Traditionally, Donington Historic takes place on the first May bank holiday weekend. This means that the race days don't start on Friday as usual and go until Sunday, but rather everything happens from Saturday to Monday. Friday is more or less quiet! It is therefore advisable to plan for a long race weekend, including Monday, and Friday can be well used to visit the famous Donington Grand Prix Exhibition Museum, which is always a successful excursion, not least because of the world's largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars. In theory, it should be possible to fly to East Midlands by plane, which is then practically on your doorstep and saves you more or less any arrival traffic\u2026<\/p>\n
However, I haven't found a reasonable connection and, as always, I'll be landing in Heathrow. I'll take the rental car with an automatic transmission and no deductible \u2013 think what you want, but I'll be sitting and overtaking on the wrong side, and the roads in and around Donington have lousy corners and are generally narrow. The drive will take a good 90 minutes; it can be done faster, but the speed cameras everywhere are expensive, and I don't want to push my luck. There are also sinfully cheap flight connections to Stansted if booked in advance. That's even a little faster and just as uncomplicated. Hotels are no problem at all \u2013 there are plenty in all price ranges, and even a week before the event, there are still rooms available... The entrance fees at Donington are within reason, at 20p for day tickets and 45p for the weekend.<\/p>\n
Donington is celebrating the anniversary of the 1935 Donington Grand Prix this year. That makes it 80 years, and thus it's clear that we're talking about a truly traditional circuit here, where historic motorsport absolutely belongs. Saturday is dedicated to formula cars, and the grids in the Formula Junior classes are well-filled with 25 cars each. The afternoon races are exciting, characterized by countless spins due to the difficult track conditions. Historic Formula 2 starts with 20 cars and sees Darwin Smith on a March 722 take victory with a lead of just under four seconds over James Hanson on a Chevron B42. <\/p>\n
One highlight was the race of the GP cars from before '61 & '66, with 32 cars starting, which also featured the Lotus 18 with which Stirling Moss won in Monte Carlo in 1961. The car was driven by Stephen Bond, but he could not get past 30th place due to technical problems. Peter Horsman, however, was able to win the race in a Lotus 18\/21.<\/p>\n
The \u201e1000 km Race\u201c for \u201eWorld Sportscar Championship sports cars, touring cars, and GT vehicles\u201c from 1964 to 1971, which was scheduled for a full 150 minutes, started under truly brutal weather conditions and couldn't really thrill the audience either, due to the rather meager entry of high-class cars.<\/p>\n
After the first race day ended with a rather frustrating \u201e1000 km race,\u201c I stood shivering in the drizzling rain in the deep English countryside, genuinely just wanting to go to bed \u2013 tired, beaten, and with a lens that no longer worked.<\/p>\n
The day starts out as miserable as it ended yesterday. It's pouring rain, the second camera is acting up, and these are the moments when I ask myself, why do I keep putting myself through this? The turnaround comes in the early afternoon when an older English gentleman tells me with a smile that, although it's been raining for hours, at least it's not as cold as yesterday... Hey, the man's right - \u201eAlways look on the bright side of life!\u201c
\nAnd then comes a race that truly leaves a lasting impression \u2013 the GT and Sportscar Race for cars pre-1966!! Nearly 40 cars \u2013 AC Cobras, Listers, Jaguar E-Types, Austin Healeys, Aston Martins, and similar \u2013 battle it out for over 90 minutes in a fight that brings tears to your eyes\u2026 the race is a celebration. An AC Cobra Daytona Coup\u00e9 leads, and second place is fiercely contested down to the very last meters between another Cobra and a Lister-Jaguar. In the end, the Cobra is ahead by one second. During the lunch break, I occupy myself with the Classic Karts in the infield and the Group B rally cars, both of which burn rubber, and I don't even get the chance to grab a burger, which I really needed\u2026<\/p>\n
After the break that didn't happen, the touring car race for pre-1966 vehicles began, which again saw a full grid \u2013 I counted 15 Cortinas alone against three BMW 1800s, five Alfa Romeos, and three Minis. So, the balance of power was clearly in favor of the Cortinas, which were flying like the plague on this short, four-kilometer hilly course. But frankly, the show was put on by Frank Stippler in the Alfa, absolutely impressive how confidently Frank drove everything into the ground. His fastest lap at 1:23.647 minutes was almost a full second faster than everyone else, and Mr. Stippler was in his own league here. Well, then, just before the finish, there was a bang, car number one had to roll to a stop, and that was it. Frank was so frustrated that I didn't dare ask what exactly had broken. But no matter \u2013 he was the unofficial winner of the race. On paper, Banks\/Banks took the win in their Alfa Romeo, ahead of the BMW 1800, and only then did the Cortinas come in!
\nFrom a German perspective, that was remarkable and managed to thrill the British fans who had since arrived. At times, the sun was even visible, and it was followed by six more successful races with the Historic Formula 2, two Formula Junior races, the Historic Grand Prix cars from \u201961 & \u201966, the British touring cars from 1958 to 1966, as well as the fast Super Touring cars from the BTCC \u2013 consistently good to very good racing with full grids and great position battles!<\/p>\n
Monday was then one to enjoy\u2026 bright sunshine for the first time ever from morning on, great races in all classes, with the Jaguar Heritage Challenge, featuring 30 starters, predominantly E-Types, being the announced highlight. For the first time all weekend, one had the feeling that visitor numbers were at least approaching what the organizers had expected. Spread across the weekend, there were too few motorsport enthusiasts on site. That much is clear. It couldn't have been the program. The mixed weather probably didn't help, but the British are traditionally unfazed when it comes to having fun in brutal weather conditions. Rain and cold generally don't deter the English motorsport fan from coming to the track.<\/p>\n
I think it's simply because Donington, with only five years under its belt, is still truly in its infancy compared to the established classics. In summary, I can congratulate you on another successful event and attest that Donington is well on its way to becoming a top European racing festival. Not much is missing, and I can wholeheartedly recommend a visit next year! <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"