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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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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.
HSCC Oulton Park
A week after the Oulton Park Gold Cup, which this year featured a mixture of races from different organisers, the Historic Sports Car Club returned to the Cheshire circuit to give its core club drivers the opportunity to race on the International circuit for a one-day meeting on 6 August. Summer holidays and competing events resulted in thin grids amongst the HSCC rank and file, who nonetheless spent an enjoyable day.
AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix
With a new organiser taking up the mantle, the longest standing historic event in the world was looking to wash away the memories of COVID and last year’s floods, even though its club-sized meeting in 2020 proved anything but unpleasant. Having been forced to postpone its 49th edition for a year, the 2022 Oldtimer Grand Prix did feel like a fresh start, with Masters, the HGPCA and Formula Junior returning to add to the numerous local series. Mattijs Diepraam reports…
Oulton Park Gold Cup
Originated in 1954 as a non-championship Formula 1 race, the Oulton Park Gold Cup evolved over many phases before becoming North West England’s contribution to British Historic racing’s landscape. In a bid to counter a decline in support in recent years, exacerbated by COVID-19 and travel restrictions for overseas competitors, and a seemingly fait accompli sequestration of its traditional August Bank Holiday date by Classic Silverstone, circuit group owner MotorSport Vision instigated a broader selection of races on 29-31 July this year, inviting some from outside logistics organiser HSCC’s portfolio.
Super Spa
After COVID put paid last year to a new end-of-year meeting at Spa, (to be known as Spa Hat trick), organiser Roadbook scheduled its third Spa meeting, after the Spa Summer Classic and Spa Six Hours, for the weekend of 5-7 August this year, and named it SuperSpa, launched with the slogan ‘not all heroes wear capes, some wear helmets.’ While Spa is well-known for its erratic and anything but predictable weather conditions, drivers and the public enjoyed three days of uninterrupted sunshine. Marcel Hundscheid Reports..
Vintage Sports-Car Club Silverstone
After the hype and excesses of the British Grand Prix two weeks earlier, Silverstone returned to its grass roots on Saturday 16 July when it hosted The Vintage Sports-Car Club’s Hawthorn Trophy meeting. It was the first race meeting at the circuit to which the club could welcome spectators since 2019, and competitors and the public alike were greeted with a glorious sunny day, the downside of which was high temperatures causing overheating problems on some cars. John Whiteman Reports….
Alain De Cadenet
Carol Spagg writes – We have lost yet another giant in the world of historic Motorsport, in fact someone who helped kick the whole movement off. While pursuing a successful career as a privateer in what was then modern motorsport, he also found time to collect and race historic cars. Collector, broadcaster, historian, journalist, raconteur, Spitfire pilot, tour guide, racing driver and good friend to many, Alain De Cadenet died on July 2 at the age of 76.
Masters Historic race Weekend at Watkins Glen
In the two Masters Racing legends races for 1966-85 F1 cars on 7-10 July, it would have been a double victory for Jamie Constable in his Tyrell 011B but a broken wing allowed Jonathan Holtzman to take the second race in his Lotus 87B. Ron Maydon won the pre-78 class in his Lec CRP1. Meantime Danny Baker had no such trouble to win both the Formula Atlantic races. David Porter in his Peugeot 908 dominated both the Endurance Legends events.
Griffiths-Haig Historic Sports Cars
Top aviator and long-time stalwart of historic racing Tony Bianchi was recovering from an expensive and painful impact suffered at Silverstone when he had been stuffed into the barriers by a pushy competitor when the thought occurred to him and racer wife Pia that it was time for a new type of race series. It should be one that would take it back to the very roots of the sport when Guy Griffiths and Betty Haig presided at the birth of the HSCC.
The St Moritz Car Week
The St Moritz Car Week takes place on 4-9 September and as we go to press the organisers are still asking for entries. It incorporates the Targa Poschiavo Engiadina, a two-day rally for pre-war cars from 1905 to 1962, a Sotheby’s auction, the Motorsports Rendezvous (described as a luxurious garden party amongst vehicles with special themes), a Super-Car rally, a Mobility forum (including discussions about e-fuels) and for historic racing enthusiasts the famous Bernina Gran Turismo hillclimb. https://i-s-a-w.com.
HRDC Gerry Marshall
The HRDC’s inaugural Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1.5 Touring Cars, the first by that name outside of Goodwood, took place at Snetterton on 19 June with a 45-minute single pit stop race. An impressive 29 car grid started with 19 different makes or models represented in a field of…
East Coast Vintage Racing
Early September will see two big historic meetings on the US East Coast. Celebrating its 40th year, the Lime Rock Historic Festival on 1-5 September in New Hampshire launches into action over Labor Day weekend with a 17-mile tour through the area on Thursday’s Vintage Race Car and Sports Car…
Hillclimbing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Continuing a theme of Historic Racing looking for new directions, the iconic race meeting at Laguna Seca on 21 August will for the first time conclude with a reverse direction hillclimb. Advisory Council member Bruce Canepa said the climb will be exciting, “I’ve raced several times at Goodwood Festival of Speed yet doing it up the Laguna Seca Corkscrew is an unprecedented experience. I don’t know who will enjoy it more, the drivers or the fans”. Part of a strategy to engage new fans and give entrants and their attending families a chance to unwind, the ‘shoot out’ will be limited to 60 cars that competed in the historic races or are deemed of special interest.
Masters F1 at Mosport
Supporting IMSA’s Chevrolet Grand Prix Masters USA were two Masters Racing Legends races for 1966-1985 Formula One cars on 1-3 July. Although there were only eight starters at the legendary Mosport circuit in Canada, it was Britons Jamie Constable and Lee Mowle who shared the wins. After a troubled qualifying, Constable starred in Saturday’s race by hauling his Tyrrell 011B all the way from the back, to eventually pass Bud Moeller’s Williams FW08