FROM GOODWOOD TO PEBBLE BEACH, ON TRACK, STAGE AND CONCOURS THE CLASSIC EVENTS YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H
HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
2015 EVENT CALENDAR February 20-22 March 5-8 March 13-15 March 21/22 April 4/5 April 17-19 April 18 April 20-25 May 2-4 May 12-15 May 14-17 May 16/17 May 23-25 June 12-14 June 13/14 June 25-28 July 4/5 July 5 July 11/12 July 15-18 July 23-25 July 24-26 July 31-August 2 August 7-9 August 8-16 August 28-30 August 30/31 September 11-13 September 17-19 September 18-20 November 5-8 November 27-29
Race Retro Phillip Island Amelia Island Goodwood Members Meeting HSCC Thruxton Masters Barcelona Festival VSCC Spring Start Tour Auto Donington Historic Festival Tour Britannia – Irish edition Mille Miglia HSCC International Trophy Masters Festival Brands Hatch Cholmondeley Pageant of Power Brooklands Double 12 Goodwood Festival of Speed Masters Donington Park Shelsley Walsh VSCC Brands Hatch Historic Super Prix Enstall Classic Eifel Rally Festival Silverstone Classic Prescott VSCC Nürburgring Oldtimer GP Pebble Beach Zandvoort Historic GP Oulton Park Gold Cup Goodwood Revival Isle of Man Rally Spa Six Hours Rally of the Tests Roger Albert Clark Rally
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F E B R UARY 4- 8
Rétromobile, Paris F E B R UARY 2 1
Boucles de Spa F E B R UARY 2 1
Pomeroy Trophy, Silverstone AP R I L 24-2 6
Classic Motorsports Mitty, Road Atlanta MAY 2 2-24
Spa Classic MAY 15 -17
Spring Vintage Festival, Elkhart Lake MAY 2 3 / 24
La Vie en Bleu, Prescott J U N E 5 -7
Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or, Dijon JUNE 7
VSCC race meeting, Cadwell Park J U N E 19-2 1
Coppa Intereuropa, Monza J U LY 11/ 12
Chateau Impney Revival
We are looking forward to kicking off our Classic Car Program 2015 in May with the Tuscany Classics, our 21st rally since launching the Program in 2004. Among the many highlights of this very popular rally, we will be happy to see the return of our friend Alain de Cadenet in a classic Alfa Romeo. In August, our focus shifts to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Our guests will have the opportunity to participate in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance on Thursday. On Friday, we will be the presenting partner of the ‘Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum,’ which was successfully launched last year. Sunday will be fully devoted to the Concours d’Elegance, with Alain de Cadenet introducing the most exceptional cars to our guests. In September, we will take a step back in time during the Goodwood Revival Meeting. Alain de Cadenet will then be joined by our friends Derek Bell and Jochen Mass. As well as taking part in the racing, they will be offering paddock tours and entertaining guests and media at Credit Suisse Race Control. Our season will end in October when Adolfo Orsi publishes the next edition of the famous Classic Car Auction Yearbook, the bible for every classic car collector. Reason enough to look forward to 2015! If you would like to receive regular updates on our classic car events, including videos, images and insights by our friends, please subscribe to our newsletter at credit-suisse.com/classiccars Romeo Lacher, Credit Suisse
J U LY 18
VSCC race meeting, Oulton Park J U LY 18 / 19
Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia AU G U ST 8 / 9
Croft Nostalgia Weekend SE P T E MB E R 4- 6
Concours of Elegance, Edinburgh SE P T E MB E R 6
Chantilly Arts and Elegance
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CONTENTS 04 F E BRUARY/M ARC H Race Retro, Phillip Island Classic, Amelia Island Concours, Goodwood Members Meeting 06 APRI L Thruxton Easter Revival, VSCC Spring Start, Catalunya Classic Festival, Tour Auto 08 M AY Donington Historic Festival, Tour Britannia, Mille Miglia, HSCC International Trophy, Brands Hatch Masters Festival 12 J UNE Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Brooklands Double Twelve, Le Mans support race, Goodwood Festival of Speed 14 J ULY Masters Donington Park, Shelsley Walsh, Brands Hatch Historic Super Prix, Eifel Rallye Festival, Chateau Impney Revival, Ennstal Classic, Silverstone Classic 18 AUGUST Nürburgring Oldtimer, VSCC Prescott, Croft Nostalgia Weekend, Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix 20 AUGUST Pebble Beach 22 S E PT E M BE R Goodwood Revival 24 S E PT E M BE R Rally Isle of Man, Circuit des Ramparts, Spa Classic Six Hours 26 OC T OBE R/NOV E M BE R Castle Combe Autumn Classic, Algarve Classic Festival, Rally of the Tests, Roger Albert Clark Rally
A special supplement to Motor Sport in association with Credit Suisse. Produced by Motor Sport, 38 Chelsea Wharf, 15 Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ. Tel: 020 7349 8497. E-mail: editorial@motorsportmagazine.co.uk Editor Damien Smith Written by Paul Lawrence, Simon Arron, Gordon Kirby Art Editor Damon Cogman Digital Designer Zamir Walimohamed Advertising Sean Costa, Peter de Vries. Printed by Precision Colour Printing, Shropshire. © Motor Sport 2015. www.motorsportmagazine.com. Not to be sold separately
SE P T E MB E R 12 / 13
VSCC Hill Climb, Loton Park SE P T E MB E R 18 -2 0
Grand Prix des Remparts, Angoulême SE P T E MB E R 2 7
WWW. C R E D I T- S U I S S E . C O M / C LAS S I C CA R S
C L AS S I C RAL LY ASSO CI ATION www.classicrally.org.uk E ND U RAN CE RAL LY ASSOC IATION www.endurorally.com FO R M U L A J UN I O R RACI NG AS S OC IATION www.formulajunior.com G R O U P C SE RI E S www.groupcracing.com H E R O www.heroevents.eu H IST O R I C G RAN D PRI X C ARS AS S OCIATION www.hgpca.net H IST O R I C RACI N G DRI VERS C LUB www.hrdc.eu H IST O R I C RAL LY CAR REGISTER www.hrcr.co.uk H IST O R I C SP O RTS CAR CLUB www.hscc.org.uk M AST E RS SE RI E S www.themastersseries.com M OT O R RACI N G L EG E N DS www.motorracinglegends.com P ET E R AUTO www.peterauto.peter.fr V ET E R AN CAR CLUB www.vccofgb.co.uk V IN TAG E SP O RTS CAR CLUB www.vscc.co.uk U2TC www.historicmotor-racingnews.co.uk
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OTHER EVENTS
The historic motor sport scene continues to thrive. Each year we ask, ‘will the bubble burst?’ But each time we have to answer that there’s no sign of it. More events, healthy entries and great support from fans around the world is solid proof that the love of and fascination with historic racing cars is only getting stronger with each passing year. In this guide, brought to you in association with our friends at Credit Suisse, we lead you through each month of the season, highlighting the key events you just won’t want to miss. As you’ll see, not a month goes by without at least one race meeting or festival capturing the imagination. The ‘majors’ such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival, Pebble Beach and Silverstone Classic, are the first dates in our 2015 diaries. But then there are personal favourites, too. Mine include the Goodwood Members’ Meeting in March (following its glorious return in 2014), The Donington Historic Festival in May, both the Masters Festival and Superprix at Brands Hatch, the Spa Six Hours in September… But then I realise I’ve omitted from that list the VSCC Spring Start, HSCC Thruxton, a summer hillclimb at Shelsley or Prescott and the Masters Festival at the popular Zandvoort circuit in Holland. Take your pick. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll quickly come to one conclusion: you’ll want to see it all. Packing as much into one season as possible is all part of the fun. Damien Smith, Editor
VSCC race meeting, Snetterton O CT O B E R 2-4
Dijon Motors Cup O CT O B E R 3
Castle Combe Autumn Classic O CT O B E R 2 3 -2 5
Algarve Classic Festival O CT O B E R 24
VSCC Autumn Sprint, Goodwood N OV E MB E R 1 2-15
HSR Daytona Historics
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
