The Motor Racing Spectator

The first visit to Donington Park for The Specator in 2014 for the first day of a 2 day BARC meeting. I could only make the Saturday but at least there were to be 7 races in the afternoon along with various qualifying sessions during the day. Donington's gradual return to its former self was in evidence as the Infield is now the home to several enormous earth mounds with a lot of work being carried out in the winter months to landscape the area. Not only will these provide more viewing spots but I'd imagine they will help with engine noise from the circuit too. On a cool, grey March day the 7 races were provided by 3 from the Caterham Graduate classes, 3 from the Classic Touring Car Racing Club portfolio and Class A of the Kumho BMW championship. I saw qualifying for the Mazda Max 5 series and MG Owners Club too so the only series I missed on Sunday was Classic FF1600. Sunday races were televised live by Motors TV, an initiative that has been a big success, as the club dri...

On a gloriously sunny Sunday morning it was the dawn of an a new era at Mallory Park that tempted The Spectator to a rare Motor Cycle race meeting. The recent history of Mallory Park hasn't been great to say the least, with not only noise problems affecting the circuit but leaseholders the B.A.R.C. pulling out from running the circuit in 2013. My last visit was in August last year and it was sad to see the old place in a run-down state with toilets not working and litter bins not emptied. After a period of uncertainty it was good to hear that a new lease was secured by Real Motorsport Ltd. in the winter and racing at the circuit could continue. Due to the late in the day nature of the deal most clubs had calendars already sorted so while dates at Mallory may be a little thin on the ground for 2014, let's hope that 2015 sees the circuit back on its feet. Bike racing has always been the main provider of action at the track so local club, the East Midlands Racing Association (...

After a very wet Winter it was time for The Spectator to emerge from hibernation and get his backside trackside again in 2014. I hadn't visited Birmingham Wheels for 2 years but on a clear cool Saturday night a good looking meeting on paper tempted me to head into the heart of the country's second biggest city. 11 races were scheduled with 4 for National Hot Rods, 4 for V8 Hot Stox and 3 for Ministox with a start time of 6.30pm. For the first time visitor to Birmingham Wheels Raceway they must wonder where they are going as the raceway is located down one of the less salubrious roads in Birmingham and barely a mile or two from the city centre. Once inside though the oval is a great place to watch racing from with steep terracing around three sides of the track providing a good view of the action. National Hot Rods are one of my favourite formulas on the short ovals and always provide hard but relatively clean racing. The "Nationals" had 3 heats with a 2/3rds form...

Many apologies dear reader for the lack of updates of late. A combination of a severe case of man flu and the fact that I was without an internet connection for nearly 3 weeks means that the blog has laid dormant for this time. The Spectator hadn't ventured outside of Leicestershire for his motor racing thrills since my last visit to Silverstone on June 2nd, so 5 months later, and for only the 4th time this season it was an early morning trip down the M1 to "The Home of British Motor Racing". The Walter Hayes Trophy is one of my favourite meetings of the year as Formula Ford drivers come from all over the globe to converge on the Silverstone National circuit. The 2012 final that was won in spectacular fashion by Tristan Nunez was my race of the year last year and the simple fact is that the good old 1600cc Kent engined F.Ford still provides some of the best racing around. Sadly I couldn't make it on the Saturday when 6 heats were held along with HSCC Open and Clos...

Having taken as much medication as possible following the events of October 6th it was with some trepidation that I ventured trackside again! It was BRSCC Championship Finals weekend at Donington that enticed The Spectator back out on the Sunday of a 2 day meeting. 14 races were scheduled for Sunday with the majority of the BRSCC's championships racing both days. Several other BRSCC championships were having their Finals Weekend on the Silverstone International circuit this weekend so a difficult decision for Midlands based spectators to chose which meeting to go to. Even despite the fact that a Caterham Formula One car was being demonstrated at Silverstone and that the meeting there was free to get in to, The Spectator chose Donington simply as it's nearer! A damp track greeted competitors for 3 qualifying sessions in the morning before racing started in earnest and the circuit gradually dried as the day progressed until about 3.00pm when the heavens opened and led to a bri...

The fact that it has taken me over 2 weeks to post these words indicates that this particular meeting made The Spectator's well-monitored blood pressure boil over and I think I've just about calmed down now...... The British GT championship final round was the centre piece for this BRSCC organised 2 day meeting held on the 2.5 mile GP circuit. Following the demise of a normal British F3 championship in 2013 the support races on the GT package have been a little on the thin side,especially after an attempt to run a series for Duratec Formula Fords collapsed after only 1 round. Bolstering the timetable at Donington were 2 races for the Mazda MX5 Autumn Challenge and, following a successful race at the Superstars meeting, a hastily arranged HRDC Allstars race. As both these raced on the Saturday only however, Sunday meant only 6 races on the schedule with 3 for the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, 2 for the Volkswagen Cup and the 2 Hour British GT race. 6 races with a scheduled finish o...

Another Sunday, another visit to Donington....This time for a Motor Sport Vision Racing organised meeting where the headline event was the finale of the BRDC Formula 4 championship. 12 races on the bill included 3 for the Mini Challenge, 2 each for Production BMW's, F3 Cup and Radical SR3 Challenge along with the aforementioned Formula 4 plus a 1 hour Lotus Cup UK race. The BRDC F4 championship has been one of the season's highlights. Pitched against the newly winged Formula Ford at the start of the year for drivers wanting to start their climb on the single-seater ladder, the series can quite easily claim to have "won" the battle with grids hovering around the 20 mark for most of the year. 18 cars entered Donington as those drivers who'd got no say in the title race left for pastures new or ran out of money. To have 6 drivers in with a mathematical shout at winning the championship going into the final 3 races says much for the competitiveness of the series...