Shelsley Walsh lines up 2013 Calendar

a British Hillclimb Championship competitor blasts up the 108 year old course

2013 at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb will feature six speed hill climb weekends, two of which are rounds of the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship held in June and August.

Throughout 2013 we are celebrating a number of notable anniversaries starting with 100 years of Morris at “Speed Into Spring” May 4/5th where the Morris Owners Club will be displaying a variety of cars in the public areas and up the famous 108 year old hill.

June 1st/2nd welcomes the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship for “Best of British” where fans can see some of the most powerful cars in British motor sport reach 0-60 in under 3 seconds before topping out at 140mph over the finish line. And all up a single track tarmac road in the beautiful Teme Valley where time really has stood still...

July has two meeting with the “Reg Phillips Trophy Meeting” on Saturday July 6th followed by the “Vintage and Post Vintage Thoroughbreds” on Sunday July 7th celebrating 100 years of the Vauxhall 30/98 with up to 100 cars arriving after a tour of the UK.

At the end of July over the weekend of 27/28th “Classic Nostalgia” will celebrate 50 years of the Mini Cooper S. There will be the very popular and often oversubscribed Concours d’elegance for the first 100 pre 1982 cars supported by Classic and Sports Car Magazine and judged by Simon Taylor. We will also be welcoming Sir Stirling Moss OBE, who in the very early days of his career drove at Shelsley. He will be here with Peter D James Insurance who is also supporting the event this year.

Our highlight meeting in August takes place on 17th/18th with “Championship Challenge” offering a second chance to see the high powered cars of the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship, as well as celebrating Aston Martin’s Centenary in association with the Aston Martin Owners Club and Aston Martin Heritage Trust. There will be parades, displays and a competition class. More news to follow.

The season will round off in September with the “Autumn Speed Finale” where records can still be broken and championships won or lost as the English summer comes to a close with evocative long shadows that are so in keeping with Shelsley Walsh over its 108 year history.

May 4th - 5th SPEED INTO SPRING Midland Hill Climb, Paul Matty Lotus & SBD H.S.A. Speed Championships, Westfield Speed Series. Also celebrating the Centenary of Morris

June 1st - 2nd BEST OF BRITISH Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship Midland Championships. Ferrari Owners Club Championship, Shelsley Specials and other feature classes

July 6th REG PHILLIPS TROPHY MEETING Bert Hadley Memorial, Service Hydraulics Speed Championships, Westfield Speed Series and NHCA Motorcycles

July 7th VINTAGE & POST VINTAGE THOROUGHBRED MEETING co-promoted with the Vintage Sports Car Club, Centenary celebrations of the Vauxhall 30/98

July 27th & 28th CLASSIC NOSTALGIA, Luffield Cars MG, Paul Matty BOC Classic Championships, Pre & Post war racing & sports cars, 50th anniversary celebration of the Mini Cooper S, (Sunday)Concours D’Elegance supported by Classic and Sports Car Magazine (Sunday)

August 17th - 18th CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship, Midland Championships, Paul Matty Lotus Championship, Celebrating 100 years of Aston Martin, AMOC parade and competition class.

September 21st & 22nd AUTUMN SPEED FINALE Porsche Club, TR Register, BARC SBD, Service Hydraulics Speed Championships, NHCA Motorcycles, TVR, Morgan, Austin Healey, Ferrari, SBD H.S.A Championships

More marvellous mid-engined Motors move towards magnifient Goodwood Revival

a Ferrari 250LM (and a GT40 in the background) racing at Goodwood.

Further to the recent announcement that Goodwood will be staging a unique all-Ford GT40 race at this year’s Goodwood Revival (13-15 September) to mark 50 years since development of this exceptional mid-engined Anglo-American racer began, another legendary mid-mounted endurance racer will now also be competing at this September’s event.


Like the Ford, the revered Ferrari 250 LM celebrates its half century this year, having premiered at the Paris salon late in 1963. Also like the Ford, the 250 LM went on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race, with the North American Racing Team-entered car – driven by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory – taking the chequered flag in the 1965 event. This remains the last time Ferrari took overall victory in the French endurance classic.


The 250 LM raced in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood in 1964, where it finished fourth, and last competed in this race in the modern era at the Revival in 2000. An example of the Ferrari has also run in the Whitsun Trophy race at the Revival in various years.


For the 2013 Revival, a number of 250 LMs will be returning to the prestigious Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race for the first time in 13 years, campaigning against fierce competition from Ferrari 250 GTOs, AC Cobras, lightweight Jaguar E-types, Maserati 151s, Aston Martin DB4s, and many other rare and mouth watering machines to create the most valuable historic motor race in the world.

Tickets, grandstand seats, camping and other products for the 2013 Goodwood Revival can be purchased via the Goodwood website (www.goodwood.com/motor sport/), or the Ticket Hotline as follows: Telephone: +44 (0)1243 755055

Silverstone Classic back for 2013

Masters F1 cars will once again be in action

This summer’s Silverstone Classic (26-28 July) is all set to be another record breaker following confirmation of an action-packed programme of 24 races spanning eight decades of glorious motor sport history.

