Historic racing: 2025 calendar

Donington Historic Festival

(May 2-4)
A new era begins for promoter Motor Racing Legends, now owned by racer and historics collector Shaun Lynn. An expanded portfolio beyond its established series includes the GT3 Legends series following the success of a pilot race run at Silverstone late last year.

Donington’s historic racing centrepiece is the first of MRL’s six meetings scheduled for 2025, which includes for the first time an October trip to Navarra in Spain. motorracinglegends.com

Spa Classic

(May 23-25)
Peter Auto sets the European benchmark for historic racing and its May meeting at Belgium’s jewel of a circuit is hugely popular with both racers and fans alike.

First run in 2011, Spa Classic features more than 400 entries, while off-track a plethora of car clubs gather to create a festival atmosphere. Peter Auto caters for a wide span of eras, particularly in sports car racing, through its Classic Endurance Racing series that covers the 1960s to the early 1980s, Group C and Endurance Racing Legends for GTs and prototypes from the 1990s and 2000s.

The Peter Auto calendar also takes in other popular European circuits, including Dijon, Imola and Estoril. peterauto.fr

Masters Historic Festival

(May 31-June 1)
This will be the 19th running of Masters’ annual visit to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Five Masters series feature, including its popular Racing Legends for Formula 1 cars from 1966-85. Other than Silverstone Festival, the Brands meeting is Masters’ only UK date, with its continental tour including stop-offs at Paul Ricard, Hockenheim, Zandvoort and the Nürburgring, plus a season-concluding UAE double-header in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. mastershistoricracing.com

Super Touring Power 3

(June 28-29)
The third edition of a fresh hit for Brands Hatch: two days of tin-top nostalgia, with a special focus on the British Touring Car Championship’s popular 1990s era. On-track action will take place on both the Grand Prix (Saturday) and Indy circuits (Sunday), with races curated by the Classic Touring Car Racing Club. The ’90s Super Tourers headline but just about all eras feature. msv.com

Le Mans Classic

(July 3-6)
This biennial beast of a historic race meeting returns for 24 hours of evocative track battles on the full 8.4-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, inset.

Just a few weeks after the contemporary Le Mans 24 Hours, the classic meeting is growing in stature with each edition. Created by Peter Auto in 2002, six Plateaux spanning pre-war to the 1970s take it in turns to race multiple times between 4pm on Saturday to 4pm on Sunday, with guesting 1980s Group C and Endurance Racing Legends completing a narrative almost up to the modern day. lemanclassic.com

Equipe 6 Hours

(July 5)
An exciting addition for 2025 – Equipe Classic Racing is taking a refreshing back-to-basics approach to historics events. Inspired by the Spa 6 Hours, it is working to establish a race of similar stature in the UK, at Donington Park.

Similarly to the Spa race, it caters for single-car multi-driver teams for pre-66 GT and GTS cars – but without the increasingly rapid Ford GT40s which leave drivers in lesser cars constantly watching their mirrors.

“We see this as the spirit of the Spa race in the early 2000s with a closely matched grid of cars,” as Equipe’s John Pearson puts it. The entry is already full and the race looks certain to be one of the highlights of the season. equipeclassicracing.com

Goodwood Festival of Speed

(July 10-13)
The “definitive” celebration of Formula 1 is the big promise this year, as the 75th anniversary of the F1 Drivers’ World Championship takes centre stage. An obvious choice, and as always Goodwood will draw a stunning display of grand prix cars. More than 80 will make up over half of the action on the Goodwood Hill.

Beyond the F1 theme, Carl Fogarty will be guest of honour. It’s easy to forget just how popular the four-time World Superbike king was back in the 1990s. The Festival of Speed will remind us as Foggy is reunited with the Ducati 916 that he rode to championship glory in 1995. goodwood.com

Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix

(July 12-13)
A now traditional alternative to Goodwood’s Festival of Speed, the Superprix features the best of the HSCC’s classes, including this year a bumper grid of Historic Formula 3 cars to mark the category’s 60th anniversary. msv.com

Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia

July 19-20)
The much-loved hillclimb’s flagship is another to mark 75 years of the F1 World Championship, plus the 30th anniversary of Colin McRae’s 1995 World Rally title and a collection of NASCAR racers. The US stock cars should be a sight up the slope. shelsleywalsh.com

Oulton Park Gold Cup

(July 25-27)
Always a delight, with packed grids from the HSCC. This year a special theme will be the 60th anniversary of Chevron, the great racing constructor from Bolton that counts Oulton Park as its spiritual home. Chevrons feature heavily in the Guards Trophy, among other grids. msv.com

Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix

(July 11-20)
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix stands as the United States’ only historic street race and ranks among the most significant classic racing events in the world. Spanning 10 action-packed days, it features two thrilling race weekends alongside car shows, parties, parades and motor sport events.

