Having enjoyed plenty of favourable feedback from the first two Donington Historic Fesitvals, the organisers promised us that the 2013 event would be even better and bigger than before. Newsletter updates, which started many months ago did little to quell my impatience for this early May Bank Holiday, as everything I received just increased my level of expectation. An event which comprises a variety of historic cars of every category from pre-war machines to Sports/GT racers from the 1950s and 1960s, early Touring Cars, Group C and more is compelling enough, but allied with the excellent spectator vantage points of the Donington circuit, and the numerous Car Club displays, and without the huge crowds that can intimidate at the similar Silverstone Classic event, all meant that this was one of the first things to go in my 2013 diary. Last year I organised an Abarthisti Car Club presence, which was much enjoyed by all who participated, so it was also clear that this needed to be repeated for 2013, giving an event double-header following on from the Brooklands Auto Italia event. My high expectations were more than surpassed, and the day shot by, with so much to see, do and talk about. And photograph. Even with the 400 photos in this report, there is plenty that is not covered. Nothing from the track (I need a better camera), and nor did I capture the Lancaster bomber that came over in the middle of the afternoon and did a couple of loops overhead.
IN THE PITS AND PADDOCK
As soon as we were parked up, he hot-footed it up to the Pits to see what was going on. Answer is that there was a hive of activity in some, and others looked quite dormant, though that soon changed during the morning. I do relish the opportunity to wander around so close to the action, and indeed we were actively invited to one garage when we were choosing not to get under the feet of the mechanics. That was one of the ones which contained several cars from my favourite race of the day, the pre-war GP cars.
There were 7 ERAs in action, and none of them were the 3 that typically appear at VSCC events. English Racing Automobiles (ERA) were successful in the 1930s and the voiturettes, with their supercharged Riley-based engines, remain hugely popular. Each ERA is unique, so they are easy to identify. The seven examples competing were R3A, R4, R4A, R5B, R9B, R10B and GP1. Winner of the race was R3A – driven by Briton Mark Gillies, who is came over from the USA to race. This was the first ERA to compete at Donington Park, in April 1935, while new ERA owner Nick Topliss’ R4A won the 150-mile Nuffield Trophy at Donington in July of that year, in the hands of Liverpudlian Pat Fairfield. Pat Fairfield would die two years later, in a crash at Le Mans, and a memorial to him can be found at Donington Park. Peter Whitehead and Peter Walker drove R10B to third in the 1936 Donington Grand Prix, behind a pair of Alfa Romeos, and Whitehead went on to win the 1938 Australian GP in it. US-domiciled Irishman Paddins Dowling will race it this time, while Germany’s Rainer Ott plans to bring R9B – Charlie Martin’s 1936 Donington Park Nuffield Trophy winner. Another period podium car that appeared was R5B ‘Remus’, in which Prince Birabongse of Siam scored a second place and Tony Rolt won club races in 1938. It is now owned by American Charles McCabe R4, by then in C spec, won the 1937 British Empire Trophy with ERA founder Raymond Mays aboard, while GP1, the sole ERA Grand Prix car to be completed pre-war, was driven by Arthur Dobson in practice at Donington Park for the Nuffield Trophy but was a non-starter, due to an engine failure.
Also fabulous were the Alfas. Two P3s and and an 8C2300. One of the P3s won the inaugural Donington Grand Prix in 1935.
And then there were the Maseratis. Late in the day we found a garage with no fewer than 7 of them, from the 1930s and 1950s. Predicted to be quickest of the Maseratis was the 1934 8CM driven for owner Chris Jacques by Dorset farmer Rob Newall, who raced Formula Ford single-seaters in the 1970s and remains one of Britain’s quickest Jaguar XK pilots. This car is dark blue rather than the traditional red of Italy, as it was originally raced by Prince Birabongese of Siam.
Other pre-war GP cars included a twin rear-wheeled Alta, the Frazer Nash Nurburg, the Parnell-MG as well as a number of Bugatti Type 35s, 37s and a 39.
The Group C cars are always a big draw wherever they go. My personal favourite was the Lancia LC2.
There were some lovely Aston-Martins, including a DBR1, a DB3 and a long tailed DB4
There were plenty of saloon and touring GT cars from the 1960s and 1970s
There was also a class of GT cars, ranging from the very lairy Allard to TVRs, E Types
F2
There was a large showing of ’70’s F2 cars
One other joy of wandering the paddock is that you come across all manner of road cars just scattered around the place. And while some of them are merely prosaic rental cars, there were plenty that were not. The red McLaren MP4-12C car that was there early in the day was joined by an orange one later in the day.