Already firmly established as the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival, the mouth-watering line-up for 2013’s extravaganza features all the hugely popular historic Formula One, sportscar, GT and touring car grids that produced such close racing last year… plus a further three grids to be announced in the coming weeks.

As the home of the British Grand Prix and birthplace of the FIA Formula One World Championship, Silverstone is the perfect venue to celebrate the full spectrum of F1 history. And, with more than 100 of the most famous and iconic GP cars recreating many of the sport’s golden eras, there’s no better homage than the Silverstone Classic.

Headlights ablaze, the Group Cs race into the darkness

The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA) will be out in force with packed grids for both spectacular pre-1961 and pre-1966 F1 cars that revisit five decades of technical rivalries from the Bugattis of the 1920s, through the Maseratis and Ferraris of the 1950s to the dawn of the rear-engine epoch in the early 1960s when British-based constructors such as Brabham, Cooper and Lotus came to the fore.

Grand Prix Masters puts the spotlight on the following generation of DFV-powered F1 cars, reliving a fantastic decade of GP racing from 1968 to 1978 as well as the rise of many of the British teams including Brabham, Lotus, McLaren, Tyrrell and Williams. Adding to the spectacle and rekindling many fond and magic memories, all these renowned racers compete in familiar period liveries.

The comprehensive single-seater bill features two more exciting grids. Races for Historic Formula Junior and the combined F5000/F2 class were among last summer’s many highlights and both make welcome returns this July. All five of these open-wheeler categories are in race action twice at the Classic with a thrilling showdown each during both Saturday’s and Sunday’s busy schedules.

Harking back to what many believe were the halcyon days of the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours event, no fewer than five sportscar and GT grids are also on the unrivalled Silverstone Classic bill.

Touring cars ancient and modern are always popular

The Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy features post-war sports-racers up to the end of 1955, with victory last year going to the hard-charging Jaguar D-type of brothers John and Gary Pearson. The Stirling Moss Trophy stars slightly more modern pre-1961 sportscars with Lister Jaguars, Cooper Monacos and Maserati T61 Birdcages often to the fore while the World Sportscar Masters covers an equally exhilarating era from the mid-1960s up to 1974, boasting track idols such as the Porsche 917, Ferrari 512 and Lola T70.

Moving the clock forward to the 1980s are the super-fast Group C prototypes that once again will race into dusk on Saturday evening. Last year’s entry featured legendary machinery from Jaguar, Mercedes, Peugeot and Porsche as well as a trio of Ferrari-engined Lancia LC2s. An even more alluring line-up is promised for 2013.

Meanwhile Aston Martin will aim for a famous hat-trick of wins in the prestigious Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars. Run for Pre-63 GT cars, victory in 2011 went to an Aston Martin DB4GT shared by racing legends Stuart Graham and Richard Attwood while last year’s encounter was won by Wolfgang Friedrichs and David Clark in the remarkable Aston Martin Project DP212.

Classic GTs return in 2013 in the Woodcote trophy

The Silverstone Classic also honours the very best of saloon car racing history with two stunning grids already confirmed. The first is for Under 2-Litre Touring Cars with a full 58-car field of battling Lotus Cortinas, BMW 1800 Tis, Alfa Romeo GTAs and Mini Coopers from the pre-1966 era. The second is another Silverstone Classic success story… Last year’s event staged a new tin-top showdown for Group A and Super Touring cars from the 1980s and 1990s. It was such an immediate hit with competitors and fans alike that the category not only returns 12 months on but also has spawned an exciting new series, to be run by the famed Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC).

“It all adds up to another incredible line-up of races that put the spotlight on so much fantastic racing history… and we have another three grids still to announce,” enthused Nick Wigley, event director. “With more than 1000 entries, the Silverstone Classic is now not only the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival but also the largest race meeting staged anywhere on the globe. It may sound clichéd but, hand on heart and given some of the announcements yet to come, this summer’s looks like being the most successful yet.”

To house so much exotic and priceless motor sport history, the massive event will again fill both Silverstone’s National and new Wing pits and paddock complexes. The non-stop racing schedule, organised by the HSCC, is staged on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with many races boasting fully-subscribed 58-car grids.

A very wide range of racing cars line up for the Silverstone classic.

Adding to the Classic weekend’s enormous appeal, all tickets give free access to both racing paddocks as well as trackside grandstands and live music concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Those booking before the end of March can take full advantage of special ‘Early Bird’ prices with adult tickets starting from just £30 (plus fees). Considerable savings are on offer for festival goers spending the full weekend at Silverstone and special packages for car clubs and their members are also available. Full details can be found on the official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.  

