• Ferrari (AF Corse) and Porsche (Lionspeed GP) celebrate opening Sprint Cup victories
• Thousands of fans pack pit lane for Sunday morning autograph session
• Results: Race 1 | Race 2
A crowd of 23,257 passionate spectators packed Brands Hatch this weekend to experience the opening round of the GT World Challenge powered by AWS Sprint Cup.
The circuit marks its centenary this year and the festivities were well and truly underway on Saturday and Sunday. The fans were out in force, many of them wearing the colours of their favourite manufacturer, team or driver.
There are few better places to watch GT3 cars at full throttle, with the flowing Brands Hatch landscape creating an awesome spectacle. The first of two 60-minute races was won by Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer, the second year in a row that Ferrari has kicked off the Sprint campaign with a victory.
The AF Corse drivers finished second on the road but were promoted to the top step of the podium after the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry was penalised after the chequered flag. This marked the first series win for young gun Leclerc, who finished less than a second clear of Porsche ace Dorian Boccolacci (#2 Boutsen VDS).
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The opening race brought plenty of action throughout the pack. Defending series champions Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde rose from 12th on the grid to claim the final step on the podium, while the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG also fought back from 15th to claim fifth at the chequered flag.
Lionspeed GP took victory in Race 2, rebounding from the disappointment of missing out in the opening contest. The #80 Porsche had dominated Race 1 from pole only to be forced into retirement by a technical problem.
There were no such setbacks this time, with Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller taking a lights-to-flag victory and grabbing the early Sprint Cup points advantage. They were chased home by Verstappen Racing and Winward Racing, while Valentino Rossi and Max Heese narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth.
The pit walk and autograph session is always one of the highlights of the Brands Hatch weekend. On Sunday morning, thousands of fans poured into the pit lane where teams were working on their cars in the garages, while the full field of drivers were out bright and early to meet the public. While it's always been popular, this year was busier than ever.
The weekend gave fans plenty more to see and do around the venue, including a full programme of support races, supercar displays, food and drinks, and even a funfair. There was racing throughout Saturday too, with plenty of British series getting a rare opportunity to tackle the full Grand Prix Circuit.
It was announced on Saturday that Brands Hatch will remain on the Sprint Cup calendar until at least 2028 thanks to a new agreement between circuit owner MotorSport Vision (MSV) and SRO Motorsports Group. The extension continues a relationship that began exactly three decades ago in 1996 when the BPR Global Series visited the track for the first time.
On the evidence of this weekend's event, there is plenty of enthusiasm for GT World Challenge to continue visiting Brands Hatch for many years to come.