There was also a Porsche Carrera GT, along with a number of other Porsche models.
I am not sure which model MG this is. I think perhaps an L Type?
I also liked this Ferrari 599 H-GTE
This original Quattro was for sale. £15,500 sounded very reasonable.
The owner of this Mercedes 300SL Convertible was clearly trusting, as he left the keys in the boot lock and walked away!
Mundane this one might be, but it is now rare. A Fiat Marea saloon.
CAR CLUB DISPLAYS
With over 60 clubs booking space, it was always clear that there would be plenty of interest parked up in the infield, and so it proved. With no challenges of water-logged ground as there were in 2012, there was more space available for everyone, making it hard to determine if there were actually more or fewer cars than last year.
ABARTH
As the person responsible for booking the Abarthisti presence, I knew exactly who was coming, though as always with these things, there were a couple of surprises on the day. One was that our allotted area moved, and we ended up with lots of space and a pitch right by the pedestrian tunnel under the circuit. I don’t think I could have asked for a better location. Although I was only expecting one classic Abarth, Mike Foster’s lovely 1000TC, I was approached mid-morning by someone who asked if he could bring his 124 Sport Spider in to join us. It turned out to be absolutely immaculate, thanks to a recent (second) restoration.
AC
A number of “Cobra” models.
ALFA-ROMEO
A small collection of Alfas included a couple of “step front” Giulia GTs and a Spider, as well as a 155
ASTON-MARTIN
A nice assembly of Astons, ranging from a DB5 through the DBS and V8 models to plenty of more recent models
AUDI
A small collection of classic Audis, including a 90 quattro and a couple of the second generation Coupe
AUSTIN-HEALEY
A nice mix of Sprites and “Big Healeys”
BMW
A rather nice E24 series 635CSi.
BOND
An early Equipe 1300
DAIMLER
A nice line up of SP250 “Dart” sports cars
FERRARI
There were a line of Ferraris parked up right close to the track, with all manner of different models from 246 GT Dino to the 599GTB
FORD
I first saw most of these classic sporting Fords in the car park at the Service Area. A mix of Fiesta XR2s and Escort XR3 models, they drove off just as I emerged from my room with camera in hand. When I caught up with them at Donington, though I discovered that all were immaculate, looking almost better than new.
The Capri Owners Club had a number of cars on show, too
There was also a small number of Mustang, which were parked right opposite the Abarths.
HILLMAN
A duo of Imps were parked up in the middle of the infield and elsewhere there was a very early car reminding us that 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of this small car.
HONDA
A splendid array of NS-X
There were also a good number of S2000 sports cars.
JAGUAR
A real highlight was this, an XJR15, one of just 16 such cars that were made for three support races in the 1991 Grand Prix program.
There were lots of E Types
Other Jaguars included a number of saloon cars and several XJS as well as a C Type
LANCIA
Aurelia GT
LOTUS
An array of Lotus ranged from a first generation Elite to several classic Elans, Esprits and a front wheel drive Elan, along with an more recent Elise and Exige
MARCOS
Just two cars, including one of the very last models made, a TSO.
MAZDA
There were plenty of MX5s, of all three generations.
MG
Lots of MGs, ranging from a TD to several Midgets and MGBs, as well as an MGR V8 and a ZT260 in one of those special paint finishes which changes colour depending on the angle at which you view it.
MINI
MORGAN
Plenty of Morgans, with most of them having the traditional bodyshell. There was also an Aero car.
NISSAN-DATSUN
A whole row of Z cars presented quite a striking sight. Most of them were the first generation 240Z cars.
There were also a small number of Skyline models, including the current GT-R
PORSCHE
The Porsche Owners Club had a huge number of 911s on show, and 50 of them took to the track for the lunchtime Parade Laps on the Sunday.
There were other Porsche models as well in the display, from 924 and 928 to Boxster and Cayman.
RELIANT
There were a number of Scimitar models, with GT Coupe and GTE cars. A late model Sabre too.
RENAULT-ALPINE
A quintet of these French sports cars included a couple of A110s and three of the later A610 models.
RILEY
Three classic RM model Rileys, one of which was a former police car, and it amused everyone when it took to the track for the parade laps, with the bell ringing
ROVER
A rather nice P4
SAAB
The Saab Enthusiasts Club were situated right next to Abarth and for quite a while it looked like the phrase could be written in the singular, with just a “bullnose” 96 on show. Then a series 1 Sonnet arrived and later a 900.