Have breakfast at Goodwood - 2013 Breakfast Club Dates announced

 As it enters its eighth season, the Goodwood Breakfast Club for 2013 promises another tantalising mix of great vehicles and a hearty Goodwood organic breakfast. Often copied, but never bettered, Goodwood’s first-Sunday of-the-month events remain the original and authentic Breakfast Club, with free admission to all visitors.

The tower, The scoreboard, the old adverts... this could only be Goodwood

The Goodwood Breakfast Club is firmly established as a ‘must attend’ event for thousands of car and motorcycle connoisseurs who appreciate an enjoyable Sunday morning drive through the quiet West Sussex country roads down to Goodwood, where they are able to meet like-minded enthusiasts, admire some fabulous machinery, and eat a tasty Goodwood organic breakfast, before heading back home in time for the Sunday roast, to do a bit of gardening and DIY, or simply put their feet up and watch the Grand Prix!

For the 2013 Breakfast Club season, Goodwood will offer a range of popular themes that cater for all enthusiasts and vehicle types. As in previous years, the Breakfast Club meetings will be held on the first Sunday of the month at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, starting a March, with the exception of July and September, when the hugely successful Festival of Speed (11-14 July) and Goodwood Revival (13-15 September) motor sport events will be held.

The breakfast club offers an impressive array of cars to see - and good cooking!

The 2013 Breakfast Club meetings promise an eclectic mix of vehicles and a tempting breakfast menu to whet the appetite of any motoring enthusiast. Each meeting is themed to appeal to a strong petrolhead audience who own an interesting and diverse selection of motor vehicles.

The dedicated and detailed Goodwood Breakfast Club website has regular updates on each monthly theme, and visitors are encouraged to pre-register online at (www.goodwood.com/breakfastclub) to help ensure a prime parking position with a theme-relevant vehicle. A full list of the 2013 Goodwood Breakfast Club dates and themes follows.

2013 CALENDAR AND THEMES

Date Breakfast Club Theme

03 March: Tax-Free Sunday:

Pre-1973 tax-free classics, plus modern eco-friendly vehicles, with a nod to key anniversaries, including the Centenary of the Vauxhall 30/98, 60 years of the Corvette, 50 years of the Mini Cooper S and Lotus Cortina, etc.

07 April: Sushi Sunday:

A celebration of Japanese cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles.

05 May: Soft Top Sunday:

The best of top-down motoring in the Spring sunshine

02 June: Super Car Sunday:

The ultimate high-performance machines – cars and bikes, with a nod to 50 years of McLaren and the Porsche 911

07 July: Event not held due to the Festival of Speed

04 August: Thoroughbred Sunday:

Pre-1966 vehicles, celebrating the golden era of Goodwood Motor Circuit, with a nod to 100 years of Aston Martin

01 September: Event not held due to the Goodwood Revival build-up

06 October: Italian Sunday:

Italy’s finest cars and motorcycles, with a nod to the 50^th anniversary of the exciting Lamborghini marque

All 2013 Goodwood Breakfast Club events will be staged from 08.00 to 12.00 hours on the first Sunday of the month (except July and September due to the proximity of major Goodwood motor sport events).

Full grid of pre-war Grand Prix racers for Donington Festival

The Pre War racing cars may be old enough to be museum pieces, but they are still raced properly!
(Note, no seat belts, no roll over protection!?)

The Historic Grand Prix Association (HGPCA) is to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the first car race at Donington Park in 1933 by bringing a pre-War Grand Prix grid to the 2013 Donington Historic Festival (May 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th), ensuring even more on-track excitement and in-paddock appeal for this ever-popular international event, and giving yet another reason why Festival tickets are the ideal Christmas gift for historic motorsport fans.

The races now confirmed for the event (with news of yet more due early in 2013) are guaranteed to provide spectacular entertainment for visitors:

• HGPCA pre-War Grand Prix cars
• Group C sportscars
• JD Classics Challenge for 66 to 85 Touring Cars
• HSCC Historic F2
• ‘1000km’ challenge for pre-72 sports-racing cars
• U2TC pre-66 under two-litre Touring Cars
• Masters pre-66 GT Gentlemen Drivers
• Masters pre-66 Top Hat Touring Cars
• Pre-63 GT
• Stirling Moss Trophy for pre-61 sportscars
• Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for pre-56 sportscars

As well as the racing, there’s a host of other activities to keep spectators busy, from historic rally car live action and classic car club displays to the trade village and the open paddock.

Grand Prix glory

The early days of Grand Prix racing hold a very special, almost mythical, place in motor racing history. Thoughts of legendary marques such as Alfa Romeo, Alta, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, ERA, Frazer-Nash, Maserati, MG and Talbot-Lago – all of which are likely to appear at the Festival – and of drivers such as Nuvolari, Seaman, Lang, Bira, Rosemeyer, Chiron, Varzi and Caracciola still send shivers down the spines of racing enthusiasts to this day.

From the 1920s to the late 1930s, works teams and private entrants would compete against each other on the race circuits of Europe. Racing was fast and furious and careers – and lives – all too frequently short-lived. And, as the world headed towards war, it was Germany that would dominate the final days of Grand Prix racing in that era, with the unbeatable Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz cars, the Silver Arrows.