FEBRUARY 20-22
JEFF BLOXHAM
MARCH 21-22
RACE RETRO
GOODWOOD MEMBERS’ MEETING
For a decade, the new historic season has traditionally kicked into life at Race Retro. For three days the halls at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire are transformed into a shop window for historic motor sport in all its wonderful diversity. Organisers, promoters, suppliers and retailers show their wares amid a raft of historic cars and bikes. From 1950s Grand Prix cars to Ford Escort rally cars and historic trials cars – it is all here. In 2015, the event will celebrate Chevron racing cars and the rallying career of Richard Burns with suitable showcase displays. Meanwhile, on Saturday and Sunday a section of the site is transformed into a live action arena for period rally cars and historic karts. There is much to see and do, and a scattering of notable personalities can usually be found around the event. However, for many active participants it is primarily a sociable occasion to get the new season underway and find out what everyone else is planning. www.raceretro.com
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The annual Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport will run for the 26th time in March with a weekend of racing on the spectacular Australian track. The 2015 Festival runs over the Moomba holiday weekend, and is a precursor to the Australian Grand Prix the following weekend. Measuring 2.7 miles, the Victoria track enjoys a spectacular coastal location, around 90 miles south-east of Melbourne. Dozens of quick-fire races will take in a fabulous array of cars, from local machinery to European and American classics, including a mighty field of Formula 5000 single-seaters from the 1970s.
Sir Stirling Moss will be the guest of honour for the 20th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island in Florida. This historic event is a major occasion for the American classic car movement. Alongside a glittering array of some of the finest classic cars in the world, the event will celebrate the Porsche 914 and the BMW 328, with pride of place going to the 328 ‘Buegelfalte’ roadster that finished sixth on the 1940 Mille Miglia. 328s took four of the top six places on the last such race for seven years. Adding to the main activity will be road tours, an auction and seminars.
www.vhrr.com
www.ameliaconcours.org
LAT
AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS
RASHBA.COM
PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC
MARCH 13-15
SIMON ARRON
MARCH 5-8
The new event was created to offer a less crowded alternative to the hugely successful Revival Meeting held each September
The 73rd Members’ Meeting at Goodwood will run in March following the success of the revived event of 2014, with an impressive line-up of races and demonstrations. Run in the style of the 71 members’ meetings held before the Sussex track closed in July 1966, the new event was created to offer a less crowded alternative to the hugely successful Revival Meeting held each September. Strict limits are placed on spectator numbers and preference for tickets goes to members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club. The Members’ Meeting also moves away from the Revival ethos by running races for cars built outside the original Goodwood era of 1948 to 1966. What does not change is the incredible level of attention to detail that goes hand in hand with any Goodwood event. Two major demonstrations will open up the fast sweeps to a sensational range of 1970s Grand Prix cars and 1980s Group C cars. Topping as many as 25 Formula 1 cars from the ‘high airbox’ era will be two ex-Niki Lauda Ferraris and a pair of Lotus 72s. Although Goodwood closed to racing 16 years before the start of Group C, cars from Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes, Lancia, Aston Martin, Toyota and Nissan will all take to the track in homage to the Le Mans 24-hour races of the era, with the story coming closer to date with a 1992 Toyota TS010. Seldom has such a high-tech car from the 1990s run at the track and, like the F1 cars, the Group C monsters will be demonstrated each day. The 12-race programme honours a number of famous names, including local ace Derek Bell who raced at Goodwood in the formative years of his career. The 1-litre Formula 3 race will be for the Derek Bell Cup as the famous ‘screamers’ return to the Sussex track for the first time since it closed for racing 49 years ago. Graham Hill will be celebrated with an hour-long, two-driver race for 1960-66 GT cars on the Saturday evening, while another new race will be the John Aldington Trophy race for pre-1967 Porsche 911s. Two races that were big hits in 2014 will be repeated: the Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1 touring cars, and the Salvadori Cup for 1950s sports cars. The Hawthorn Trophy will run for 1950s front-engined F1, F2 and Formula Libre cars, while rear-engined, drum-braked Formula Juniors will race in memory of 1960 British Formula Junior champion Trevor Taylor. www.goodwood.com
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
APRIL 17-19
APRIL 4-5
CATALUNYA CLASSIC FESTIVAL
APRIL 18
From the very start of racing at the modern iteration of Thruxton, back in 1968, the Easter race weekend has been a big occasion in the Hampshire track’s calendar. For more than a decade, the European Formula 2 Championship visited the high-speed airfield circuit. Now, after some lean years, the track is on the up again and the Easter Revival historic race weekend provides a fine start to the season at a venue that consistently delivers some of the most exciting racing in the UK. With the HSCC at the helm to kick off its 2015 season, feature action will include Formula 2 and Formula 5000 machinery in the Derek Bell Trophy as well as old favourites such as Historic Touring Cars, Historic Formula Fords, Formula Juniors and the GT and sports-racing cars in the Guards Trophy. There will be a programme of racing on both Easter Saturday and Sunday. www.thruxtonracing.co.uk
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www.espiritudemontjuic.com
APRIL 20-25
TOUR AUTO
www.vscc.co.uk
PHOTO CLASSIC RACING
THRUXTON EASTER REVIVAL
Though the wonderfully diverse VSCC motor sport year will have been in action for three months, the club’s annual Spring Start race meeting at Silverstone is a traditional season opener for those whose prime passion is circuit racing for pre-war cars. The Vintage Sports-Car Club is a true all-yearround club and a busy programme of rallies and trials continues right through the winter. But it is the Spring Start when race cars, some of them fast approaching their centenary, come out of garages ready for another season of on-track action. After several seasons as a two-day weekend, Spring Start 2015 will have something of a back-to-basics feel as the event reverts to a Saturday-only race meeting. But that should take nothing from the quality of an event that always attracts a big crowd to the Silverstone National circuit. Most famous of the annual awards on offer is the GP Itala Trophy with a history dating back to 1969 when Neil Corner won it in a Bugatti. The French marque has since won another 24 times in the 46-year history of this race for pre-31 racing cars, though it was Justin Maeers to the fore a year ago in his GN Parker. Appropriately for a race named in honour of one of the leading ERA pilots of the 1970s, the Patrick Lindsay Trophy race for pre-war cars has long been dominated by ERAs. In 2015, Mark Gillies will bid for his 10th win in 11 years in R3A. Supporting the headline races will be the usual line-up of short, sharp scratch and handicap races as well as 1950s sports cars. Typical of a VSCC event is the dazzling array of period cars in attendance. The paddock area and public car parks will be full of classics dating back to the 1920s.
