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Previews of upcoming events, Race & Rally Reports, News, Reviews, Letters and Regulation Information from Historic Motor Racing News.
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Eagles Land at Road America
His name is as celebrated and recognised as any from the post-war era, whether it’s as a driver, a car builder or an aero appendage on the back of a wing. He never really ran for President, but that doesn’t mean you won’t see bumper stickers all over vintage paddocks in America encouraging people to vote for him. And if there’s one piece of trivia fans should know, it’s the identity of the only American driver to win a Formula One race in a car of his own design.
Sad News From New Zealand
We are sorry to hear that all motorsport activity at New Zealand’s Pukekohe Park Raceway will come to an end next year. Pukekohe Park is one of two racetracks that form the home of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR), New Zealand’s premier horse racing club. ATR has now announced the chequered flag associated with motorsport activities at Pukekohe Park will wave for the last time next year amid plans to further develop the site for the Club’s own purposes.
Dubai Historic GP Revival
Last year on the weekend of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE, Dubai’s Historic GP Revival took place with a grid of Group C cars and a grid of F1’s from the 70s and early 80s (see our report in the February 2022 issue). This year organisers, which include the Dubai Autodrome and a few Dubai based motorsports companies such as GP Extreme, Flat 12 and Tomini Classics, are expanding the timetable to include two separate F1 categories and two for endurance machines.
Castle Combe Welcomes New Series
The Castle Combe Autumn Classic race meeting is set to welcome three new series this year to the popular one-day event on 24 September. These include the inaugural race for Pre-1983 Group 1 Touring Cars launched by Flavien and Vanessa Marçais earlier in the year. Named for the charismatic Bristolian…
2022-23 SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series
With our winter approaching, New Zealand is going into spring and the F5000 boys down under have announced a five-round calendar for the coming season. After recent traumas, the series has chosen an all-domestic schedule. They will be amongst the last to race on the historic Pukekohe Park Raceway just weeks before it closes for good for motor sport, invited by the Auckland-based Historic Racing Club to join in the celebrations of the career of ‘60s single-seater racing great Jim Palmer.
Porter Press Motoring Literary and Art Festival
A new event will be launched on 6 November and is set to be a first in the automotive world. A motoring-themed literary and art festival, organised by leading publisher Porter Press International, will be held at Whittlebury Park, the motorsport-themed hotel located near Silverstone circuit. In the manner of established literary festivals such as Cheltenham and Hay in the UK and the Berlin International Literature Festival or the Miami Book Fair, there will be a programme of distinguished speakers and panel discussions, plus talks by authors, drivers, engineers, collectors, restorers and designers.
Simon Diffey Heritage Motorsport Apprentice Award
Many of you will have seen on social media that the late Simon Diffey’s wife Sarah has created the Heritage Motorsport Apprentice Award in her husband’s memory. Sarah has created a sticker and a donations page.
Opportunities for Young Enthusiasts – From the 4th August VSCC Newsletter
Free: Wanted – under 30-year-old enthusiast to take on a free 1927 Fiat 509 project looking for a good home: Consisting of a very good chassis, with front and rear axles, springs, brakes, hubs, shocks and steering gear.
NKHTGT Honours Ben Huisman
On May, 29 Ben Huisman passed away. Ben was an instrumental figure in Dutch motor racing from the late sixties onwards and was instrumental in saving the Zandvoort circuit in the early ‘70s. Among many other things, he was one of the founding fathers of historic racing in Holland. Ben’s last race car was a red Ford Falcon Sprint, which he used to great effect in the European historic touring car championship in the early 1990’s.
Royal Automobile Club’s Summer Run
Staged in glorious sunshine, predominantly on the leafy lanes of rural Surrey, the inaugural Summer Run, on 21 July was hailed as a major success on all fronts. The welcome new addition to the Royal Automobile Club’s growing list of motoring events has been inaugurated to complement the world famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
RSR Goes to Italia
German-based track day and tuition specialists, RSR has announced it will be going to Italy. “After a long wait due to COVID we are very excited to finally be starting our events in Italy for the final months of the 2022 season,” said RSR boss, Ron Simons. Well embedded with activities in Germany, France and Portugal, Italy was the next logical step in widening its offerings.
HERO Challenge Two
Alistair Leckie and Matt Outhwaite were the relieved winners of the HERO Challenge Two on 23 July after finally climbing to the top of the podium in their SAAB 900 Turbo from a field of over 90 cars. Despite winning the 2021 HERO Challenge Championship through a string of podiums, including many second places, a HERO-ERA overall win has eluded them until now.
Rallye Monte-Carlo Route Revealed
The Organising Committee of the 25th edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique has re-instated five authentic concentration routes for the 2023 event, starting from Bad Homburg, Oslo, London, Torino and Reims, making five itineraries with the common destination of Monte-Carlo over a route that incorporates many of the stages used by…
Eifel Rally Festival
After a COVID break of two years, the participants, the organisers, the many volunteers and the numerous fans were glad to be back in Daun on 21-23 July for the 10th edition of the Eifel Rallye Festival. Only the weather turned a new page, as if it wanted to compensate everyone for the missing years and the weekend passed without rain.
Tour de Corse Sold Out
Proof, if proof be needed, of the fame and popularity of the Tour de Corse Historique in France and internationally, came when it took only a few weeks for the organisers to reach a maximum number of entries in three categories: VHC (Historic Competition Vehicles), VHRS (Historic Sporting Regularity) and Legend (exhibition without timing). Thus, 380 cars and their crews (out of 530 applications), a record number, will be at the start in Porto-Vecchio for the 22nd edition of the Tour de Corse Historique on 2-8 October. Among them, drivers and co-drivers of 21 nationalities. Many are gentlemen drivers and regular historic racers, but there are also a number of former professional pilots.
FIA Historic Rally Championship – Round 5 Rallye Weiz
The Rallye Weiz, a round of the Austrian National Championship that included a section for the FIA Historic Rally Championship for the third time, celebrated its 13th anniversary this year with a hearty opening party that on Thursday, 14 July. For the historic cars, this preceded two days and 13 stages, covering 147kms, in the foothills of the Styrian Alps.
FIA Historic Rally Championship – Round 6
A month after Zippo’s triumph in Austria, competitors were back in their cars for round 6 of the Championship, this time in Finland on 11-13 August. The Lahti Historic Rally is the only gravel event on the FIA calendar and evokes the spirit of the iconic 1000 Lakes Rally. It promised 12 special stages, totalling 150kms. Amongst a 49-car entry were 15 full season EHRC cars competing for championship points.
Vintage Sports-Car Club Prescott Speed Hillclimb
In modern day parlance Prescott would be The Vintage Sports-Car Clubs ‘halo’ meeting but suffice it to say, it is the club’s most anticipated event as much for its social side as for the hill climbing. This year’s was held on 6-7 August in perfect conditions, both for climbing and picnicking in the Orchard. John Whiteman sends this report..
Historic Endurance Racing – Algarve Summer Party
After races at Barcelona, Pau and Spa, Historic Endurance Racing held its first race on Portuguese soil this season at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve on 30-31 July. The meeting was held in the heatwave conditions that have affected most of Europe.
NKHTGT Round Four – Assen
A regular fixture for the Dutch National NKHTGT Championship, competitors gathered at their home circuit of Assen on 5-7 August for their fourth round of the season. The series, for GT and touring cars also accepts some prototypes by invitation, but this time they shared the track with the German-based Triumph Competition & British HTGT cars, so no prototypes were on the grid.