In a race touted to serve as the rebirth of the Porsche challenge to the McLaren F1 GTR, Thomas Bscher and John Nielsen's West COMPETITION entry qualified fourth on the grid, close at the heels of the new 911 GT1 Porsche's pole position. The qualities of Brands Hatch that make the visibility so good for spectators, also have it renown as one of the most dangerous tracks to race on. It is these conditions that had made the hard-driving Neilsen a favourite for the race, and eventually secured a fourth place for the West team.

The race began in chaotic fashion, as Olofsson collided with Nielsen damaging the rear panel and sending him into the gravel. By the time the West COMPETITION car rejoined the race, it had fallen to 33rd place. Nielsen, however, was not daunted, driving hard and climbing 27 places into sixth place by lap 17.

A brief pit stop allowed for temporary repairs to the West COMPETITION McLaren before John Nielsen rejoined the race.

Thomas Bscher took control of the West car on lap 84, allowing the David Price Racing mechanics to secure the tail piece which had begun to come loose once again. Bscher tightened the West COMPETITION McLaren's grip on fourth place, right behind its stable mate Harrod's McLaren, and keeping the Owen-Jones/Raphanel Gulf McLaren at bay.

At the three hour mark, John Nielsen took the wheel of the West COMPETITION car for the final run to the finish, giving chase to the Grouillard/Wallace Harrod's McLaren. With the retirement with engine failure of the #2 Gulf car on lap 144, it became a race for 2nd place between the DPR sister cars.

The race saw four other cars which started in the top ten fall out of contention. Both Lotus entries were retired before the three hour mark, while the Viper of Gache/Helary went of with damage to the steering mechanism resulting from. several incidents during the race. The Newcastle United Lister, which began the race in a promising third, fell consistently throughout the race, finally retiring.

The Boutsen/Stuck 911 GT1 Porsche won the race, running in much the same manner as it had at Le Mans: taking the lead early and never looking back. Wallace and Grouillard drove well securing a 2nd place for the Harrod's car, "happy that the luck had finally gone [their] way", while the Owen-Jones/Raphanel Gulf car overtook the West COMPETITION McLaren at the very last minute to score a third place finish, with Owen-Jones happy to have won "a very good battle with our rivals".

A hard fought race for the West COMPETITION team, scoring valuable points in its chase of Bellm/Weaver's series lead- a competition made all the more exciting by the fact that the Bellm/Weaver car scored no points as a result of the retirement. Round 9 at Spa promises to be a thriller, as the Nielsen/Bscher West McLaren continues to close the gap between itself and the series leaders!

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