The second day of the Donington Historic Festival brought even more retro racing highlights to a packed Donington Park circuit. Fans were able to enjoy seven unique races, all with gorgeous machinery being pushed to their limits. The whole day proved to be a true celebration of motorsport legends with retro Touring and GT cars, sports cars and even pre-war cars nearly 100-years-old all taking to the track and returning to competition.
The ‘Mad Jack’ races for Pre-War sports cars proved to be a highlight. Donington Park is the only active UK racetrack with a pre-war history and when Bentleys, Aston Martins and more return, they mean business. Rudiger Friedrichs won in an Alvis Firefly Special from 1933 which, despite not handling well in wet conditions, won by nearly a minute. A particular mention has to go to the 2022 Bentley Blower continuation model that raced with full factory support at the hands of Stuart Morley. The car made its track debut before it contests two other significant events this year including racing at Spa-Francorchamps in October.
The HRDC Gerry Marshall Trophy was won by Michael Whitaker in a Rover SD1. Whitaker beat an eclectic mix of cars in the race with Ford Capris, VW Golf GTis, a Triumph Dolomite Sprint and Gerry Marshall’s own Vauxhall Firenza which had his son Gregor Marshall sharing the wheel with Alex Kapadia.
There were two races from the Superformance Ferrari Club Classic Series which had close fights in both races. Tristan Simpson won race two in the dry, less than three seconds clear of Nicky Paul-Barron. Both were driving F355 Challenge cars. Race three, in wet conditions, featured the closest finish of the weekend with James Cartwright beating his fellow 328 GTB driver, Gary Culver, by 0.521s. Both were 1m10s clear of third placed Tristan Simpson as a result of their close fight.
The RAC Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy featured a mix of incredible sports cars including Jaguar D-Types, Lister Knobblys and a Lotus Mk X. The 60-minute race was the longest of the day and was won by Ollie Crosthwaite and Nick Finburgh in a Cooper Monaco T49 from 1959. Their nearest challengers were 21 seconds behind.
The HRDC Dunlop Allstars with HRDC Alfa Challenge was won by Mike Whitaker Senior in a TVR Griffith with four seconds back to David Methley in his AC Cobra. The packed grid included 40 cars with only three retiring. Some cars that raced included Ford Mustangs, Lotus Ford Cortinas, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider, MGB Roadsters and more.
The final race of the weekend, the HRDC Jack Sears Trophy for 1958-1966 Touring Cars was won by current British Touring Car race winner Josh Cook and his teammate Mike Gardiner. Cook and Gardiner were over half-a-minute ahead of the Lotus Ford Cortina of David Dickenson, despite a late race safety car which closed up the field
Full race results are available by clicking here.
The Donington Historic Festival also included a wonderful array of non-racing activities including F1 car demonstrations, car displays and track parades from car clubs in attendance.
As well as that, the 1993 European GP Exhibition proved an remarkable hit with art installations celebrating Ayrton Senna, memorabilia from the race weekend and a replica Senna helmet made from nearly 50,000 Swarovski crystals. Today’s Q&A featured WSR Boss Dick Bennetts along with McLaren Chief Designer Neil Oatley and Clerk of the Course David Scott who told stories of Ayrton Senna and the 1993 Grand Prix that he dominated.
For more information about future events at Donington Park, click here.