A vintage season ahead
More championships and more headline meetings add up to produce an unrivalled choice for fans as the 2007 historic motor racing season fires up.
The constant growth of historic and classic racing shows no signs of slowing down, and Britain now has five major racing festivals. That growth is mirrored across Europe, leaving racers with a dazzling choice of events. But is the season simply getting too busy? The coming months will give us some answers.
However, there is much to be excited about as the season approaches. With no Monaco event this year, Goodwood Revival (September 1/2) stands alone at the top of the pile and will be as stunning as ever. But coming up steadily on the rails is the Silverstone Classic over the last weekend in July, with 25 years of the Porsche 956 at the heart of the action this year.
Group C will also feature prominently in the Motor Sport-backed Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch on May 28 along with headline events for pre-78 F1 cars (GP Masters) and sports cars with a Gentleman Drivers’ GT encounter. The Kent circuit is also hosting the Historic Superprix (June 30/July 1) with all the regular HSCC categories as well as a celebration of 40 years of Formula Ford 1600.
Donington Park is also in on the historic festival act, although two events in May are causing some customer confusion. On May 6/7, the Masters Series and HGPCA are to the fore, while two weeks later GPlive celebrates the F1 story (see p10 for further details). Then at Oulton Park, the Gold Cup (August 26/27) has more high profile content than before.
Of course, venture into mainland Europe and a whole raft of other star events opens up. The Jim Clark Memorial at Hockenheim (April 28/29) and the Oldtimer GP at the Nürburgring (August 11/12) are the two big German events, while the Porto street race in Portugal (July 14/15) will be bigger and better than the ’05 event.
More street action is at Pau (May 26/27), surely one of the best weekends of the season, while Dijon’s classic event on June 23/24 continues to grow in stature. On a different level, and maintaining its quirky independence, is the Grand Prix des Remparts at Angoulême (September 15/16). For many racers, the season will then wrap up at Spa for the Classic Six Hours meeting on October 5-7.
The overall mix of race categories remains largely the same, but an important development is the takeover of the Top Hat Organisation by the Masters Racing Series. Now with as many as 10 series under its wing, the new Masters operation is the biggest of its kind in Europe. Elsewhere, much is expected of established favourites like TGP, Group C/GTP and the Historic GP Car Association.
So the best advice is to get out there and enjoy what promises to be a fantastic season of historic racing. This year you have more tempting options than ever.