The Donington Historic Festival April 28-30 is the first outside event of the 2017 motor racing season attended by VR‘s European team. “It’s good to be out and about at the heart of the historic motor racing scene, among owners, drivers, restorers and enthusiasts who make up the backbone of our readership,” said European Editor Mike Jiggle. The Vintage Racecar/Vintage Roadcar booth will be situated, as usual, in the main trade mall. Please feel free to visit.
As for the Festival itself, the season opener has a new format, with qualifying for all grids taking place on Friday, allowing spectators to enjoy greater race action over the weekend. As a result, the festival has been able to attract its biggest lineup of cars to date, featuring Pre-War grids through to cars from the early 1990s.
Rounding off the first full day of racing will be the 1,000-kilometer series of races. The 90-minute endurance race for pre-73 prototype, Touring and GT cars is a must for all spectators. These powerful beasts will qualify on Friday, and battle it out for nearly two hours on Saturday afternoon.
These sensational cars will take spectators back to the golden era of the World Sportscar Championship of the late 1960s and early 1970s, testing drivers, cars and pit crews alike. Cars to look out for include Lola T70s, Chevron B8s and Ford GT40s, which should provide plenty of closely fought action.
Visitors will have the opportunity to get up close to the cars in the paddock, and then see them at their best on the Derbyshire circuit’s sweeping curves.
“The festival is right around the corner,” commented Richard Grafton, commercial director of Donington Historic Festival organizers Historic Promotions, “and, with the quality and prestige of cars we have attending and competing, we really believe this will be our best year yet.
“The new format allows spectators to view even more racing action and our ‘Get Involved’ theme will provide families and fans with the chance to experience a range of unique motorsport activities. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Donington!”
The full list of grids comprises: “Mad Jack” Pre-War Sports Cars; Historic Touring Car Challenge; U2TC, GT & Sports Car Cup; Stirling Moss Trophy; Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy; HSCC Historic Formula Two FIA International Race Series; HRDC “Touring Greats;” HRDC “Coys Trophy;” Jaguar Classic Challenge; 1000K; HSCC Super Touring Car Challenge and two Formula Junior grids, the FJHRA/HSCC “Silverline” Championship Front-Engined Formula Juniors and Rear-Engined Formula Juniors. The full timetable is available to view at: http://www.doningtonhistoric.com/the-races/.
Advance tickets for Donington Historic Festival 2017 range from £16 for a Friday pass, up to £48 for a three-day package that will give access to all the weekend’s racing and other attractions. Children under 16 can visit the event for free if accompanied by an adult. Tickets are available online at www.doningtonhistoric.com or on the 24-hour hotline on 0844 873 7355 (charged at 7p per minute plus your network access charge).
