The Motor Racing Spectator

After 2 weekends where cars merely turned left or right twice each lap at Birmingham Wheels and Hednesford, it was time to head to my first circuit action of the season where turns are slightly more numerous! My spiritual home of Donington Park was the venue and resident club at the circuit, the 750MC were the organisers. I attended on the Sunday of the 2 day meeting and 12 races were scheduled on the venue's National circuit. The definite star championship of the day were certainly the masses ranks of Toyota MR2's, the vast majority being the Mk2 version. 48 cars were entered and a two-thirds format was used so all drivers got 2 races out of the 3 on the programme. Not only did the MR2's provide the days biggest grid but also provided the days best action with all 3 races being entertaining affairs.  750MC have a wide variety of championships on their portfolio and after pioneering the "Hatch" phenomenon of the late 90's/early 00's it was good ...

After a superb meeting at Birmingham Wheels the previous weekend, it was more National Hot Rod action for The Spectator and Hednesford Hills Raceway the venue. Built in the early 1950's on the site of a disused reservoir, Hednesford is known as one of the best short circuit oval venues in the UK. Viewing is excellent with large grandstands at either end of the raceway plus large grass banks on which to perch chairs and blankets on. Situated high up overlooking the town of Hednesford and nestling on the edges of Cannock Chase the first time visitor would struggle to work out that there is a motor sport venue in town! As a child I absolutely adored watching Banger Racing on ITV's World of Sport with Dickie Davies. School was merely something to get through each week before Saturday's would arrive and I sat glued to the TV. Hednesford was a staple diet on the box in those days and with only 4 channels to watch from it was incredible exposure for the sport. I begged my Dad...

March....the Oxford English Dictionary simply says "the third month of the year" but to many motor racing fans (me included) it is simply the start of the "season" A time to emerge from hibernation and head to the great (and not so great) motorsport venues of the UK!  So on a bitterly cold first Saturday in March it was off to the Second City for my first meeting of 2016. Birmingham Wheels is always a curious venue to visit. The bright lights and high rise buildings loom ever nearer as you travel down the A38 Aston Expressway always thinking "don't miss the exit" and breathe a sigh of relief when you recognise the right roads and within a mile or two of the city centre the less than salubrious surroundings of Wheels Park come into view. A cracking meeting was in prospect with my favourite short oval formula, National Hot Rods on the bill along with Brisca Formula 2 and 2.0 Hot Rods. At the advertised start time of 6.30pm it was the first heat of...

It was 5 years since I last visited the Autosport Show at the NEC near Birmingham so a very last minute decision to go saw me arrive bright and early on the first public day of the show.  1991 saw Autosport International launched at the NEC and it quickly established itself as THE motor racing show and while other events have come and gone over the years the show has reached it's quarter century. Throughout the 90's and early 00's I would never miss a show but the quality and content dipped and it became less of a "must-do" event. One thing I would always look forward to was to get as many fixture lists and information as possible and, in the days before the Internet, it was the only way to find out what was happening around the circuits. The very brief formation of British Motorsport Promoters (BMP) in the early 00's saw all circuits group together and promote the sport but that didn't last long and it was interesting to note that MotorSportVision ha...

If there's one meeting I look forward to every season it's the Walter Hayes Trophy. The annual end of season Knockout for Formula Ford 1600 cars is always full of drama and incident and is one I always put in the diary first when compiling the fixtures! For the first time since May I spent both days of the weekend trackside and with the clocks going back 1 hour the previous weekend, Autumnal mist and fog was in evidence as I travelled South early on Saturday morning. Thankfully Silverstone was free of fog but an overcast morning saw qualifying for the 6 heats of the Walter Hayes Trophy (WHT) plus Historic Formula Ford 2000 and Closed Wheel Historic race. 10 minutes only of qualifying was allocated to competitors in the WHT meaning that any mistake would be punished. On a damp greasy circuit there were a few spins and some heroic retrievals by Marshals at Copse to push back into action drivers who had spun. The first Heat of the day was run just before the lunch break and se...

After a 260 mile round trip for my last meeting it was a mere 16 mile round trip for The Spectator on Sunday. The BRSCC were in charge for their "Finals" weekend. This was a 2 day meeting and the only categories I missed from the Saturday were the pair of HRDC historic saloon races. As I'd seen these at Mallory Park 3 weeks ago, there was no guilt on my part by just going on the Sunday! 14 races were scheduled so a packed day was in prospect. As October edges towards the dreaded weekend when British Summer Time becomes Greenwich Mean Time (THE worst weekend of the year......!) the mornings are ever darker and it was a particularly dark morning at Donington. Thankfully no fog to report as this meeting has been cursed by fog in years gone by. The first of 2 Mazda MX5 Supercup races kicked the days activities off and it was a blast from the Touring Car past as Paul O'Neill easily won. The second race later in the day saw a lengthy safety car period following 3 cars ...

The Spectator doesn't venture outside of the Midlands much for his spectating thrills these days so it was time to put that right and a visit to Castle Combe in Wiltshire was made for my latest meeting. Indeed it was way back in 2004 when I last made the trek to Combe. Situated near to Chippenham, the circuit is only allowed 12 racing days each season and this was "Grand Finals Race Day".  The circuit has always been a favourite for spectators with Bank Holiday meetings seeing crowds in their thousands turn out. There is a very local South-West feel to Combe...the Castle Combe Racing Club (CCRC) run core championships at the majority of meetings. Formula Ford 1600, Saloons, Sports Racing plus Sports & GT filled 6 of the days 10 races with visiting championships, Production BMW and Historic 1 litre Formula 3 completing the card with double-headers each on this particular day. The CCRC was formed several years ago due to the circuit management wanting to take m...