It is the Spring Start when race cars, some of them fast approaching their centenary, come out of garages ready for another season of on-track action
PETER MCFADYEN
JEFF BLOXHAM
VSCC SPRING START
One of the first major historic racing festivals of the season in Europe is also one of the best. In just four editions, the Catalunya Classic Festival has established its place as a very popular event with a flavour of Goodwood on the Iberian Peninsula. Held at the Barcelona circuit, home of the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, the Festival includes a quality line-up of important historic racing with FIA Masters Historic F1 at the pinnacle. Side attractions such as classic car displays, air displays, shopping village, parades, street theatre and fun fairs complete a package that drew more than 30,000 fans last year.
Every spring, some of the most glorious sports and GT cars of the 1960s and 1970s take to the roads of France in a re-creation of the famous Tour de France. A field of 225 cars will head out from Paris for five days of competition, some on race tracks and some on special stages on closed roads. The 2015 route has overnight halts in Vichy, Clermont Ferrand, Toulouse and Pau before the finish on the Atlantic coast at Biarritz and offers competitors a glorious charge through the French countryside. Crews in the regularity event will be setting a modest pace, but the competition element is all about speed on the special stages. The entry is traditionally mouth-watering and takes in Ford GT40s, AC Cobras, Porsche 911s, De Tomaso Panteras and Ferraris ranging from a 1951-vintage 212 Touring Berlinetta to Group 4 308 GTB rally cars. Former winners Shaun Lynn and Kevin Kivlochan head the UK contenders in Lynn’s 1963 Shelby Cobra. www.peterauto.peter.fr
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
M AY 1 2-1 5
DONINGTON HISTORIC FESTIVAL
8
JEFF BLOXHAM
www.doningtonhistoric.com
TOUR BRITANNIA There is a major new look for Tour Britannia this spring as the event breaks fresh ground by crossing the Irish sea to take in closed-road special stages in the Wicklow Mountains to the south of Dublin. A clever route plan starts the event in North Wales before using the high-speed ferry from Holyhead to get to Ireland and the rare chance to compete over classic stages such as ‘Sally Gap’ as well as a race at Mondello Park. Then it is back on the ferry for a final day in North Wales with two races at Anglesey and more special stages. The innovative concept looks like being a hit with competitors. www.tourbritannia.com
M AY 1 4-1 7
M AY 1 6 -1 7
MILLE MIGLIA
HSCC INTERNATIONAL TROPHY
The Italian passion for classic cars is legendary and nowhere is this more graphically demonstrated than on the annual Mille Miglia retro, the regularity rally that celebrates one of the world’s most famous road races. For 30 years between 1927 and 1957 the Mille Miglia was the ultimate road race. The route from Brescia to Rome and back measured 1000 miles and in 1955 the Mercedes of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson famously covered the distance in a whisker over 10 hours. It is an event that is inconceivable in the modern world. However, the route is retraced every May by cars of the type used in the original event, though the retro is a rather more gentle affair with overnight halts in Rimini, Rome and Parma. Classic stretches such as the Futa and Raticosa passes are tackled and historic towns Ravenna, Siena and Pisa are all on the route.
Once a year, the Historic Sports Car Club takes over the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit for a busy weekend of racing. Generally popular with historic racers, the modern GP track is a great place for historic cars to stretch their legs and the fact that it can accommodate up to 60 cars on the grid makes this a thoroughly entertaining weekend for fans. In some ways the International Trophy is a warm-up to the Silverstone Classic, and offers fans very easy access with low-cost admission but without the sheer spectacle and razzamatazz of the July event. The usual roster of HSCC categories will be in action, headlined by the revamped Martini Trophy which has now been opened up to a wider range of 1970s sportsracing and GT cars. With as many as 400 entries, the paddock will be full of sports cars, singleseaters and touring cars from the 1960s and 1970s.
www.1000miglia.eu
www.hscc.org.uk
JEFF BLOXHAM
The return to prominence of the Donington Park circuit over the past three seasons is one of the happy success stories of modern British motor racing. The damage done by the failed British Grand Prix bid is all-but repaired and solid re-investment coupled to good management has taken the East Midlands track back to its best. Among the key events supporting the circuit’s rehabilitation is the Donington Historic Festival, now firmly established over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. The 2015 edition will be the fifth, when three full days of on-track action will be supported by parades, demonstrations and an evergrowing array of car club gatherings on the infield. Excellent news for visitors is that the mammoth earth-moving project to repair the ravaged infield is now complete and spectator access will be increased as the ground settles and grass is established. Meanwhile, the circuit itself is being completely resurfaced in time for the 2015 season. While the sideshows and attractions broaden the event’s public appeal, the Donington Historic Festival has always been about the racing first and foremost. The final race line-up was still being concluded as this supplement went to press, but an exciting new feature of the weekend will be a two-and-a-half-hour race for cars that competed in the World Sportscar Championship between 1964 and 1971. The race will run into the dusk of Saturday evening and a stellar entry is expected for this pitstop battle. Another new category on the programme, and sure to appeal to a fresh group of fans, is the Super Touring Trophy. Racing at Donington Park for the first time since the rebirth of the category, a cracking field of cars from the 1990s BTCC and 2000s WTCC will start their 2015 season. The Historic Formula 2 Championship will also open its programme with a grid full of 1970s single-seaters, the best of which will lap very little shy of Historic Formula 1 pace. Period sports cars feature in the Woodcote Trophy and Sir Stirling Moss Trophy from Motor Racing Legends, while pre-war cars are sure to be in action.
