Hill predicts F1-beating spectacle at Brands Hatch

After Formula 1 produced another yawn-inducing display in Canada at the weekend, former World Champion Damon Hill is predicting that the German DTM touring car series, now home to his former F1 rivals Mika Hakkinen, Jean Alesi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, will put on a much better show when it blasts into the UK this weekend (July 1/2).

Hill, F1 champion in 1996, was speaking after testing one of Mercedes’ awesome 500bhp DTM C-Class machines on the 1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit, which will host Britain’s only round of the 2006 series.

"The DTM cars are unbelievably fast," enthused Hill, who retired from racing at the end of the 1999 F1 season. "I knew it would be after seeing them test at Brands earlier in the year. I don’t think I got anywhere near the lap times the other guys will be doing at the weekend – I started to push the car and realised it was time to stop there.

"I think it’s great that the championship is coming to Brands Hatch and the UK and I’m looking forward to the fantastic spectacle it’s going to provide."

Audi’s seven-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen leads the DTM points standings coming into Brands Hatch, but only by two points from Mercedes’ multiple champion Bernd Schneider. Scotland’s 23-year old star Susie Stoddart, the first woman to race for Mercedes in the DTM in a decade, will be flying the flag for the UK alongside fellow rising star Jamie Green.

Tickets for the DTM race at Brands Hatch are available on the gate, costing £30 per adult while children aged 12 and under go free.