Donington Park saw its own share of this excitement, including the Alfa Romeo P3 of Richard ‘Mad Jack’ Shuttleworth, taking victory there in 1935, followed by Richard Seaman and Hans Ruesch’s Alfa 8C in 1936. The 1937 and 1938 Donington Grand Prix races would be two of the biggest motor racing events ever staged in Britain, with the Silver Arrows of Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari simply obliterating the competition. The HGPCA plans to award a Tazio Nuvolari Trophy to the winner of the Festival’s Sunday pre-War Grand Prix finale race.

Now Donington Park is set to relive those legendary days over the weekend of May 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th 2013, as the types of racing machines that the Silver Arrows came to dominate take to the track once more.

And visitors can indulge their love of historic GP cars even more over the weekend; Festival ticket holders are entitled to two-for-one entry to the Donington Grand Prix Collection – the largest showcase of Grand Prix racing cars in the world.

Tickets on sale in time for Christmas

Advance ticket prices start at £12 for the Friday, £20 for Saturday or Sunday and just £36 for a three-day weekend ticket. On-the-gate prices will be £15 for Friday, £25 for Saturday or Sunday and £45 for the three-day weekend. Children aged under 16 are admitted for free. There are also special discounts for members of car clubs that have registered with the Festival (so please contact your car club official to make sure they’ve registered…).

Tickets can be bought via www.doningtonhistoric.com and through the 24-hour ticket hotline 0844 873 7355.

To learn more about the Donington Historic Festival, please visit www.doningtonhistoric.com.

Royal Automobile Club receives award for Woodcote Trophy

A brace of Jaguar D-Types lead the historic field in the award winning Woodcote Trophy

At the 2012 International Historic Motoring Awards in London on Thursday 29 November, the Royal Automobile Club won the Race Series of the Year award for its Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy series.

Launched in 2006 in conjunction with Motor Racing Legends, the Woodcote Trophy is now one of the most respected historic race series in the world, with fierce competition simply to get a place on the grid! The Woodcote Trophy is a series of six classes for genuine postwar sports-racers built up to and including December 1955, each class defined by engine capacity, and whether the car runs on disc or drum brakes. Each vehicle has two drivers that battle it out on track for at least one-hour.

In 2012, the series was sponsored by EFG Private Bank and three events took place at UK circuits with a trip to the Spa Six Hours meeting in Belgium in September. The 2012 overall winner of the Woodcote Trophy will be announced on 23 January 2013 at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London.

Accepting the award, Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Motoring Committee, Royal Automobile Club, said: "The Royal Automobile Club is delighted to receive the Race Series of the Year award at the IHMA. Woodcote Park, the Club's country club had already given its name to the famous corners at Goodwood and Silverstone and the Woodcote Trophy completes a Woodcote motor sport hat trick.

"It continues the Club's history over more than a century of creating innovative and challenging motoring and motor sport events. From the groundbreaking 1,000 Mile Trial of 1900 and the Tourist Trophy of 1905, through the first postwar Grand Prix to the launch of the Woodcote Trophy in 2006, the Club continues to define its raison d'etre as supporting motor sport and motoring."

Nominations for the award were assessed by an international panel of expert judges, including Jay Leno, Derek Bell, car designers Ian Callum and Peter Stevens, Horst Brüning of the FIVA, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen (responsible for global coordination of Volkswagen Group's Classic activities), motoring journalists Robert Coucher and Tony Dron, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Judge Ed Gilbertson, Bruce Meyer (founding Chairman of the Petersen Automotive Museum), and Lady Susie Moss, wife of the legendary Sir Stirling Moss.

Toughest LeJog ever

A BMW 2002 makes it's way through a winter wonderland

More than 60 classic cars battled their way between Land’s End and John O’Groats on this year LeJog endurance rally, which is being described as the toughest ever.

Tomas de Vargas Machuca, joint Managing Director of the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (H.E.R.O.), said: “This year’s LeJog was probably the toughest we have ever had, with new routes and fewer but longer special tests.”

“The weather gave enough challenges to the competitors but without being too appalling – it was slippery but road conditions were good enough to allow us to carry on with the tests and trials without having to cancel any section”.

Drivers set off from Land’s End on Saturday 1^st December on an epic 1,400 mile route across Britain, travelling through Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Northumbria, Northumberland, East Lothian, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, and across Scotland to arrive in John O’Groats after a four day period of tough rallying.

Porsche 911races towards the sunrise

Tomas added: “As expected, crews were very competitive and top positions kept changing during the first days of competition. There were a few retirees due to mechanical problems but overall we had a very successful event.”

The winners of the elusive gold medal of this year’s LeJog were Andy Lane from Saddleworth and FIA Champion Navigator Iain Tullie from Cumbria, who came first in their 1973 BMW 2002 Tii.

