By Phill Catterick

Brands Hatch played host to the 7th round of the German Touring Car Championship over the weekend, with home favourite David Coulthard taking a welcome break from his BBC F1 commentary duties to compete for Mercedes.

His presence, along with many others, tempted thousands of fans to flock to the Kent track for some first class motor racing, with Bruno Spengler coming into the event as championship leader from Martin Tomczyk and Timo Scheider.

Gary Paffett, Jamie Green and Oliver Jarvis were also looking to impress at their home race after disappointing starts to their campaigns.

Qualifying saw former Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller qualify on Pole Position for the first time this season ahead of Paffett and Tomczyk, with Coulthard in a lowly 16th position.

The full circuit is only used a certain amount of times during the season due to the noise which has an affect on local residents (the last place to live of course if you enjoy the peace and quiet!), and the DTM is one of the occasions where the shorter track has to come into play.

The track itself is steeped in history and tradition and has been the scene of many incidents, positive and negative, in recent years and still holds a firm place in the heart of any motor racing enthusiast.

Nigel Mansell won his first ever Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in 1985 for Williams, and returned a year later to take a 2nd win at the track in what was called the European GP that season.

Nelson Piquet Jnr won the inaugural event of the now defunct A1 GP Series, but the track would also take its first death victim in 2009 when Henry Surtees, son of 1964 F1 Champion John, was tragically killed when a loose wheel hit him on the head during a Formula Two event.

Force India F1 driver Paul Di Resta, and last year’s champion, was in attendance and watching on as he prepares to relinquish his crown to a new successor. His manager Anthony Hamilton (father of Lewis) was alongside him as he accompanied his client to watch on.

Despite Saturday providing glorious sunshine, the race was a wet encounter which would inevitably affect the getaway at the start, but no such issues for Rockenfeller who got away well from Mattias Ekstrom who jumped Paffett at the start, and the Englishman was passed twice more on lap 2 by Edoarda Mortara and Tomczyk who was looking to decrease the gap in the championship standings.

Scheider was looking to do the same, but he ran wide on the first lap which left him last in the pack, and he chose to pit at the end of lap 3 to give himself some clean air.

Lap 10 saw a change in the lead as Tomczyk took Rockenfeller on the exit of Clearways (the final corner), and very quickly left the Audi driver in the clutches of Ekstrom who looked equally eager to get past the pole sitter.

Jamie Green wasn’t having the best of afternoons as he left the track on lap 12 and ended up in the gravel trap at Paddock Hill bend, but the Englishman just about managed to re-join the circuit in 9th position behind Jarvis.

However he soon slipped to 12th after a spin a few laps later, but due to a complete 360 degree turn he was able to get

going much quicker. Rockenfeller by this time had lost another two places and slipped to 4th behind Ekstrom and the fast charging Mortara.

Gary Paffett was failing to make inroads in 5th place, and he was starting to be hassled by Schumacher who was having a solid race in 6th.

Drivers are required to make two mandatory pit stops during each event, and the front runners decided to make their first stop around lap 44, with Paffett managing to emerge at Paddock Hill bend ahead of Rockenfeller after trying in vein to pass before the stop.

`Rocky` lost another place a couple of laps later as the rain began to pour down on the track surface, with a red flag scenario more than possible. Ralf Schumacher being the cause of the spin as he tapped his fellow countryman at Graham Hill bend; an investigation by the stewards resulting in no further action.

Mortara had chosen to stay out much longer than both Ekstrom and Tomczyk as he looked to keep the lead after his first stop, and the advantage he had was going to make his first tyre change very interesting.

That stop came at the end of lap 56, but it wasn’t enough to give him the lead as he slipped behind both challengers.

Paffett, Schumacher, Rockenfeller and Spengler continued to pursue the top three, with Coulthard slowly climbing the leader board in 10th place.

The rush of second stops started on lap 69 with the top three positions remaining the same as they exited the pits. Paffett held onto 4th place with Schumacher and Rockenfeller not far behind.

The shorter Indy circuit at Brands is only 40 seconds long and the overtaking opportunities are quite limited, which makes a good start vitally important. Tomczyk made a magnificent start and then looked comfortable after taking pole sitter Mike Rockenfeller, and eventually the race was timed as the wet weather made lap times much slower than they otherwise would have been.

However the German Audi driver brought the car home to take victory in the British Grand Prix, and in doing so took the lead in the World Championship. He drove faultlessly throughout and led home Ekstrom and Mortara, with Paffett being the best of the Brits and the Mercedes cars in 4th position.

The race winner told ESPN: “It’s a great feeling, pleased to see Audi’s behind us in our rear view mirrors and we continue to fight on.”

The national anthem saw Mortara and Ekstrom swap places on the podium as they had initially stood on the wrong step, but this didn’t dampen Audi’s spirits as they completed a clean sweep. Jody Sheckter (the 1979 F1 World Champion) and Jonathan Palmer (Chief Executive of Motorsport Vision) presented two of the awards before the traditional champagne spraying occurred.

Round eight will take place at the National Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben two weeks.