The series held two previous events in the United Kingdom at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby for 2001 and 2002 but it was dropped from the 2003 schedule in November 2002 because of poor attendance and inclement weather.

[1] Brands Hatch's return was publicly announced at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham on 9 January 2003, and it was held on the Indy configuration.

CART president and CEO Chris Pook cited the track's proximity from London and the history of the Brands Hatch circuit as the primary reasons of hosting the race there.

[3] Brands Hatch and CART invested $2 million in enhancing the track's safety standards; 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) of fencing was erected around each side of the Indy layout, around 38,000 tyres were used to construct barriers and the majority of the guard-railing alongside the circuit was reconstructed.

[4] Tim Mayer, CART's international and development liaison officer, admitted more efforts were needed to upgrade the track to obtain an FIA Grade 2 licence for a potential future event on the Grand Prix layout and noted that its history had to be regarded when altering it for increased space.