PAUL LAWRENCE
M AY 2-4
The Donington Historic Festival has always been about the racing first and foremost
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JEFF BLOXHAM
HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
M AY 2 3 -2 5
BRANDS HATCH MASTERS FESTIVAL Aside from Spa-Francorchamps, few tracks rate higher on drivers’ wish lists than the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. It is a section of track that rises and falls through ancient woodland and is remarkably little changed since it was created more than half a century ago. Local planning constraints leave few chances to race on the 2.6-mile rollercoaster, so the Masters Festival over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend is always a very popular date on the Masters schedule. Recent seasons have been extremely good for Masters Historic Racing, with fine support across all categories. The acquisition of the FIA tag for its Historic Formula 1 Championship has ensured superb grids and the Masters Sports Cars Championship is similarly FIA branded. While the wail of Cosworth DFVs will echo through the trees during the F1 races, the sight and sound of Lola T70s, Ford GT40s and Chevron B8s will make the sports car race equally special. Added to the mix will be the usual Pre-66 Touring Car race where the fastest of the Lotus Cortinas and Mini Coopers can worry the American V8s. The sight of the fastest Minis being hurled lemming-like into Paddock Hill Bend is one to behold. However, recent history suggests that the Masters Gentleman Drivers enduro for pre-66 GT cars will be one of the weekend’s best races. Races invariably shake out to be contests among AC Cobras, TVR Griffiths and Jaguar E-types and the result has been some truly absorbing races.
10
CHARLIE WOODING
www.themastersseries.com
The sight of the fastest Minis being hurled lemming-like into Paddock Hill Bend is one to behold
HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
CHOLMONDELEY PAGEANT OF POWER
SIMON ARRON
JUNE 12-14
Take the impressive grounds of a Cheshire castle, add in cars, boats and helicopters and you have the unique Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. The 2015 event will be its eighth running. Inevitably, when the event was first announced back in 2008 it was dubbed the ‘Goodwood of the north’. But those comparisons have long since gone and Cholmondeley has found its own identity, attracting around 60,000 visitors over the weekend. There is much for everyone, including shopping, classic scrambling, air displays, RIB rides, hovercraft racing and a classical concert and firework spectacular on Saturday evening. The motor sport element is a sprint on the 1.2-mile course laid out in the scenic grounds of Cholmondeley Castle. Tricky, fast and narrow in equal parts, the course is a challenge and has seen some spectacular action, none more so than two years ago when former British Formula 3 champion Robbie Kerr demolished the course record by a whopping five seconds at the wheel of a Radical SR8. The competition classes span racing car, sports, GT and touring car history across nearly a century, while the Magnificent Marques element of the programme pits current road-going supercars into competition. The car entry lacks the out-and-out sparkle of Goodwood, but a good and varied line-up on two, three and four wheels offers plenty of spectacle. An enduringly popular element is the aero-engined monsters such as the 24-litre Napier Bentley of Chris Williams. Tyre-smoking starts and paddock warm-ups that set the grass on fire are all part of the Cholmondeley package from this showman and his famous car. For those whose main focus is watching the on-track action, there is ample viewing and the most popular locations are at the start line, by the chicane on the main straight and at the final corner before the finish. www.cpop.co.uk
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JUNE 10-12
BROOKLANDS DOUBLE TWELVE
LE MANS SUPPORT RACE
There is nothing quite like the Brooklands Double Twelve, which celebrates the heritage of the birth place of British motor racing. Dated to run on the weekend closest to the original opening of Brooklands on June 17 1907, the Double Twelve takes its name from the twin 12-hour races of the 1930s when the protests of local residents thwarted a planned 24-hour race. Ironically, less than two weeks after it opened in 1907, Brooklands hosted the world’s first organised 24-hour competition. The Brooklands Double Twelve, organised in conjunction with the Vintage Sports-Car Club, incorporates a sprint for 100 pre-war cars on the MercedesBenz World circuit and a driving test and concours d’elegance for nearly 150 cars. The famous Brooklands Test Hill is also in use for competition during a varied weekend.
The Saturday morning before the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours is a special time as the buildup towards the world’s greatest race continues. For a lucky few, the chance to take to the track in the Motor Racing Legends support race is a very big deal indeed. Each year, Duncan Wiltshire’s organisation puts together a grid of period cars for an hour-long race on the mighty eight-mile track. Amateur racers get the chance to tackle landmarks such as the Porsche Curves, Arnage and the Mulsanne Straight on the 83rd Le Mans weekend. The plan for 2015 is to run the race for pre-69 sports and GT cars, thus bringing Ford GT40s back into Le Mans competition after a lengthy gap from this particular race. The grid will celebrate the Le Mans heritage of the late 1960s with a glorious array of cars from an era when Ford won four times in a row.
www.brooklandsmuseum.com
www.motorracinglegends.com
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
There are few superlatives that have not been employed to describe motor sport’s annual summer party in the grounds of Goodwood House in Sussex. For four days each year, the genteel surroundings are handed over to a celebration of everything automotive and motor sport. It is a time to celebrate the motor car in all its diverse forms. At the heart of the spectacle is the hillclimb up the drive of the house and beyond. It may take less than 50 seconds for the fastest cars, but it packs a lot of punch and many classy drivers have been caught out by the ribbon of asphalt. For many fans, the chance to mingle with some of the sport’s greats makes it an unmissable weekend. Legends of the past and stars of the present are all on show in a relaxed environment, and a gaggle of current F1 drivers show off Grand Prix cars of the modern era. In stark contrast, star cars and drivers of the past turn it on for the fans. Once Thursday’s Moving Motor Show has moved from centre stage, the event is all about the sport and the team at Goodwood has a real knack of unearthing some absolute gems as well as recently restored classic machines. Cars seen at Goodwood may not appear anywhere else, such is the gravitational pull of the Festival of Speed. Each FoS has a particular theme running through the event and in 2015 it will be ‘Fast and Fearless: Racing on the Edge’. The event will also celebrate 50 years since Honda’s first Grand Prix win, pay a 60th anniversary homage to the 1955 Mille Miglia win of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson and remember the first all-British Grand Prix victory for Tony Brooks and Connaught, at Syracuse. www.goodwood.com
LAT
JUNE 13-14
JUNE 25-28
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
J U LY 4 - 5 J U LY 2 3 - 2 5
JEFF BLOXHAM
MASTERS DONINGTON PARK
The biggest and best rally retro event of the season
A new summer event will bring together many Masters Historic Racing classes, with a four-hour race for pre-66 GT and Touring Cars at the top of the bill. In a bid to bring something of the Spa Classic Six Hours to the UK, the feature race will run into the dusk of Saturday evening, with pitstops and refuelling. Other Masters races, though not FIA Historic Formula 1 or Masters FIA Historic Sports, will fill out the programme. It will be the first Masters race weekend at the East Midlands track since October 2012.