Andy Lane said: “It was a very hard event this year. We were only able to come first because car eleven, who was leading, got hit by another vehicle on the road se we were able to take over the first place and win.”

The “Team Triumph”, formed by driver Tony Sheach from Fleet, Hampshire, and navigator Richard Lambley from Slough, Berkshire, finished in second place in their 1964 Triumph TR4. Tony Sheach also won the Test Pilot Award as he had the best overall performance on the tests.

Roger Bricknell from Bodmin, Cornwall, and Ryan Pickering, from Totton, Southampton, finished third in their 1966 Triumph TR4A

LeJog served as the fourth and final qualifying round of the much coveted HERO Cup, which went to father and son team from Bolton, Michael Baker and Simon Baker. During the year, the Bakers were the crew with the overall highest score, having driven their 1978 Porsche 911 SC to 3rd place in the Scottish Malts and 2nd in the Summer Trial.

Peter Nedin, Hero’s Event Director and Clerk of the Course for LeJog, said: “LeJog is one of the toughest events of its kind in Europe, possibly the world, and we constantly strive to maintain this enviable reputation. As expected, we had freezing temperatures, rain, snow, black ice, but that certainly didn’t stop the drivers who wanted to finish the course no matter what the conditions were.”

A variety, built before 1984, took part including a 1957 MGA coupe driven by Curt Wagner and Horst Pokroppa, a 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL driven by Jochen Gabriel and Onder Turker and a 1974 Datzun 240 Z driven by Riccardo Moraldi and Pietro Turrinelli, amongst others including BMWs, Alfa Romeos, Triumphs and Porsches.

Patrick Burke, joint Managing Director of the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (HERO), said: "LeJog is one of the most testing events that we have ever run. It continues to attract crews from all over Europe which is a testament to the event and all those who worked so hard to make it happen.”

He added: “We were delighted with the welcome LeJog received around the country with people being more than willing to allow use of their land and to let controls be sited in appropriate places. For many people, LeJog is the only competitive motor sport event that comes past their door and they were keen to turn out and see the cars go through their area.”

Come rain, wind and weatther, Le Jog continues south

HERO supported the Whyte Sisters, Seren (23) and Elise (21), who tackled LeJog to raise funds for the Pink Ribbon Foundation in a 1964 Mini Cooper S provided by HERO Arrive & Drive. The Sisters were also the youngest female crew to compete ever.

LeJog was supported by AVIS, exclusive support vehicle partners of HERO Events and Orianda (www.orianda1937.com), who sponsor the first prize of the HERO Cup by offering a week sailing in the Mediterranean on board this splendid yacht.

Every competitor dreamed of collecting one of the elusive gold medals, but crossing the finishing line was the main aim of many, particularly novices. The sense of achievement is immense and most crews passed under the finish banner with huge smiles on their faces. 

Silverstone Classic Hosts AA World

Clearly these vehicles have shrunk in the wash.

 This summer’s exciting new AA World will be Britain’s most complete interactive driving experience featuring a huge range of activities for all ages.

AA World includes:

• Free taster driving lessons for those aged 12 and over (minimum height restrictions apply)
• Skid Pan and 4x4 Experiences
• Meet and greets with Roary the Racing Car and Friends
• Hot Laps on the Stowe Circuit
• Electric Jeeps for juniors
• F1 driving simulator
• Pit-stop Challenge
• Giant Scalextric racetrack
• Car Archery Challenge
• AA Emporium including cooking demonstrations
• Parking Challenge
• AA Grand Tour classic car display
• Special AA heritage display
• Big top and funfair with dodgems
• Racing action live on big screen
• Live music on AA flatbed truck stage

Backed by the Automobile Association ­– the UK’s biggest motoring organisation – AA World is an integral part of the Silverstone Classic powered by the AA (20-21-22 July), the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival with 1,000 historic race cars and 7,000 classic display cars. The three-day event is also a major family attraction with live rock music, air shows, retail village, vintage funfair plus a host of other entertainment in addition to a packed programme of track action showcasing the full spectrum of motor sport history.

We'll have the Sauber Mercedes Group C please.

Based right at the heart of the Silverstone Circuit, close to the venue’s impressive new Wing pits and paddock complex, the new AA World motoring theme park will provide show-goers of all generations with an unprecedented line up of free driving experiences ranging from electric cars for toddlers and taster driving lessons for teenagers to hot laps around the Stowe Circuit in some of today’s latest and most desirable performance cars.

Edmund King, AA president, says: “AA World will get the whole family involved in the fun of driving from Roary The Racing Car for toddlers to hot laps and skid-pan sessions for the grown-ups.

“And pre-driving age teenagers will be able to get behind the wheel of an AA driving school Ford Focus for a first drive at Silverstone.”

“The arrival of AA World will add yet another fantastic dimension to what’s already a great event for car lovers of all ages.” confirmed Nick Wigley, Event Director of the Silverstone Classic.

Something a bit more sensible - Where better to learn to drive than
Silverstone?

