Kent’s Brands Hatch will become America’s 51st state at American SpeedFest IV this coming weekend.
The headline is NASCAR racing, with classic US muscle car displays, an appearance from Disney Pixar’s Lightning McQueen and so much more on and around the world-famous Indy circuit.
The on-track bill will be topped by the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES), the only NASCAR-affiliated championship operating on this side of the Atlantic. The NWES brings all of the colour and excitement of American stock car racing to Europe with non-stop, fender-to-fender action from Ford Mustang and Chevrolet SS-derived racing machines in striking liveries.
This year’s NWES line-up includes Freddie Hunt, who is paying tribute to his father James, the 1976 F1 World Champion, who was famously disqualified from the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch 40 years ago, before rebounding to claim the title. His team-mate for most of this season has been Mattias Lauda, son of James’s infamous title rival Niki, and the pair have been celebrating their fathers’ legacy.
The NWES comes with the full pomp and ceremony of American sport, with a bombastic opening ceremony ahead of the weekend’s main race, plus high-energy Victory Lane celebrations which bring the drivers and cars to the fans. Additional races for historic American muscle cars and classic V8-powered single-seaters will ensure that there is plenty of variety to enjoy throughout the event.
There will be demonstration runs from significant American racing cars too, including genuine NASCAR Sprint Cup machines that were originally raced and driven by stock car legends Carl Edwards and Mark Martin. There will be two-wheeled action on the track too, from authentic American and MCE British Superbike Championship star James Rispoli.
SpeedFest is much more than just a race event though, and there will be a veritable smorgasbord of activities to enjoy away from the racing, most notably an official Disney Pixar Cars display featuring Lightning McQueen, Tow-Mater, and Finn McMissile, the popular heroes of the animated movies.
There will be record numbers of American display vehicles too, ranging from Ford Mustangs and Pontiac Firebirds, to show trucks, Harley Davidsons, ane even an Apache Attack Helicopter! There will be replica vehicles from the Transformers movies too, including Optimus Prime, whilst other characters from the silver screen will appear in the form of characters from the Star Wars movies.
SpeedFest has unveiled a bumper live music line-up for 2016, with performances on both days across two stages. This year’s line-up includes The Mariachis of Doritos advert fame, the Gimi Hendrix Experience, and the Memories of New Orleans Marching band, all of whom will play the Victory Lane stage on Sunday.
All of SpeedFest’s trademark attractions will return too, including monster truck shows and rides, will return, alongside the Wall of Death stunt show, and much more.
Brands Hatch Motorsports Event Manager David Willey commented: “We’ve really pulled out all the stops this year to ensure we deliver the best SpeedFest yet. It’s one of the circuit’s most popular events for families, especially as kids go free, and we’ve increased content in every area on both days to ensure there’s more to see and do than ever before.”
“Ticket sales are well ahead of 2015 and we’re expecting a great crowd and a brilliant atmosphere – we can’t wait!”
Discounted advance adult and 13-15-year old tickets for American SpeedFest IV on 11/12 June are available online now at www.speedfest.co.uk or by calling 0843 453 9000.