J U LY 1 1 - 1 2
At a venue steeped in history, there is little better spectacle in the sport than an ERA in full flight at Shelsley Walsh. In the late 1930s, Raymond Mays dominated at the 1000-yard Worcestershire hill and now, 80 years later, ERAs are still in action at the world’s oldest surviving motor sport venue. Each July the Midland Automobile Club and the VSCC come together to celebrate this most British venue, and in 2015 the event will mark 110 years of hillclimbing at Shelsley. Only two world wars have interrupted an otherwise continuous history. In keeping with the tradition of this hugely popular event, the paddock will be crammed full of mainly pre-war cars, the hill will be thronged with spectators and the public car park will be full of period cars. It is a truly special occasion: the bark of an ERA attacking the side of the Teme Valley makes for an unforgettable day out. www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk
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PETE AUSTIN
SHELSLEY WALSH
BRANDS HATCH HISTORIC SUPER PRIX
EIFEL RALLYE FESTIVAL The biggest and best rally retro event of the season is the Eifel Rally Festival, which attracts 40,000 fans to the Eifel Mountains. The action is based around demonstration stages for many of the iconic cars from rallying history and, with a smattering of famous old names tempted back behind the wheel, it is easy to see why the event draws fans from across mainland Europe to the host town of Daun. The event tells the story of five decades of rallying: from the two-stroke Saab 96 to WRC cars of the 1990s via some Group B monsters. As patron of the event, former World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl is very much in evidence. Over 150 cars, chosen carefully from over-subscribed demand, are put through their paces across two and a half days of closed-road asphalt special stages as well as a gravel-based super special stage.
Each year in July, the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit is handed over to the Historic Sports Car Club for a weekend of historic racing on one of the world’s finest drivers’ tracks. The 2015 edition, the 26th Super Prix in a row, will take in a heady mix of racing for sports cars, GT cars, touring cars and single-seaters predominantly from the HSCC’s era of the early 1960s through to the early 1980s. While stalwart HSCC classes pack out much of the bill, the headline attraction will be the third double-header weekend of five for the Historic Formula 2 Championship. At a time when Historic Formula 1 car values are climbing ever higher, Formula 2 represents a more affordable option and performance that it not far shy of Grand Prix cars at a track like Brands Hatch GP. In July 2014, Martin Stretton planted his March 742 on F2 pole with a time just two seconds away from the best Historic F1 qualifying time from six weeks earlier. Although not confirmed at the time of writing, Grand Prix cars of the 1950s and early 1960s could also be on the bill with a welcome visit from the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association. The re-worked Martini Trophy will bring fabulous 2-litre sports-racing cars back into action alongside pre-1980 Sports Racing GT and Touring Cars of a type that competed in the World Sportscar Championship. Of course, some of the very best racing may well come from favourite HSCC categories such as Historic Touring Cars and Historic Formula Ford 1600. www.hscc.org.uk
www.eifel-rallye-festival.de
JEFF BLOXHAM
J U LY 5
CHARLIE WOODING
www.themastersseries.com
J U LY 1 1 - 1 2
J U LY 1 5 - 1 8
CHATEAU IMPNEY REVIVAL
ENNSTAL CLASSIC
A brand new event on the summer schedule for 2015 is the Chateau Impney Revival, an event reliving the hillclimbs held at the famous Midlands hotel between 1957 and 1967. For a decade the Droitwich venue hosted hillclimbs on the hotel drive, and now, 48 years later, plans have been confirmed to run up to 200 period cars in a competitive event in the 155-acre grounds of the French-style chateau. Entries will be restricted to pre-68 cars to fit in with the hill’s period history and they will compete on an extended 1000-yard course. Side attractions will include a concours d’elegance and an auction.
The Ennstal Classic is a rare chance for owners of classic cars to take part in a four-day festival set in the stunning mountain scenery around Gröbming in Austria. More than 200 pre-73 cars will tackle two full days of regularity rallying, starting with a 400km event on day one and then a marathon 500km rally on the second day. Early entries include Egon Hofer’s Ferrari 250SWB to be shared with former Ferrari designer Mauro Forghieri. Meanwhile pre-82 competition cars contest the Race Car Trophy, which is run across four days at venues close to Grobming, with everything from Can-Am cars to Formula Vees.
www.chateauimpneyhillclimb.com
www.ennstal-classic.at
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
J U LY 2 4 - 2 6
SILVERSTONE CLASSIC It will soon be a quarter of a century since the first historic festival at Silverstone, and the 2015 edition of the Silverstone Classic will celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the late-July spectacular. The Silverstone Classic of today has grown almost beyond all recognition since those early days and the sheer scale of the 2015 event will be hard to grasp, with much of the vast Silverstone estate given over to attractions, displays, car clubs, shops, aviation and so much more. Yet at the heart of this mammoth meeting is the racing, and more than 20 races across Saturday and Sunday will bring together some of the finest historic classes in Europe. Both Silverstone paddocks are needed to accommodate the biggest entry – of more than 1000 drivers and 800 cars – for any historic race meeting. Headlining the racing will be the Masters FIA Historic Formula 1 Championship and Group C Racing. More than 30 period F1 cars make a stunning sight and sound, with the great majority of the cars powered by the Cosworth DFV engine. Meanwhile, the Group C cars have enjoyed the high-profile Saturday evening slot in recent years and the spectacle of Le Mans-type cars racing into the Silverstone dusk is very special. Appealing to a fresh audience is the Super Touring Trophy for the BTCC cars of the 1990s, and the pair of races has become a popular fixture of the weekend. Meanwhile, the GT90s experiment of 2015 is set to be repeated as a field of 1990s GT cars take to the track. Last year the cars ran as a demonstration, but the promoters made no secret of the fact that they would like to see this stepped up to full-blown races. The FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship is another crowd-pleaser and has included exotica such as a Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512M in recent seasons. Taking the sports car story back into the 1950s and 1960s will be grids for the Pre-66 GTs, RAC TT for Pre-63 GT cars and the Stirling Moss and Woodcote Trophies. More single-seater action comes from the HGPCA Pre-66 Grand Prix cars and what is often the best race of the weekend, for Historic Formula Juniors. Topping the off-track action and in celebration of the Silver Anniversary, Status Quo will headline the weekend’s live music at an event where the racing is only part of the full story. www.silverstoneclassic.com
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At the heart of this mammoth event is the racing, and more than 20 races across Saturday and Sunday will bring together some of the finest historic classes in Europe
HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
NÜRBURGRING OLDTIMER For 42 years, the Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix has been the biggest historic racing festival in Germany and the 2015 edition will maintain that unrivalled sequence. The main action for a top-level array of historic categories takes place on the modern Grand Prix circuit, but the Nordschleife also features for the three-hour Classic Marathon on the 14-mile track on Friday afternoon. Even in August the fickle Eifel Mountain weather can be difficult and the Oldtimer has a record of being interrupted by rain and fog. However, when the sun is shining, the Grand Prix circuit suits historic cars well and the paddock is crammed with cars from across Europe, with a strong UK presence. Masters and the HGPCA are regular visitors to the Oldtimer and the event also hosts a round of the FIA Lurani Trophy Formula Junior Championship. Add in several German-based historic race series and it all makes for a very busy weekend.