Since its founding in 1983, the PVGP has been driven by its mission: “To stage a world-class vintage automotive race to raise funds to provide residential care, treatment, and support for individuals with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities in western Pennsylvania.”

In its 43rd year, the event will include a Panoz reunion and special race at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex, with Dan Panoz – son of the late founder Don – serving as grand marshal. Panoz made an unforgettable contribution to motor sport in the 1990s when he insisted a front-engined GT could still win at Le Mans when everyone told him it couldn’t be done. Ultimately, they were right… but Panoz pressed on regardless, then founded the American Le Mans Series to put US sports car racing back on track. He’s worthy of Pittsburgh’s honour.

Along with racing on July 11-13, the vintage race weekend and hillclimb in Schenley Park is on July 19-20. pvgp.org

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

(August 13-16)
California’s wonderful Laguna Seca race track hosts the best-known US classic meeting, which forms part of Monterey Car Week (covered annually by Motor Sport). Now, guess which anniversary it will mark in 2025? You’ve got it in one!

Two dedicated historic F1 race groups will be present. Along with the existing grid of 1966-1985 cars that compete for the Mario Andretti Trophy race, there will be the addition of a pre-66 class – a first for Monterey, which celebrates 75 years of the F1 Drivers’ World Championship. A packed entry studded with international drivers is anticipated.

weathertechraceway.com

Silverstone Festival

(August 22-24)
Wall-to-wall racing is the best thing about Silverstone’s monster. But yes, F1 75 is the theme here too. The angle Silverstone is going for is to collate title-winning cars raced by all 34 Formula 1 drivers’ champions.

The event has re-established itself on the August Bank Holiday weekend and works on an unrivalled scale, with the music element (Craig David; Natasha Bedingfield) appealing to a wider audience. silverstone.co.uk

Goodwood Revival

(September 12-14)
Still the benchmark. Last year’s Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration was among the best yet as contemporary BTCC rivals Jake Hill and Tom Ingram – at the time just a point apart in the modern series – went at it in an AC Cobra and TVR Griffith 400 respectively. Ingram eventually prevailed in Mike Whitaker’s TVR, but only just.

The theme this year will be Alfa Romeo in motor racing, inset, on the 100th anniversary of it claiming the inaugural (but short-lived) World Manufacturers’ Championship. For once, we can forget F1 75 – instead, we’re looking back to 75 years of… the Volkswagen Type 2 campervan. How very Revival.

goodwood.com

Castle Combe Autumn Classic

(September 20-21)
Voted as the best classic event of 2023 by the Royal Automobile Club, the cherished Wiltshire venue has its own 75th anniversary to celebrate this time: the first race at Combe was in 1950. After the ‘big beast’ meetings at Silverstone and Goodwood, Combe offers a different flavour. But word is spreading about the Autumn Classic’s charm, so crowds will swarm. castlecombecircuit.co.uk

Spa 6 Hours

(September 25-27)
If the main event for GTs built before 1965 represents the frites, the packed support cast of races is the mayonnaise. Two generations of F1 go at it – the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association pre-’66 grid and pre-’86 slicks and wings exotica. Motor Racing Legends sends four of its series to Spa, and there’s also an Alfa Revival Cup too run by Canossa Events. spasixhours.com

NEC Classic Motor Show

(November 7-9)
The organisers describe it as “the ultimate season finale”, and that seems accurate for what is the largest car show of its type in the world.