The AA World driving experiences will be free to both AA members and non-members. The AA believes that driving is an important life skill and it regularly campaigns on young driver road safety. Earlier this year, it called for driving science to be included in the National Curriculum and its charity offers free ‘Drive Smart’ tuition to young, newly-qualified drivers.

Full details of the 2012 Silverstone Classic powered by the AA – including further information on AA World as well as a comprehensive selection of on-site camping facilities – are available via the event’s official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.   

Michelin Revives Group B Rallying

The Peugeot 205 T16, one of the many Group B Cars revived for a special event.

Michelin and Rallying with Group B are pleased to announce the UK’s only multi-venue rally for Group B cars and other rally cars of significant note: The Michelin Rallye Groupe B.

Sponsored by Michelin, the rally will take place over the bank holiday weekend of 25/26 August on the roads of Cheshire and North Staffordshire, with Special Stages in the grounds of castles and stately homes and service at Oulton Park race circuit.

The event is Rallying with Group B’s take on the fabled spectacular stages of the RAC Rallies of the 1980s and will be run as a National B Event under the General Regulation of the UK MSA. It will incorporate the provisions of the International Sporting Code of the FIA and Appendices K and J, both for competition and demonstration.

Rallying with Group B’s members have already reserved 60-plus places so there should be cars to suit every taste that will help recapture the heady days of this iconic era of rallying.

Regulations and further details for the event will be issued as soon as possible and will be available at:

www.rallyegroupeb.com

Steve Dolby, Michelin Product Marketing Manager, comments: “Michelin is delighted to be involved with the Rallying with Group B Trust on this spectacular event.

“Michelin has a strong commitment to motorsport, demonstrated by the fact that we are at the top of today’s World Rally Championship and we were also there during the glory days of Group B on such iconic cars as the Audi Quattro and Peugeot 205 T16. Therefore, it is only natural that Michelin is involved in this event which aims to recapture the feel of one of the most memorable periods in rallying’s history”.

Goodwood Motorsport Round Up

You wanted Variety??

Goodwood's two motorsport events, the Festival of Speed and Revival continue their success into 2012. If you don't know what these events are about, then frankly we think you've been living under a rock for the last decade or so! The Festival of Speed continues to be a heady mix of classic racing cars (and bikes), bang up to date motorsport machinery, and the very latest road cars becoming the de-facto British motorshow. The Revival is an awesome retro themed race day where the organisers go to great lengths to re-create the spirit of the 1960s motorsport scene. Here's the round up of the recent Press day...

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LORD MARCH ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS FOR
THE 2012 GOODWOOD MOTOR SPORT SEASON

Late last week the Earl of March – founder of the annual Festival of Speed (28 June – 1 July) and Goodwood Revival (14 – 16 September) – announced some of the news highlights for this season’s Goodwood events. These include:

2012 Festival of Speed Highlights:

Very young guns heading for the revival.

-At least seven current Formula One teams attending and in action, including the very first Goodwood appearance for double F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, along with the Red Bull Racing team and his team mate Mark Webber. Expect to see other top teams and drivers at the Festival too, with more names due to be confirmed shortly. Sebastian Vettel’s Goodwood attendance links in perfectly with the 2012 Festival of Speed theme - ‘Young Guns – Born to Win’.

-The Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ is one of the World’s finest automotive concours d’elegance car design competitions, and for 2012, a unique gathering of vehicles will be brought together to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. All vehicles will have a direct connection with Her Majesty, with most never or rarely seen in public before. These will range from formal State limousines, through to personal cars, an aircraft and even a Royal train carriage.

Lotus will feature prominently

-The 2012 Festival of Speed will honour one of Britain’s most iconic and innovative sports car brands – Lotus. The Company’s past, present and future will be celebrated with the main Central Feature ‘installation’ outside Goodwood House, plus at least 50 significant Lotus race and road cars in action and on display during the Festival weekend.

Festival favourite, Dougie lampkin will perform.
Girls not nessasarily included.

-The 2012 Festival will see expansions and enhancements to the GAS (Goodwood Action Sports) arena, the relocation of the Goodwood Aviation Exhibition within the Festival Parkland, near the Moving Motor Show, plus the largest collection of two-stroke competition motorcycles ever assembled at the event.

2012 Goodwood Revival Highlights:

-An at-speed demonstration of the breath-taking Silver Arrows Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union competition cars 75 years after their memorable race in the UK at Donington.

The cobra will also be a main feature at the Revival.
Lord March and girls not necessarily taking part.

-Fiftieth anniversary celebrations for the Ferrari 250 GTO, with plans for a daily parade of at least half the total GTO production, plus an all-AC Cobra race to mark the first half-century of the iconic Anglo-American sports car.

-A daily tribute to American racer Dan Gurney, 50 years after taking his first Grand Prix victory.

-Two very special races, with the Nine Hours night race, 60 years after this first Goodwood race into the dark, plus a new Goodwood competition, the Settrington Cup, being held for young drivers in Austin J40 pedal cars!