AUGUST 28-30
ZANDVOORT HISTORIC GRAND PRIX
www.nuerburgring.de
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The Prescott hillclimb in Gloucestershire and the Vintage Sports-Car Club can both trace histories back to the 1930s and every summer these two institutions come together for the biggest event of the vintage hillclimb season. With pressure on capacity for the weekend event, the VSCC has added a separate one-day hillclimb on the Friday to try and keep up with demand. However it is the first Sunday in August that is the big day, as well over 200 cars tackle the Cotswold venue. Few venues can rival Prescott on a summer’s day, and the full paddock is complemented by a dazzling array of classics in the orchard car park.
It may not have the kudos of Goodwood or the Silverstone Classic, but the Croft Nostalgia Weekend has earned a place in the schedule as a period event for the north-east of the country. Built around a weekend of HSCC racing, it combines historic racing with an extensive military vehicle gathering, aviation, 1940s and 1950s fashion and classic cars. It has the relaxed atmosphere of an early Goodwood and has quickly won a place in the hearts of those who live north of the Midlands. On-track, the HSCC’s regulars delivers the headline races with welcome additions such as the 500cc Formula 3 racers.
www.prescott-hillclimb.com
www.croftcircuit.co.uk
CHARLIE WOODING
CROFT NOSTALGIA WEEKEND
JEFF BLOXHAM
VSCC PRESCOTT
AUGUST 8-9
PETER MCFADYEN
JUL 31-AUG 2
JEFF BLOXHAM
JEFF BLOXHAM
AUGUST 7-9
In just three years, the Historic Grand Prix at Zandvoort has gone from an initial idea to an event that features prominently on the wish-list for many historic racers. That impetus shows no sign of slowing down heading for the fourth edition in late August 2015. As well as being successful in securing rounds of the biggest and best historic championships, the organisers have won the hearts of local fans and more than 50,000 visited the seaside track in 2014. Sitting on the coast of the Netherlands a few miles from Amsterdam, Zandvoort is an easy trip by air or ferry for British competitors and fans and when the drivers get there, they like what they find. The three-dimensional track rises and falls through sand dunes and offers some truly challenging corners. Zandvoort underwent a major re-work in the late 1990s but its character remains largely unchanged since its heyday when it hosted the Dutch Grand Prix until 1985. Sadly, the venue’s proximity to the town means that noise issues have dogged its history. But the circuit operators made a bold commitment to the Historic Grand Prix by committing three of its very limited race days to the event and their faith has been well repaid. The race line-up is as good as any: categories such as FIA Masters Historic F1, Group C, FIA Masters Historic Sports, Historic Formula 2, HGPCA and Formula Junior are all heading back for 2015 after competitor feedback gave the event a glowing review. Several local classes, including the Group 5/DTM Revival, complete the programme. www.historicgrandprix.nl
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
Flat chat in California The 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will mark Credit Suisse’s sixth year as an official sponsor, and once again the Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum will provide an unmissable platform for discussion about key matters in the old car world. The speaker series in 2014 brought together an unprecedented gathering of car experts and well-known personalities such as Jay Leno, Gordon Murray, Sir Stirling Moss and Nick Mason, exploring topics such as ‘What makes a car significant?’, ‘the future of automotive design’ and ‘racing historic cars, then and now’. In the last of those discussions, Sir Stirling summed up perfectly how the classic motor racing scene today relates to his time as a professional driver. “In my era we were just trying to beat the other guy,” he said. “Value happens once the cars are old, like me. Historic cars are now worth 10 times or more than what they were when they were new. Now it isn’t just the car but also the history of the car that creates its value.” www.credit-suisse.com/classiccars
AUGUST 8-16
PEBBLE BEACH For any automobile enthusiast California’s Monterey Peninsula is the place to be in August. From the Laguna Seca race course to nearby Pebble Beach and on every highway and by-way between you’ll find no wider celebration of classic and vintage automobiles and racing cars of all kinds. The Monterey peninsula’s motor sports roots go back to 1950 when the first SCCA road races were organised on a two-mile course through Pebble Beach’s Del Monte Forest. Phil Hill drove a Jaguar XK120 to win the main event at the inaugural Pebble Beach road races, and the 1961 World Champion-to-be won again at Pebble Beach in 1953 and ’55 driving a Ferrari. The last Pebble Beach road race was run in 1956 when Carroll Shelby drove another Ferrari to victory. Laguna Seca was opened the following year and the first big race on the exciting new 1.9-mile road course a few
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miles inland in the Monterey hills was won by Pete Lovely driving yet another Ferrari. Back in 1950 a group of SCCA members and sports car owners promoted a small concours d’elegance on the lawn next to the Pebble Beach golf course in company with the first races. Sixty-five years later the Pebble Beach concours and the Monterey Historics have grown into the biggest celebration of the automobile and motor racing in America. A superb collection of automobiles gathers at Pebble Beach and more than 500 vintage and historic racing cars run in the races up at the track. More than half a dozen auctions take place on the Monterey Peninsula during the three-day weekend. Bonhams’ auction is at Carmel’s Quail Lodge; Mecum’s at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey; Russo and Steele’s on the Monterey waterfront; RM Auctions’ at the Portola Hotel & Spa; and Gooding
Pebble Beach concours offers cars of genuine provenance in a stylish setting
& Co’s at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center. Estimates put total sales from these auctions last year at more than $400 million. The star of last year’s auctions was Bonhams’ 1962 Ferrari 250GTO Berlinetta. The car was delivered new to Jo Schlesser who drove the GTO to second in the 1962 Tour de France with Olympic gold medal skier Henri Oreiller. Schlesser sold the car a few years later and it had been in the possession of the same family since 1965, the longest single ownership of any 250GTO. The GTO is considered by many to be the most beautiful of all Ferrari’s GT cars and the ex-Schlesser GTO fetched no less than $35 million at Pebble Beach. Gooding & Co’s auction begins on Wednesday and runs through to Sunday. Other events during the week include RetroAuto, the Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex, the Automotive Fine Arts Society
Exhibition and Sunday’s featured Concours d’Elegance. There’s also the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic a week earlier. Joe Freeman, who owns Racemaker Press in Boston, is an automotive historian, vintage racer and well-known collector of historic cars and racing cars. Freeman has been a judge at Pebble Beach since 1997 in the open-wheel racing class and periodically in other classes. “Pebble Beach is a fascinating institution,” Freeman says. “It started as a small, charitable concours on the golf course at Pebble Beach on the weekend of the races and over the years it’s become one of the premier concours in the world. “It sets a certain standard for how people present their cars and some of that came from one of the earliest exhibitors at Pebble Beach: none other than Phil Hill who had a restoration business in Santa Monica called Hill & Vaughn. He brought some beautiful
cars to Pebble Beach, including a superb Pierce Arrow which won the concours one year. As a judge and automotive historian it’s fascinating to walk around and look at the cars because I see things I’ve never seen in the flesh before. Some years ago all the
Monterey roads offer sensational backdrop
