The Motor Racing Spectator

The organising division of the mighty Motor Sports Vision empire (MSVR) rolled into Donington for a 2 day meeting on the GP circuit. The spectator went on Sunday which saw 12 races on the card after 3 qualifying sessions in the morning. After describing single seater racing in the UK as a "Mess" in my previous post, it's good to see one series bucking the trend. The BRDC Formula 4 championship was started in 2013 and was one of the success stories in the sport last year. 18 cars were at Donington forfor the weekend and in UK single seater terms that is a large grid! Unusually for winged single seaters the cars provide some very good racing with just the right amount of power and grip so overtaking is possible. 3 races over the weekend saw 3 different winners and  a very competitive fight for the title among several drivers will go down to the final round at Snetterton in October. Things got a little too competitive in the final race on Sunday with title protagonis...

Autumn for me is THE best time for spectating. I've always felt there's something a little bit special about being trackside at this time of year. Championships are usually at stake so racing has an extra "edge" to it with drivers eager to end their year on a positive note. The weather is a factor too with cooler temperatures helping spectators who burn easily in the Summer sun and you are less likely to fall asleep during boring races if it's cooler too..... My first meeting of September saw the final rounds of the British GT/F3 package arrive at Donington along with races for Ginetta GT5's, Volkswagen Cup, Ginetta Racing Drivers Club and Aston Martin GT4. The definite highlight of racing on Sunday was the 2 hour British GT finale. As mentioned on this blog before, GT racing is one of the success stories of recent years and a very healthy grid of 31 cars took the start. There was early drama when championship leader Marco Attard's BMW Z4 developed a g...

First of all can I apologise to all my loyal followers of this blog for the distinct lack of updates in 2014. A combination of factors meant that I simply haven't had the enthusiasm for, 1- actually going to many race meetings and 2- to bring myself to write about the few that I have attended....... After pretty much going to Motor Racing week in week out for the last 20+ years, there comes a time when the enthusiasm runs out and 2014 is/was that time. However, there is still an interest in the sport that I love, and like anything you truly love, you can't seem to forget about it. As you can see from the programmes above, I've managed to drag myself to 6 car meetings since I last posted in March. They are; April 27 - Donington MSVR : June 1 - Donington BARC : July 13 - Donington BRSCC : July 20 - Mallory Park CSCC : August 3 - Donington MGCC : August 23 - Donington BARC After an operation in late March which put me out of action for a few weeks, my...

For the first time since 2011, The Spectator has been to watch Speedway. Once upon a time I watched an enormous amount of Speedway with frequent visits to Wolverhampton, Coventry, Stoke and Peterborough over the years. My interest dwindled though but as a sporting spectacle there is nothing quite like a good Speedway meeting. Rules in Speedway are constantly tinkered with year after year but why it still appeals as a sport is simple- 4 riders, 4 laps. Television simply doesn't do the sport justice and there is a raw brutality to a Speedway race. Injuries are common in a sport where riders travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles for only 3/4/5 races. As you can see I've been to Wolverhampton a couple of times. In 2005 I had a season ticket at Monmore Green stadium and I can't believe how keen (mad??) I was back then.... May 19 saw a delayed start to the Wolves v Coventry match due to an unforecast thunderstorm in the hour before start time. I know it was unforeca...