There will be many other features and attractions to this year’s Goodwood motor sport event, with more details to follow over the coming weeks and months.

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JAGUAR TAKES ON THE GOODWOOD HILL AS 2012 FESTIVAL OF SPEED IS LAUNCHED

The Jaguar XF-R looks right at home on the Goodwood Hillclimb

The Jaguar XFR has taken on the notorious Goodwood Hill at the launch of the 2012 Festival of Speed.

The demonstration runs provided a suitably dramatic start to the preview event for the 2012 running of the Festival of Speed – set to take place between June 28 and July 1.

The theme for the 2012 Festival is 'Young Guns – Born to Win' celebrating young drivers, riders, designers and engineers in every aspect of the automotive world. This theme is echoed by the recent steps taken by Jaguar Land Rover to recruit hundreds of new graduates in every part of the business, encouraging them to contribute to, and play a key part in, JLR's ambitious plans for the future.

In 2011 the Festival celebrated 50 years of the E-type in spectacular style with a 28-metre sculpture of the iconic sports car forming the centrepiece of the event that saw significant Jaguars including the XJ13, C-, D- and, of course, E-type being driven in anger in front of crowds numbering in excess of 175,000 people.

Once again Jaguar is proud to play a role in the Festival of Speed with vehicles from the past and a little way into the future promising to take part in the notorious run up to Goodwood Hill.  

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Racing Ahead : Keeping Britain at the front of global motor sport

Lord March (Left) and Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive.

 A new initiative to promote the UK’s on-going position at the forefront of world motor sport was announced yesterday (Wednesday 14 March) at Goodwood.

Established by Motor Sports Association and Motorsport Industry Association – the two leading bodies in UK motor sport – as an integral part of National Motorsport Week 2012, the new scheme is titled ‘Racing Ahead – keeping Britain at the front of global motor sport’ and will reward and inspire a select band of this country’s most promising young drivers and engineers.

As the governing body of UK motor sport, the MSA will select six potential future world champions from junior karting, circuit racing and rallying. These will be joined by six of the brightest young engineers selected by the MIA, the world’s leading trade association representing the UK motor sport industry. The MSA’s group will be announced shortly while the MIA will be organising a special competition for gifted young engineers via the new National Motorsport Week website which also was launched at Goodwood’s media preview event.

The 12 members of the Racing Ahead initiative will experience a full programme of activities during National Motorsport Week (30 June-8 July) including visits to both the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone. They will also enjoy exclusive tours of the UK’s premier Formula One factories and World Rally Championship teams aimed at providing invaluable insights into the sport and industry.

“National Motorsport Week is about raising awareness of the UK’s leading position in world motor sport, as well as giving people the chance to try our sport for the first time,” explained Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive. “We may have produced more Formula One World Champions than any other country, but we face increasingly strong competition from other nations, so we cannot afford to be complacent. The MSA is committed to investing in future champions because it is fundamental to our objective to lead and develop the sport at both international and grass roots levels.”

In 2011, the MSA joined forces with MIA to promote the annual National Motorsport Week and the creation of Racing Ahead is another product of this teamwork to promote the unrivalled status of UK motor sport.

“The UK motor sport industry is booming, during otherwise uncertain times,” said Chris Aylett, MIA CEO. “Customers, from all over the world, realising the exceptional quality, value and expertise of UK motor sport products and services, are spending their hard won budgets here in Motorsport Valley. Jobs are growing in engineering and the sport to meet this increased demand. We particularly need more young, well-trained, engineers and technicians so we stay ahead in this race for business. As part of National Motorsport Week, the MIA will shortly announce details of an exciting national competition for all young engineers looking to get into motor sport. The six selected winners will join this special Racing Ahead scheme and thus gain a great head start to their careers.”

Full details of the competition will be revealed on the new National Motorsport Week website which has been developed by web specialists mso.net and is launched simultaneously with Racing Ahead. The new look site includes information on how all involved in the sport can take full advantage of the promotional period and will also list all the special events taking place during NMW 2012. Appropriately the week commences with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the world’s greatest celebration of past and present automotive culture.

“We are delighted that the Festival of Speed will kick off this year’s National Motorsport Week – more so as the Racing Ahead initiative, which is being set up to highlight many of the next generation of drivers and engineers, ties in so well with our own ‘Young Guns – Born to Win’ theme that we are celebrating at the Festival in June,” confirmed Lord March, founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

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FORD FOCUS ST IN FILM STAR ROLE AT THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

Lights, Camera, Action!!

Ford's first global performance car is previewing its starring role in new film blockbuster The Sweeney at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer.

The Focus ST and Jaguar waltz around Goodwood's hillclimb

Stunt drivers will take the place of famous Flying Squad detectives Jack Regan and George Carter as their black Ford Focus ST is pitted against a Jaguar XFR up the famous Goodwood hillclimb in an exciting chase sequence to whet the appetite ahead of the movie’s release in September.