Bugatti Royales were exhibited and it was the only time they’ve all been assembled in one place, a remarkable feat. “The cars are judged on a very strict system. Ferraris are judged by the Ferrari Club of America, Duesenbergs by the most expert Duesenberg individuals in the world, and so on. We are told what cars we are going to be judging and we do any research required so that we’re well prepared when we go out on the field. “But it’s never an easy process,” Freeman concludes. “Judging is not an easy job. You can never please everyone all the time and we’ve seen some owners go away pretty hot under the collar. But I love the experience. As a person devoted to automotive history, I’ve learned and gained a tremendous amount from Pebble Beach. It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.” www.pebblebeachconcours.net
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
A popular forum for debate The Goodwood Revival has played a central role in Credit Suisse’s decade-long commitment to historic motor sport. An event partner since 2009, the bank began a seven-year title sponsorship deal of the circuit’s iconic Race Control building two years ago. The landmark underwent an extensive restoration to combine premium contemporary interiors with period character features in keeping with the rest of the ‘time-warp’ circuit. Race Control is the venue for all driver briefings and the prize giving at the end of each Revival – and also the Credit Suisse Historic Racing Forum, which has fast become a fixture at the event. The 2014 forum featured Credit Suisse ambassadors Alain de Cadenet, Jochen Mass and Derek Bell, along with the legend that is Sir Stirling Moss and Marussia Formula 1 ace Max Chilton. The young Briton added a different dimension to the theme of ‘Dream teams – Creating the Ultimate Racing team,’ a discussion which is available to view as a video on the website below. The forum will return in 2015 and will once again feature as a ‘podcast special’ on the Motor Sport website. www.credit-suisse.com/classiccars
GOODWOOD REVIVAL Garden party? Race meeting? Fancy-dress extravaganza? Visitors sometimes find it hard to pigeonhole the Goodwood Revival Meeting, but whatever your view it amounts to an extraordinary piece of sporting and social theatre. Originally known as RAF Westhampnett, the host site was built on the Goodwood Estate in 1938 and served as a fighter base during World War II. After military operations ceased in 1946, it was one of several UK airfields that were subsequently converted into a racing circuit: at that time established venues such as Brooklands and Donington Park were no longer in commission after being turned over to support the war effort. When the newly renamed Goodwood Motor Circuit hosted its first meeting in September 1948, it became post-war Britain’s first permanent racetrack, beating Silverstone
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by a couple of weeks. It was soon established as a popular venue and went on to host many important fixtures, including World Sports Car Championship races, the RAC Tourist Trophy and non-championship Formula 1 events, before activities wound down in 1966. Although racing stopped at that point, the circuit remained in use and continued to be a popular test venue. It was during the early 1990s that the present Lord March began to explore the possibility of bringing racing back to Goodwood – and in September 1998 the first Revival Meeting took place. The ethos was simple: to promote an annual event for cars and motorcycles of a type that competed at Goodwood during its original period of operation. Members of the public were further encouraged to turn up in period dress and, if possible, pre-1966 cars. Given Goodwood’s provenance, historic air displays
The glamour and style are as period as the racing cars at the Revival
were also a major feature. It proved to be an immediate hit, although few could have predicted the extent of its impact: it soon morphed from motor racing event to become, quite simply, ‘an event’, an essential part of the nation’s social fabric, in the manner of Henley or Royal Ascot. Companies selling antique finery wanted to be there, so much so that the trade area now stretches outside the circuit and into what was once a car parking area. Just inside the circuit’s main gate there is also a faithful recreation of a 1960s Tesco, which contains food you can buy alongside replicated packages of stuff that no longer exists. Beyond such attention to detail, the heart of the meeting remains the racing. There are dependable annual staples, such as Sunday afternoon’s RAC TT Celebration (won in 2014 by the AC Cobra of David Hart and Dutch Formula 1 driver Giedo van
Wherever you stand, the backdrop is sumptuous der Garde), but the rest of the programme adjusts subtly every year, to keep things fresh. Most of the race titles reflect Goodwood’s sporting heritage and the St Mary’s Trophy has become a popular feature, alternately featuring saloon cars of the 1950s and 1960s (although in 2009 the field contained one Wolseley Hornet and 29 Minis, in honour of the latter’s 50th birthday). The regulations are a little looser than they were in period, so smaller cars are able to compete on equal terms with lolloping Jaguars and Ford Galaxies – a David vs Goliath recipe that spectators relish. And the cars are by no means the only established stars: van de Garde was something of a rarity as a current F1 driver on the entry list, but many celebrated names take part (or else have in the past). These include nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Indianapolis 500 winners
Dario Franchitti and Kenny Bräck, F1 racers Martin Brundle, Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi, Le Mans legend Henri Pescarolo, rally ace Rauno Aaltonen, current sports car stars Darren Turner, Oliver Gavin and Nicolas Minassian plus many more besides. Often, they take part in two-driver races with an owner every bit as quick as they are. Quality is a match for quantity and the same applies on two wheels, with world champion Wayne Gardner a regular competitor. Last season he was joined in the saddle by Kevin Schwantz. The 2.367-mile circuit might look as though it hasn’t changed greatly since 1966, but an enormous amount of work had to be done to comply with modern safety protocol. The surrounding earth banks are not therefore as they seem, but are in fact deep tyre walls that have been subtly disguised for the sake of period
View from the Credit Suisse Race Control: one of the best in motor racing
MATT SILLS/CREDIT SUISSE
SEPTEMBER 11-13
realism. It’s only when photographers first try to walk across them that the truth becomes apparent. Wherever you stand, the backdrop is sumptuous. Many spectators gather close to the pit straight and side attractions that range from the aforementioned Tesco to jazz bands via organic food stalls, but just wander to the far side of the circuit – between Fordwater and Lavant – and the crowd thins out a little. From here, you can watch your sport with the majestic South Downs in the distance. Tickets are not available on the gate but must be booked in advance – and all three days (practice and a twilight race on Friday, predominantly racing from Saturday) are usually a sell-out. It’s one of the few motor sport events at which the cars’ elegant body language is matched by that of the audience. www.goodwood.com
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
For more than 50 years some of the best asphalt rallying in the UK has been hosted on the Isle of Man. Though it measures little more than 30 miles long, the island in the Irish Sea packs in a lot of roads and the best of them are used every September for the ultimate closed-road rally. In 2015 the historic element of this famous event will include a double-header for the revamped MSA British Historic Rally Championship as crews tackle up to 180 stage miles from the rally base at the TT grandstands in Douglas. The route is packed with classic stages such as the hairpins of Tholt-y-Will, the harbour side of Castletown and the final blast through the streets of Douglas to finish in front of the TT grandstands. This is a rally that oozes atmosphere and delivers a challenge that keeps crews going back year after year for another helping of Manx magic.
