F1 great comes out of retirement at Brands Hatch

All eyes will be on Brands Hatch this weekend when Damon Hill revs up on the strating grid for the first time in 13 years.

The 1996 world champion — now a pundit on Sky’s F1 channel — will be reunited on the track with a host of racing friends including Mark Blundell, Perry McCarthy, Julian Bailey and Martin Donnelly. They made up the 1980s “Rat Pack” of British drivers rising through the ranks to the top levels of motorsport.

Damon, who has not competed since retiring in 1999, will make his racing comeback in the DTM-supporting Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup race.

The drivers are all members of the 1980s racing gang who rose through the ranks of Formula Ford, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and into Formula One giving themselves the name ‘Rat Pack’. Through all the years of competition and ever since the drivers have remained close friends, with the period covered in McCarthy’s bestselling book Flat Out, Flat Broke.

Blundell raced for McLaren before tasting success in the US Champ Car Series, whilst Bailey enjoyed good fortunes in the British Touring Car Championship. Donnelly’s tenure in F1 was cut short by a huge accident at Jerez, famously documented in the recent film Senna.

They are gathering together to enjoy some healthy competition while raising money for Damon Hill’s charity – HALOW. The project is dedicated to creating supporting young people with a learning disability. The charity is named after five young people, one of them being Oliver Hill, Damon’s eldest son.

“Perry, Julian and I are coming out of retirement for this race”, said Damon, “so we are sure to be pretty rusty. But it promises to be a great weekend for all friends and family to get together and a great way to draw attention to the aims and objectives of the charity. I am looking forward to it.”

McCarthy, the instigator of the idea, said: “I haven’t actually sat in a racing car for eight years so I don’t expect great things.

Button pops in to meet the fans

McLaren F1 star and fomer world champ Jenson Button will make a special appearance at this weekend’s DTM event at Brands. At 11.10am on Sunday, May 20, Jenson will sign autographs before taking part in a live Q&A session with ex-F1 racer David Coulthard. Shortly afterwards, Jenson will the take the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz DTM, it will be the first time he has driven the circuit since his British F3 days in 1999.

Get close to the action for DTM

Tickets for the DTM at Brands Hatch on Saturday, May 19 featuring the Volkswagen Scirocco R-cup, are available from £29 with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or visitwww.brandshatch.co.uk