CART Champ Car World Series at Brands Hatch with BTCC

Rounds 3 & 4 at Brands Hatch formed part of the CART Champ Car World series, which raced at Brands Hatch for the first time since 1978. The event, known as the 'London Champ Car Trophy' marked the third successive season that CART has competed in England, following two races on the Rockingham Motor Speedway oval circuit.

The event took place over the Bank Holiday weekend 3 - 5 May 2003, and saw the 775bhp Champ Cars take to the world famous 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

The BTCC took up the position of the primary support series to CART over the course of the weekend, and the event was undeniably one of the biggest race weekends on the 2003 British motorsport calendar.

Between 1964 and 1986, Brands Hatch hosted 12 Formula One Grand Prix races, producing some memorable racing and famous winners. The CART governing body, (then USAC), chose to race on a number of 'road' circuits in the late 1970s following declining interest in the series. The 1978 event was won by Rick Mears. Changes in the Champ Car governing body meant that the series did not return to Great Britain until 2001, at Rockingham.

The 2003 event marked the biggest car racing meeting to be held at Brands Hatch since the 1986 British Grand Prix, and the Kent circuit attracted a crowd of over 58,500 for the weekend.