Ford has been a major sponsor of the Goodwood Festival of Speed since its inception in 1993 and it is again supporting this prestigious event over the weekend of June 29-July 1, 2012. The Festival of Speed is Europe's premier historic motor sporting event – a combination of hillclimb, rally stage, garden party, and motor show, all in the grounds of Goodwood House, the Earl of March's ancestral home in West Sussex.

Ford Focus ST takes centre stage

In October 2011, special Ford Focus ST prototypes were secretly delivered to The Sweeney set, joining Ford Mondeo, Galaxy and Transit models also being used by the cast as unmarked Flying Squad vehicles.

Red and black... but black first. See, our colour scheme is right!

Director and co-writer, Nick Love, whose prior films include The Football Factory and The Firm, said: "It was important for me to collaborate with Ford on The Sweeney as their legacy with the original TV show is so strong – they're the perfect partner. I like the Ford Focus ST so much, I want one!"

Ford's strong link with the 1970s Sweeney TV series saw Regan, Carter and their Flying Squad colleagues using a string of Ford Granada, Consul and Cortina models to make the streets of London a safer place.

Production Companies Vertigo and Embargo Films, used six Ford Focus ST models during filming. Set in modern day Britain, The Sweeney stars Ray Winstone as Jack Regan and Ben Drew (aka Plan B) as George Carter and also features Hayley Atwell (from Captain America), Damian Lewis (Homeland), Steven Mackintosh (Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans) and Paul Anderson (The Firm).

The Sweeney will be released in the UK in September.

Ford at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ford's motorsport heritage is unparalleled: there were successful Model Ts in motor racing in the 1920s, Ford V8s won the Monte Carlo rally in the 1930s, and since the 1950s Ford has always been prominent in racing and rallying, often with specially-developed cars like the Le Mans winning GT40s, the Escort RS1600 and RS1800, the RS200, the Sierra RS500 Cosworth, and racing Mondeos. Ford-powered cars from all around the world will be reflecting this heritage at the Festival of Speed.

Visitors to Goodwood will see an astonishing variety of famous Fords, including those located on the Ford stands at the entrance to the festival and the main exhibition site inside the hillclimb track. Prominent in these displays, as well as on the Goodwood hillclimb, will be the Ford Focus ST with its powerful 2.0-litre 250PS four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

The new Ford Focus ST goes on sale in 40 countries this year and was shown in final production-ready form at the Geneva motor show this month.

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Daniel Lloyd takes to the hill with a nervous passenger aboard his Porsche 911 GT3

Lloyd stars at Goodwood for Porsche Carrera Cup GB 

Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship driver Daniel Lloyd wowed the motoring and motor sport media during the annual press day for the Goodwood Festival of Speed (Wednesday 14 March).

Fresh from a stunning performance the day before when he ran fourth fastest in the Carrera Cup pre-season test day at Silverstone, the Huddersfield racer was in action on the famous Sussex hillclimb course.


Just ten days after his 20th birthday, Daniel ferried journalists up the Goodwood Hillclimb in a 450bhp 911 GT3 Cup as the Festival of Speed unveiled a ‘Young Guns’ theme for 2012. In addition, the livery of Daniel’s car celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Carrera Cup GB.


As well as getting to grips with the rather different environment of the hillclimb course, Daniel gave a first class account of himself as he handled media interviews and photograph sessions with aplomb.


Media including What Car? and the Daily Telegraph rode alongside Daniel in the car and the Telegraph has already featured an in-car video they shot on its website, as part of its role as media partner of Goodwood. The video can be watched at:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motoringvideo/9144498/Daniel-Lloyds-hillclimb-at-Goodwood.html


Meanwhile, Daniel and his crew at Team Parker Racing are now busy preparation for the opening races of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch (31 March/1 April).

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The TWR prepared XJS is a regular at the festival of speed.

JAGUAR WINS 'MOST SPIRITED GETAWAY' AWARD FOR SECOND TIME AT GOODWOOD

A Jaguar has won the 'Most Spirited Getaway' Award for the second consecutive year at the launch of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The honour, won last year by Touring Car driver Anthony Reid in an XFR, was won at the 2012 event by Alex Buncombe at the wheel of an XJS TWR owned by JD Classics.

The light-hearted Award is given to the driver judged to have made the most enthusiastic, crowd-pleasing departure up the notorious Goodwood Hill.

The XJS meets it's big brother, the XJR-8/9 which is sure to be a quick car

The car, a 1984 Jaguar XJS TWR and chassis 005 of just seven produced was previously driven by Win Percy. It made a suitably dramatic start as the combination of slick tyres and a 485bhp, race-specification V12 and side-exit exhaust system ensured a visual and aural spectacle.

It was joined on the Goodwood Hill by the iconic Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-8/9 run by Don and Justin Law – the latter aiming to once again set the pace at the 2012 running of the event having completed the run in just over 44 seconds in previous years.

The 2012 Festival of Speed takes place between June 28 and July 1 with crowds expected to number in excess of 180,000 over the three days.  

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