The event features an incredible array of marques and models. More than 3000 classic cars and bikes go on display in the NEC halls, with 338 motoring clubs affiliated to the show. There are also more than 350 specialist traders doing business, including the UK’s largest autojumble. The show has its own Hall of Fame that highlights legendary cars and milestones, a live podcast lounge and something called the DadCars Family Zone…

It also brings together leading classic dealers offering a wealth of cars for sale. From seasoned collectors to those looking to buy their first classic, visitors find a strong mix of British, US and European models attainable within the show’s Dealer Hall and auction.

necclassicmotorshow.com

V de V Paul Ricard 24 Hours

(October 31-November 2)
Those who’ve sampled racing with the French V de V Sports club speak highly of its friendly approach. Founded by Eric Van de Vyver in 1992 and now run by daughter Laure, the V de V schedule is made up of two six-hour races, one at Magny-Cours in April, another at Paul Ricard in June, and a full 24-hour race at the latter in the autumn. The entry spans GT and touring cars from 1947 to ’90, prototypes from 1947 to ’76 and Sports 2000s up to 1986 – but slick tyres are forbidden. vdev.fr

Roger Albert Clark Rally

(November 20-24)
Entries have flooded in for this much-loved event, inset, which carries echoes of the illustrious RAC Rallies. The maximum entry for the five-day rally is 180 cars for a route of around 350 stage miles – but more than that have registered. In just 48 hours from opening for entries, a total of 205 were received for the main event, with a further 22 for the Mini Rally Challenge Kielder, which will cover 43 stage miles on Saturday November 22.

In the best traditions, the Roger Albert Clark visits the majority of Britain’s classic ‘rally country’. The opening day, Thursday November 20, is short and only racks up around 40 stage miles in Wales. Day two features 90 stage miles before the event moves north to Carlisle. Each of the three northern legs covering Kielder, the Scottish Borders and southern Scotland will feature between 75 and 85 stage miles per day, and there are plans to finish the event with a very long stage in the central block of Kielder on the Monday afternoon. racrmc.org

Sebring Pistons and Props

(December 5-7)
Run by Historic Sportscar Racing, Pistons and Props is an on-track and on-the-runways celebration of the Sebring 12 Hours and historic Hendricks Field, the World War II-era military and civil aviation facility on which the famous sports car race has been held for more than 70 years. The event is three full days of historic and vintage sports car racing and a featured fly-in and display of equally spectacular military and civilian aircraft from the last century and older. In the bleak British winter, a pre-Christmas trip to Florida is just the tonic. visitsebring.com

Modena Cento Ore

(October 5-11)
Created at the dawn of the new millennium and run by Canossa Events, this week-long epic combines glorious classic motoring and racing, exciting roads and breathtaking landscapes, with a heady mix of culinary delights and great wines. What’s not to like?

Modena Cento Ore celebrates its 25th anniversary this time, with five exceptional days of driving at Italy’s finest circuits: Vallelunga, Magione, Mugello, Misano and Imola.

Entrants can opt for the Competition section or the lighter but still challenging Regularity class, but both follow the same route, race tracks and closed road stages.

Earlier in the year, Canossa also runs its Terre di Canossa on May 8-11, a regularity rally that traverses the 12th century routes of the Great Countess Matilda of Canossa, through the magnificent landscapes of Liguria and Tuscany. This is classic motoring along a route of around 400 miles, specifically conceived for vehicles built between 1919 and 1976 – with luxury accommodation and culinary delights from award-winning chefs awaiting competitors at the end of each day.

Other highlights of the Canossa season explore further afield: its Cavallino Classic events include editions in Palm Beach, the Middle East and Sydney. canossa.com

‘Ring masters

Any racing season isn’t complete without a visit to the daddy of all circuits: the Nürburgring Nordschleife. But whether you’re a newcomer or an old hand, and whenever you pick your moment, RSR Nürburg is the go-to organisation to be your guide.

In operation for more than 20 years, RSR stands for Ron Simons Racing. Tired of soulless office work and congested city life, founder Ron ‘escaped’ from the Netherlands and headed south to explore the real Nürburgring – the one hidden behind the grandstands of the modern grand prix circuit.

He was inspired to set up RSR to allow others to revel in the famous 13-mile track that’s open to the public, but in a safe and controlled environment. Now staffed by a large and passionate team, RSR boasts more than 100 track-prepared rental cars in every sports car segment and has helped tens of thousands of satisfied customers drive and enjoy the Nürburgring.

Beyond renting cars for the track, a driving academy, inset, above, offers personalised tuition. For those who’d prefer to leave it to the experts, taxi rides sitting beside seasoned professionals offer an alternative method to better understand the place Jackie Stewart famously described as the “Green Hell”. Then there are road tours to explore the wider Eifel region. rsrnurburg.com