportscar Championship) would return to the track in 1977 with a six-hour timed race replacing the 1000 kilometre set distance. The event would skip one more year in 1978, before returning permanently in 1979. The six-hour requirement was abandoned once again in 1981 as the event returned to its familiar 1000 kilometre format, which would continue until 1988. For the final appearance of Brands Hatch on the World Sportscar Championship calendar in 1989, the race would be shortened to 480 kilometres, as would nearly every race that season.

Winners

External links

Racing Sports Cars
- World Sportscar Championship (photos of every 1000 km Brands Hatch, 1967–1989) {{Automobile endurance races Sports car races