The legendary status of London's closest racetrack in the collective memories of the SBK world is quite simply unsurpassed. The natural restrictions which make Brands Hatch one of the more difficult venues in which the teams have to work are also what make it one of the most entertaining and rewarding short circuits imaginable.
By and large nature has dictated the shape and layout of the 4.197km Brands long circuit, and, as is often the case, nature has proved the best designer of all. From the impossibly challenging Paddock Hill Bend to the high-speed turns of Hawthorn's; from the uphill/downhill Druids Hairpin to the main straight - which is not in fact straight at all - Brands Hatch is a natural amphitheatre to the deities of the internal combustion engine.
Other tracks, such as Assen and Monza, have had longer Motorsport lives, but for SBK racing Brands Hatch is its own true place of devotion. This is, in large part, thanks to the endless enthusiasm for SBK racing shown by the British spectators, and the close proximity of Brands to Britain's most populous city.
James Toseland on the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda has already won a race on British soil this year, at
Donington Park, but after a race two technical breakdown there, and a subsequent near-washout at
Silverstone, he is more than keen to extend his impressive championship lead with an even greater haul of victories than the six he currently has.
After a pivotal Brno race two weeks ago, where Toseland scored a win and a second place, the 2004 champion enjoys a 43-point lead over his nearest challenger, once more the enigmatically brilliant Max Biaggi riding the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra. Biaggi also scored a second place and then a win at Brno, but at
Brands Hatch, he faces the toughest challenge of his 'rookie' year. He has never even seen the place before, and Brands holds many pitfalls to trap the unwary newcomer, from its frequent on-and-off camber corners to its blind approaches to the bumps and surface changes below the canopy of trees that line the furthest reaches of the circuit.