SEPTEMBER 18-20
For drivers of historic cars, the annual Classic Six Hours is the big event of the season
www.rallyisleofman.co.im
SEPTEMBER 18-20
The annual Circuit des Remparts, the historic street race in the ancient walled town of Angoulême in France, really has no equal. The race meeting, with a heritage back to the late 1930s, runs on a narrow, bumpy circuit where there is little or no margin for error. This is an event with a unique charm and the racing, primarily for a mix of French categories, is supplemented by a major classic car gathering, regularity rally and concours. On the Sunday, however, it is all about the racing on the tricky 0.8-mile track where a regular feature is an all-Bugatti race. www.circuit-des-remparts.com
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JEFF BLOXHAM
CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS
CHARLIE WOODING
RALLY ISLE OF MAN
LAT
SEPTEMBER 17-19
SPA CLASSIC SIX HOURS There is little that can be said about Spa-Francorchamps that has not already been written. It is the circuit that most drivers put at the top of their wish-list to race and win at. For drivers of historic cars, the annual Classic Six Hours is the big event of the season. Nestled in the Ardennes Mountains little more than an hour beyond Brussels, Spa is a mecca for motor sport and is steeped in history. The original road circuit, inaugurated in 1922, joined the towns of Malmedy, Stavelot and Francorchamps in an eight-mile rush. Eventually, it was understandably deemed too dangerous and the modern 4.3-mile version was built. Thankfully, the new track retained the character of the original, but brought modern safety into play. In the Spa schedule, the Classic Six Hours from the Roadbook Organisation is a stand-out event. As well as the feature race, a top-quality support programme encompasses many of Europe’s best historic categories and the result is a packed paddock delivering three full days of non-stop action. The feature race, open to sports and GT cars of the 1960s, runs into the darkness of Saturday night and is invariably affected by the ever-changeable Ardennes weather. The Ford GT40 is the weapon of choice for the race and the count is usually into double figures. Historic F1, ’50s sports, Masters Historic Sports and HGPCA races are all regulars for the weekend, which has to be one of the best of its kind in Europe. www.spasixhours.com
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HISTORIC RACING GUIDE
NOVEMBER 27-29
Despite a modest three-year history, Castle Combe’s entry into the classic festival arena has been a runaway success. The one-day Autumn Classic at the Wiltshire track celebrates a venue that first hosted racing in 1950. It joins Silverstone and Brands Hatch as the only three UK circuits with a continuous racing history over the ensuing 65 years. The track has long been constrained by local noise issues so it will always struggle to attract the highest profile historic categories. However, the circuit team has quickly built the event around a core of marque-based races including those for Austin-Healeys, Jaguars and Aston Martins, supplemented by Formula Junior, 500cc Formula 3 and VSCC prewar sports cars. The race programme plays on the outstanding local support enjoyed by the circuit and the race for Austin-Healey 3000s draws on Bristol-based interest in the model through the exploits of Healey expert John Chatham. The 500cc F3 cars, meanwhile, have their roots in the early post-war activities of the Bristol Aeroplane Company Motor Club and the cars featured in the very first race meeting at Castle Combe. Ironically, the 2014 Autumn Classic race marked the first 500cc F3 race at the track for nearly 60 years, but was such a success that it is sure to become a regular fixture. Aside from the on-track action the event attracts a wide array of classic cars, celebrates local motoring landmarks and encourages period dress for those who want a little taste of Goodwood in rural Wiltshire.
ROGER ALBERT CLARK RALLY
www.castlecombeautumnclassic.co.uk
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NOVEMBER 5-8
ALGARVE CLASSIC FESTIVAL
RALLY OF THE TESTS
The final major event of the European historic racing season is the Algarve Classic Festival at the Portimao circuit in southern Portugal. At a time of year when northern Europe is heading towards winter, a long weekend in Portugal is a popular season wrap for teams and drivers. Though the event has enjoyed a chequered past under several different promoters, the 2014 event was a great success with a strong race line-up, a very busy paddock and some great racing in warm sunshine. Set to headline the 2015 race schedule will be the final races of the season for the superb Classic Endurance series from Peter Auto. Two bumper grids of cars, covering GTs and prototypes from 1966 to 1979, will make a fabulous sight. Other races were still to be confirmed at the time of writing, but will include U2TC touring cars and the final of the Lurani Trophy for Formula Junior.
The Rally of the Tests is the event that re-creates the RAC Rallies of the 1950s; the era before the event became a high-speed blast through forest special stages. The ‘Tests’ is all about regularity sections and special tests held on some of Britain’s most scenic and most challenging roads. The 2015 edition will be the 14th running of an event that just gets better and better, with a capacity entry containing all the key names in this branch of the sport. The big awards are reserved for pre-63 cars, although later cars are also eligible to take part. After running from Buxton to Bristol in 2014, the route moves way north for 2015 to start from Slaley Hall in Northumberland and finish at Blackpool. In between will be night halts in Dumfries and Darlington and tough sections in the Galloway Hills, the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria.
www.algarveclassicfestival.net
www.craevents.eu
The event has really captured the heart of a generation who grew up on the RAC Rally of the period
PAUL LAWRENCE
OCTOBER 23-25
PETER BAKER
CASTLE COMBE AUTUMN CLASSIC
ERIC SAWYER
OCTOBER 3
While the Rally of the Tests celebrates the earlier RAC Rallies, the Roger Albert Clark Rally is all about the 1970s and 1980s and Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship in the era of the Ford Escort. Established more than a decade ago, the R.A.C recalls the career of British ace Roger Clark who was the first Brit to beat the Scandinavians when he won the 1972 event in a Ford Escort MkI. Created to be a ‘proper rally’ at a time when many gravel rallies are contested over just 45 stage miles, the R.A.C runs up to four times as many competitive miles but packs the serious business into just 48 hours. It is a real test for the crew, the car and the support team with long days and sometimes challenging weather conditions. The event has really captured the heart of a generation who grew up on the RAC Rally of the period, which was an adventure for all concerned with stages in the dark, servicing on the side of the road and long, tough stages through remote forests. It is not uncommon for a team to change a gearbox in less than 20 minutes in a dark lay-by. For the fans, the sight and sound of historic rally cars in action in the forest at night is a rare treat. There is little to match the sound of the Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez working its way through a stage in Kielder forest. At the time of writing, the plans for 2015 were still being formulated but a move to a base in Sunderland for the 2014 rally was generally well received and the north-eastern town is expected to feature again. The rally starts with a short leg in the darkness of Friday evening before a long day on Saturday when crews can expect more than 12 hours in the car and around 90 competitive miles. Sunday can be the sting in the tail with 50 or more forest miles to finally sort out the result. Add in a growing contingent of overseas entries and it is easy to see why this is such a popular event. www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org
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