Historic racing
GT40s for Goodwood
New races dedicated to Ford GT40s, under 2-litre touring cars and 100-year-old Edwardian specials will be among the highlights at the 74th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood next spring (March 19/20).
For the first time, Super Touring cars will run in public at Goodwood as 16 cars with period histories take part in high-speed demonstrations. John Cleland (Vauxhall Vectra) and Patrick Watts (Peugeot 406) are expected to feature.
Famous team owner Alan Mann will be celebrated by a race for Ford GT40s, repeating the similar race held at the 2013 Goodwood Revival. Meanwhile, a field of pre-1924 Edwardian specials will contest the Sunbeam Trophy. The amazing 1905 25-litre Darracq of Mark Walker, a star at this year’s Festival of Speed, is likely to be a major contender.
Lotus Cortinas, Alfa Romeos and BMW 1800s will have a race of their own in the Whitmore Cup for under 2-litre pre-1966 touring cars. Meanwhile, the Gerry Marshall Trophy for pre-1983 Group 1 touring cars is likely once again to be a big crowd favourite with the fans.
Goodwood has also announced the dates for its other two major events of 2016. The Festival of Speed will be held from June 23-26, while the Revival Race Meeting will run from September 9-11. Tickets for both events will go on sale to the public on November 5.
Masters titles settled
Category newcomers Andy Wolfe (below) and Nick Padmore have won the two Masters FIA Historic Formula One Championship titles.
Wolfe won the post-1978 title in his ex-Michele Alboreto Tyrrell 011, while Padmore took the pre-1978 crown in the Lotus 77 owned by Max Smith-Hilliard. Wolfe only joined the series for 2015 after extensive success in historic sports and GT cars and his own team ran the Tyrrell alongside the Shadow DN8 of Jason Wright. The highly rated Padmore pipped Wright to the title in the class for older 3-litre cars.
Andy Newall went one better than in 2014 in the JCB-owned Chevron B8 to win the FIA Masters Historic Sports Championship, while Graham Wilson (Lotus Cortina) claimed the Masters pre-1966 Touring Car title.
In the Masters Gentleman Drivers pre-1966 GT Championship, Keith Ahlers and Billy Bellinger had another tremendous season to take overall honours in Ahlers’ Morgan SLR, which Bellinger prepares.
Frenchman Robert Simac (March 712M) has won the HSCC Historic Formula 2 Series for a third year running. Simac secured the title at Dijon, his home track, and won the 1600cc class in all 10 rounds.
DBR1 damaged at Combe
The Aston Martin DBR1 that finished second at Le Mans in 1959 was substantially damaged in a multi-car accident during the Castle Combe Autumn Classic (above).
Owner Adrian Beecroft was driving it in the FISCAR race when it was caught up in a four-car accident at Quarry Corner. The Aston suffered front and rear bodywork damage when sandwiched between the cars of Nigel Grice (Austin Healey 100M) and Graham Love (Jaguar XK150).
Valued at many millions of pounds, the DBR1 (chassis 4) is one of only five such cars built and one of only three still raced regularly in Europe.
Beecroft was unharmed.
Sullivan’s Daytona 962
Former Indycar champion and Formula 1 racer Danny Sullivan will be one of the star drivers at this year’s Daytona Classic (November 13-15).
Sullivan will join UK-based United Autosports to race a Porsche 962, while United owner Zak Brown and team boss Richard Dean race a Porsche 935 and a 1985 Ford Mustang IMSA car.
“I’ve raced various 962s a number of times,” said Sullivan. “I’m looking forward to going back to Daytona – it should be a great experience.”
The classic 24-hour event at the famous Florida speedway comprises six groups of cars built from 1960 to 2010, with each group racing four times between 1pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday.
Fiat S76 & Hill at the NEC
The Fiat S76 ‘beast of Turin’ Land Speed Record car will be among the star exhibits at the Birmingham NEC’s Classic Motor Show (November 13-15). After a 10-year restoration, the 1911 28.4-litre monster, which reached 132mph in 1913, returned to action this season in the hands of VSCC member Duncan Pittaway and will be the centrepiece of the VSCC stand in Birmingham.
Motor Sport will be celebrating the career of double world champion Graham Hill, 40 years on from his death in an aircraft accident in November 1975. Cars from Hill’s career will be on the Motor Sport stand, while editor Damien Smith and editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck will be on stage on Friday to talk about one of Britain’s most popular drivers.
New asphalt rally series
A dedicated asphalt championship for historic stage rally cars will run in Britain for the first
time next season.
The RAC Rally Motor Club will run the new RAC Historic Asphalt Rally Championship alongside the MSA British Historic Rally Championship, with a calendar taking in a Belgian fixture and the Isle of Man Classic in a five-event schedule. The BHRC will continue to include two asphalt and six gravel rallies.
The revised championship will offer Category 1 cars a place to carry on rallying after recent rule changes forced many crews to stop using pre-1968 Category 1 cars on gravel events.