SPARTAN
Once quite well known, this kit car is quite a rare sighting these days.
SUNBEAM
There was a good gathering of the Tiger sports cars
TALBOT
Nice Sunbeam-Lotus
TRIUMPH
A vast array of TRs were on show.
There were also lots of Stags, with just about every colour that was offered except Topaz and Magenta
Among other Triumphs were a 2500S saloon and an earlier 2.5 PI Estate, as well as Spitfires and GT6s
TVR
A colourful assembly of TVRs, with most of the different models produced during the company’s life time on show.
VAUXHALL
There were a number of Viva models, from a de Luxe HA car to a slightly less spartan HB car in SL trim, and the coupe version of the HC car, the Firenza.
Elsewhere there was a droopsnoot Firenza on show
TRUCKS
There had to be a couple!
SENNA TRIBUTE
Amazing to realise that it is 19 years since the legendary Ayrton Senna’s untimely death. l have no doubt that there will be more tributes to one of the greatest racing drivers ever next year, but meanwhile, this year marked the 30th anniversary since he got behind the wheel of a Formula One car, and, of special significance to Donington, 20 years since he triumphed in appalling wet conditions at the European Grand Prix held at the Donington Circuit (and the weather was truly terrible, I still remember spending much of the day sitting in my car seeking shelter from rain and wind!). A special display of six cars connected with Senna were on show in the centre of the paddock, and a couple of them took to the track for demonstration laps at lunchtime.
In 1982 Ayrton Senna won the British and European F2000 Championships, and was rewarded with a drive in the season-end F3 race in a Ralt RT3. He famously won the race, and that very RT3 was both on show and then demonstrated on the track.
During his F3 Championship-winning season in 1983, Senna enjoyed his first-ever drive in an F1 car, testing Keke Rosberg’s Monaco GP-winning Williams-Cosworth FW08C at Donington Park. That very same FW08C is now a star feature of the Donington Collection, and this important machine was brought out of the museum for the Festival.
As a result of his impressive F1 tests in 1983, Senna moved into Grand Prix racing full-time in 1984, and his first Formula One race car – the famous 1984 Toleman TG-184-02 Hart turbo – was also displayed at the Festival. This is the car that Senna drove to a spectacular second place in the 1984 Monaco GP, overtaking Alain Prost for the lead but being robbed of his first Grand Prix win when heavy rain stopped the race the following lap.
Also on display was the 1986 JPS Lotus Renault Turbo in which Senna won the US GP at Detroit. The young Brazilian started the race in pole position, but tyre problems saw him initially fall back to eighth place, with the race lead changing hands six times between five drivers before – equipped with fresh tyres – Senna carved his way through the field to take victory.
I was a little more intrigued to discover the connection to the MG Metro 6R4 and the Brooklyn MotorSport Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. These were among five rally cars that Ayrton Senna test-drove in a Welsh forest in November 1986, for a feature that appeared in Car and Car Conversions magazine. At the end of the day, Senna summed up his experience of these very different type of competition cars: “I think, overall, it has been much more exciting than I expected. Much more involving. I didn’t feel the time going by. It went so fast because I was finding out, and learning more and going harder and harder. Having some moments… it was very exciting. Feeling the car in the air and then bottoming. Something I have never experienced before in a road car. In a road car you go easy, eh?” The Cosworth was in action in the live rally demonstration on the Melbourne Loop.
Sadly, a brilliant day came to a premature and tragic end. When the track went quiet and emergency vehicles started tearing across the site, and then two air ambulances landed, it was clear that something serious had happened. So it proved to be, as I later found out that in the last planned race of the day, two of the competing cars had crashed heavily, with both drivers unconscious. Sadly, one of them, Christian Devereux driving a 1965 Mini Cooper succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the crash. We all know that there are risks associated with motor sport and although accidents do happen, fatalities are thankfully rare, but this was one occasion when the luck ran out. Sincere condolences to his family and friends, who will take some solace, I guess, from the fact that he was at least doing something he loved doing. Not surprisingly, this event brought racing to an end, and those remaining were able to leave the site.
That said, the rest of the event will be one which I will remember for all the right reasons, and long after the slight sunburn has gone. With a collection of friends from both Abarthisti and TheMotor.net., some interesting cars, some exciting action on the track, and even some dry and ultimately sunny weather, this was an epic event. Definitely one for the diary in 2014.
