By the summer of 1986, the 1000 Kilometres of Brands Hatch had become one of the championship’s established classics. Since 1966, the world’s finest sports prototypes had tackled the 4.213-kilometre circuit, plunging down Paddock Hill Bend before climbing back into view in front of fans gathered just a few metres from the track.
This fifth round, however, came with an unusual twist. Championship points were awarded only for the Drivers’ standings, not for the Teams’ Championship. Porsche therefore elected not to field its factory squad, handing Jaguar and Lancia a rare opportunity to fight for overall honours.
The factory’s absence was only partial, though.
Rothmans colours were still present in the paddock, this time adorning a Joest Racing Porsche 956 for Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Klaus Ludwig rather than a works entry. The irony ran even deeper when one realised the car in question was the very chassis that had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1984 and 1985.
Jaguar opted to split its lead drivers, pairing Derek Warwick with Jean-Louis Schlesser and Eddie Cheever with Gianfranco Brancatelli. At Lancia, Andrea de Cesaris was reunited with Pierluigi Giacomelli.
Warwick returned to Brands Hatch just one week after competing in the British Grand Prix. He was not alone, however. Andrea de Cesaris, paired with Pierluigi Giacomelli in the Lancia LC2, and Thierry Boutsen, sharing the Brun Motorsport Porsche 956 #19 with Frank Jelinski, had also raced in Formula 1 seven days earlier.
Everything pointed towards a straight fight between Jaguar and Lancia. Instead, the race unfolded very differently.
Four Safety Car periods repeatedly neutralised the field and reshuffled the order. Before half-distance, the Joest Porsche lost ground after suffering a broken anti-roll bar, reducing the battle for victory to three contenders: the Jaguar of Warwick and Schlesser, the Lancia of De Cesaris and Giacomelli, and Richard Lloyd Racing’s Liqui Moly-backed Porsche driven by Bob Wollek and Mauro Baldi.
The balance did not last. A clogged fuel filter sidelined the Jaguar for nearly seven minutes. Lancia’s hopes unravelled almost simultaneously, first when a dislodged brake pad cost the team six laps, then with an additional delay to replace a damaged door.
Quietly, almost unnoticed, Richard Lloyd Racing inherited the lead.
There was no decisive overtaking move, nor a dramatic sprint to the finish, as reflected by its four- and five-lap margins over the #7 and #19 Porsches at the chequered flag. Instead, it was simply a case of one team staying out of trouble while its rivals faltered. Richard Lloyd Racing claimed its second Brands Hatch victory, two years after Jonathan Palmer and Jan Lammers had triumphed at the Kent circuit.
For Wollek and Mauro Baldi, the result carried a deeper meaning. Their first victory together, at Spa in 1985, had forever been overshadowed by the fatal accident that claimed Stefan Bellof’s life. This time, they were finally able to savour the moment.