They poured into the Kent track to cheer on as reigning WTCC champion Briton Andy Priaulx fought to hold onto the crown he won in 2005.

With some excellent support races and plenty of off-track entertainment, Brands Hatch put on a stellar weekend's entertainment. Trackside's Keith Collantine was there.

If you've never been to a race before, and aren't sure where to start, give touring car racing a try.

Brands Hatch is one of the best circuits in the country - set in a natural bowl, you can see most of the circuit from any of the stands.

The races are short and action-packed and away from the circuit, race organisers laid on a fun fair, face painting and loads more entertainment for families.

Plus 1992 Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell took the phenomenal BMW M3 GTR on-track for a three-lap demonstration run that thrilled the crowd.

Brands also laid on an excellent range of support races. These junior series all featured young up-and-coming drivers who demonstrated inspiration and desperation in equal measure - which all made for some highly entertaining racing!

But in the main WTCC events, the crowd didn't get the home win they wanted. Andy Priaulx lined up tenth for the first race and could only finish eighth.

As the current championship leader he was forced to run with extra ballast throughout the weekend, but his eighth place in the first race gave him pole position for the second.

The WTCC rules are designed to improve racing - which they certainly do - but Priaulx was both a victim and a beneficiary of them.

Last year, Priaulx led the British WTCC round only to fall victim to a puncture and this time bad luck struck again.

The drizzle that fell on the first race had become a torrent of near biblical proportions by the start of the second. Priaulx, the leader, faced the challenge of being the first driver to discover just how bad the conditions were - and plunged off at the first corner on the fifth lap.

 Despite the foul weather and Priaulx's misfortune, the crowd remained in good heart. And never more so than during the historic touring car race, when a Mini Cooper driver audaciously skirted around the outside of a rival in an AC Cobra at the ultra-fast Paddock Hill bend. In the pouring rain.

Now, that's what live motor sport is all about.

Racing round-up

Yvan Muller and Alain Menu were the winners of the two WTCC rounds at Brands Hatch. Muller moves into the championship lead ahead of Priaulx, while Menu's win was the first in the WTCC for Chevrolet.

Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais took his third win out of three in the 2006 Champ Car World Series. He beat Briton Justin Wilson home in Monterrey, Mexico, and leads Wilson 102-77 in the title chase. Britons Dan Clarke and Katherine Legge were 13th and 15th.

Audi's Tom Kristensen moved into the lead of the German Touring Car Championship with a win at Oschersleben. Briton Jamie Green finished third behind team mate Bruno Spengler and lies fourth in the title hunt.

Sam Hornish Jnr took pole position for next weekend's Indianapolis 500. Dan Wheldon, the British driver who won the prestigious race last year, starts third. Fellow Briton Dario Franchitti lines up 17th of the 33 starters.