The Motor Racing Spectator

Many apologies dear readers (reader?!) for my lack of updates during the 2018 season. A lack of time (one day we will discover a way to make days last 25 hours surely....) has led to letting my updating of the blog slip very badly. The irony is that I thoroughly enjoyed the 2018 season and would have liked to update more regularly so what I will do is post the remaining meetings I went to in 2018 in this post with programme covers and photos.  The 2019 season is around the corner and hopefully the blog will see more consistent updates. Motor Racing is still the greatest sport, yes enthusiasm may wane at times and things might not be what they once were, but we should be grateful it still exists in its many forms. The loss of Rockingham as a venue is a sign that nothing last forever and the sport will continue to change as we head ever further into the 21st century. So long as the anticipation and excitement is still there to make the sandwiches..to fill the flask...to make sure ...

Super Karts at the Melbourne Hairpin Donington Park BARC Sunday 3rd June 2018 The 40th anniversary of the British Superkart Grand Prix was the headline act at Donington Park on Sunday 3rd June. The BARC organised meeting saw a mixture of Superkart and car action with the various kart races supported by Mazda Max5, Mighty Mini, MG Owners Club, Clubmans, Kumho BMW & Classic FF1600 championship races to form a 17 race schedule on the Sunday of the 2-day meeting. The CIK-FIA European Superkart Championship made a rare appearance on British soil and German driver Peter Elkmann not only dominated the pair of European races, he also went on to win the Division 1 British GP plate race in his Anderson kart. F250 National karts competed for overall British Superkart Championship points along with a handful of F450 karts. Australian Jordie Forde taking the GP victory. Not to be out done by their larger engined counterparts, the F125 Open karts always provide spectacular racing and L...

Donington Park Saturday 5th May 2018 Time for another monthly update dear readers...Following on from a decidedly chilly Touring Car meeting at Donington on April 29th, it was back to Donington just 6 days later for the first raceday of the annual Donington Historic Festival. Organised this year by MSVR and not the HSCC, Saturday morning saw bright blue sky and a +20 degree change in temperature from the weekend before!  Qualifying for the weekend's activities had taken place on the Friday so it was wall to wall racing on Saturday with 10 races on the programme. The Donington Historic Festival (DHF) has always sat somewhat uneasily in the over-crowded Historic racing season since it's inception in 2011 in my opinion. Various FIA Historic series have visited in the past but as for this year there was nothing particularly headline grabbing.  Racing is racing though and there were 2 separate races for Formula Junior, front-engined and (you've guessed it!) rear engin...

     Truly awful "Spring" weather in March and early April put paid to The Spectator's best laid plans to go to any meetings. The weekend of March 17/18 saw the 750MC meeting at Donington get cancelled at lunchtime on the Saturday due to snow. Ironically the following weekend saw very pleasant weather yet I couldn't go anywhere. On Easter Monday I had planned to go the British GT opener at Oulton Park then thought better of it when I awoke to a covering of wet snow that morning! That the meeting was abandoned at Oulton early due to rain that day vindicated my decision not to go thankfully. Thankfully the various "Beast from the East" weather systems subsided and April eventually saw more traditional Spring weather take hold. That is 5 degrees one day...25 degrees the next!!  Having somewhat rashly purchased a MotorSportVision 4 Wheel Season Pass in March, it was with some relief that I finally got around to actually using it during the month of Apri...

Happy New Year dear readers! 2018 makes me feel really old....learner drivers born in 2001!! What better way to kick start the year with some motorsport. Having given the Plum Pudding meeting at Mallory Park on Boxing Day a miss this time around, it was the annual New Year's Day meeting in the heart of Britain's second city that saw The Spectator shake off the post-Christmas blues and head trackside. With a civilised 2pm start, this was a four formula meeting that was headlined by the "Best in Britain Championship" for Stock Rods. A very healthy entry was on show for this prestigious title and the small 1300cc-1400cc mostly Vauxhall Corsa's, provided some excellent action. Stock Rods 1st Heat in the sunshine that would soon disappear! Stuart Smyth (No.447) won the final and with it the title of Best in Britain. He's got another 364 days as holder too! STOCK RODS You can't have an oval meeting without some form of contact racing and the M...

Remember remember the 5th of November goes the saying...and I did remember the date as it was Walter Hayes Trophy Day! The "Walter" as the meeting is affectionately known is always a highlight of the season and the perfect way to end the year on a high note. The annual knockout format for Formula Ford 1600 Kent engined cars is now in it's 17th year...hard to believe and this was my 14th viewing of it. Due to working on Saturday I only attended on the Sunday so on a very cold but sunny Sunday morning the first race of the day, on a damp but rapidly drying circuit, was the Progression race. With only the top 6 finishers progressing to the next stages, this race is always a slightly strange affair as the fast runners that suffered problems in their heats start at the back of the grid and try to cut through the field of what are usually much slower drivers. The race was won by Westie Mitchell's historic Merlyn and there was a big surprise when one of the Team USA schol...

For the first time since May, The Spectator made his way to Silverstone for the Historic Sports Car Club's Championship Finals meeting. For many years the HSCC finale was a 1-day affair but due to the ever-growing Historic scene, the meeting is now held over 2 days on the National circuit layout. Sunday dawned cold but sunny and after a couple of qualifying sessions for Historic Roadsports and Classic F3 it was time for the first of 12 races scheduled for the day. Classic Formula 3 lining up ready for Qualifying The Historic Formula Ford 1600 championship has seen some fantastic grids and races in 2017 and the pair of races on this day definitely didn't disappoint! With three drivers vying for the title...Michael O'Brien, Callum Grant & Richard Tarling...the action in both races was superb. With the National circuit having 3 long straights, slipstreaming was everything and the lead battle seemed to consist of 10 cars at one point in race 1! With 4 and 5 a...