PLUM PUDDING RACES

Boxing Day meetings have become increasingly scarce, but Mallory Park continues to maintain a noble tradition

Motor sport was once almost as much a part of Boxing Day as live football or the latest TV rerun of Mary Poppins, but no more. Brands Hatch hosted its last such meeting in the early 1980s and Wimbledon Stadium bowed out in 2016 (due to impending demolition rather than lack of demand).

Short-oval aficionados can retain their fix in Yarmouth (start time 5pm), while Mallory Park continues to run its popular Plum Pudding meeting – a cocktail of racing on two, three or four wheels, of which this will be the 43rd running.

The organisation is necessarily slick – configuration changes have to be made to incorporate the customary chicanes for the ’bike brigade – and 10 races are scheduled. Four of these are for cars, loosely grouped as ‘sports’ and ‘saloons’.

Stand atop the bank to the inside of Devils Elbow and you’ll enjoy fine views across much of the track (and it’s close to a tea kiosk). Practice commences when there is sufficient daylight (notionally 9.45am), and racing is due to start from 11.30am. Adult admission is £10 in advance, £12 on the gate.

HOW TO GET THERE

From the M1 south, take J21 to the westbound M69, then leave at J3 and follow A5/A47/A447. The circuit is well signposted. From the M1 north, take J20 to the westbound A4303 and then pick up the northbound A5 to the A47/A447 as above.

ALSO GOING ON

As well as the car racing, bikes and sidecars add fizz and diversity to the Plum Pudding meeting. Solos compete in two groups (125-400cc and 401-1300cc), while the chairs all run together, irrespective of power or antiquity.  

DON’T MISS

Breakfast… Mallory’s Lakeside Diner is an old-school racing café that serves no-nonsense grub for a fair price. We haven’t been for a year or two, but a morning fry-up used to cost a fiver – complete with a pint of tea or coffee.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

December 2017

IN THE UK

Dec 3 – Knockhill Stages Rally The first Scottish round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship thunders through tarmac rally stages, some as long as five miles in this all-day event.

INTERNATIONAL

Dec 2-3 – Formula E, Hong Kong The opening round of the 2017-18 Formula E season takes place on the streets of Hong Kong in a double-header. The Central Harbourfront provides a striking backdrop, along with the Observation Wheel and City Hall.

IN THE UK

Dec 9-10 – Rockingham Stages Rockingham isn’t perhaps the most likely venue for a rally, but with almost 100 miles of running on 12 stages it is well suited to the purpose. Children 15 and under admitted free with any paying adult; advance tickets for each day are priced at £12.

INTERNATIONAL

Dec 9-10 – Rockingham Stages Rockingham isn’t perhaps the most likely venue for a rally, but with almost 100 miles of running on 12 stages it is well suited to the purpose. Children 15 and under admitted free with any paying adult; advance tickets for each day are priced at £12.

INTERNATIONAL

Dec 16 – Gulf 12 Hours A yacht-lined curiosity in the middle of a desert, Yas Marina hosts Abu Dhabi’s Gulf 12 Hours for the seventh time. The entry list includes GT, Super Trofeo and LMP3 series competitors.

FORMULA 1

Jan 5-7 – Roar Before the 24 The US racing season begins at Daytona in early January, with a three-day test before the Daytona 24 Hours. Access to the cars and drivers is more open than usual, with guided garage tours and pitstop demos included as part of the ticket price.

IN THE UK

Jan 15 – Jack Frost Stages Rally Croft, which is home to two British Rallycross events in 2018, has hosted this all-day tarmac rally for more than a decade – and the chicane-filled stages provide a serious challenge. Children aged 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult.

6-20 OFF-ROAD Dakar Rally, South America
9-12 SHOW Autosport International, NEC
11-13 ENDURANCE Dubai 24 Hours
25-28 WRC Monte Carlo Rally
27-28 IMSA Rolex 24, Daytona