Brands Hatch Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision company completed the purchase of Brands Hatch and the other Octagon venues (Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, and Snetterton). Palmer immediately implemented a programme of improvements to the venue, designed to heighten customer experiences both for spectators and competitors. 25 September 2005, the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations was held at Brands Hatch. A1 Grand Prix was a single-seater one-make series where the drivers represented their nation, as opposed themselves or a team. The first race, an 18-lap Sprint saw Nelson Piquet, Jr. lead flag-to-flag to win for A1 Team Brazil, ahead of Alexandre Premat (France)
Panther Racing Panther Racing Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in Indy Racing League LLC's IZOD IndyCar Series. Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500. In the 2011 Indy 500 the team's rookie driver J. R. Hildebrand was leading when he crashed on the final turn of the final lap. He coasted across the finish line to place second. The team was formed in late 1997, to compete in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League (now Verizon IndyCar Series), by six owners: