Historic racing returns to Donington Park race circuit for the Donington Historic 2016 Festival between April 30th and May 2nd 2016

The Donington Historic Festival is a hugely popular fixture in the international historic racing calendar, attracting world-class cars and drivers from around the world.  Over 400 historic racing cars dating from the 1920s up to the 1990s will line up on the grid at Donington Park to compete in a spectacular series of races at the Donington Historic Festival 2016.

HRDC Touring Greats at DHF 2015. (c) Jeff Bloxham

Donington Historic Festival 2016 – What’s on?

The festival boasts a combination of highly competitive, world-class historic motor racing.  The open-access paddock lets visitors get up close to priceless historic racing cars.  There’s also tyre-smoking historic rally car demonstrations, historic karting action and hundreds of classic cars on parade in the infield.

Eight decades of motorsport on track at Donington Historic 2016

The 2015 Donington Historic Festival saw everything from pre-War sports cars and historic Grand Prix cars to Touring and Super Touring Cars take to the track, and the 2016 event promises to be no different with cars from the 1920’s up to the 1990’s in action on the track.

The oldest cars out on track will be the ‘Mad Jack’ pre-War sports cars. Named after Richard ‘Mad Jack’ Shuttleworth, winner of the first-ever Donington Grand Prix in 1935, featuring huge 1920s and ’30s Bentleys and powerful Bugattis and Frazer Nash sharing the circuit with tiny Morgans, Austin Sevens and Rileys.

The 80^th anniversary of Richard Seaman and Hans Ruesch’s victory in the 1936 Donington Grand Prix is celebrated this year with the HGPCA Nuvolari Trophy, in which the HGPCA will be fielding a grid of iconic Grand Prix and Voiturette cars up to 1950, such as P3 Alfa Romeos, Bugatti T35s and T37s, ERAs, Talbot-Lagos and 8CM Maseratis.

The inimitable speed and style of 1950s and ’60s sportscars and GT cars such as C and D-type Jaguars, 300S Maseratis, Lister Costins and Cooper Bobtails will be seen in the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, the Stirling Moss Trophy and the GT & Sports Car Cup. And ‘big cat’ fans can enjoy watching a range of pre-66 in the Jaguar Heritage Challenge.

Classic touring car racing is always popular with the Donington Historic crowds. The HRDC ‘Touring Greats’ will pitting Mk1 Jaguars against Austin A35s, Hillman Imps, Morris Minors and Ford Prefects, while the HRDC ‘BTCC Celebration 1958-1966’ will see Minis battling with Ford Mustangs and Lotus Cortinas.

Bringing Touring Car racing into the sixties, seventies and eighties the Historic Touring Car Challenge (think Capris, Rover TWR Vitesses and XJS Jaguars) and the HSCC Super Touring Car Trophy, which sees cars such as Honda Accords and Ford RS500s taking on Nissan Primeras and Alfa Romeo 156’s.

New for 2016 is a round of the Pre-80 Endurance Series, making its DHF debut and bringing with it an unmissable mix of sports-racing, GT and Touring Cars such as Porsche 935s, Lola T282s, Chevron B26s and B19s, Porsche Carreras and Morgan Plus 8s.

Donington Historic Festival’s mammoth ‘1000km’ race is always a highlight of the meeting. Recreating the spectacular sports prototype battles of the early 1970s, it also features Touring and GT cars, as was traditional back in period. This is where Lola T70s and Chevron B8s thunder round Donington Park, lights flashing, as dusk descends.

Finally (Phew!), single-seater fans can enjoy a round of the HSCC Historic Formula 2 International Series, where March takes on Brabham and Chevron fights for glory against Lola and Ralt.

The action doesn’t stop when the chequered flag falls, of course. The unmistakable sound of historic Formula 1 engines will reverberate round Donington Park once more, in a series of high octane demonstration runs.  The ever-popular historic rally cars burn rubber as the mighty Group B machines and the cars of the Historic Rally Car Register entertain the crowds. Historic karts will also return to Donington Park for the event, as will dozens of car clubs, who will gather in the Club Village in the infield. The race and rally paddocks are both open-access and always draw big crowds.

In 2015 dozens of car clubs turned out to pack the Donington circuit infield with hundreds of classic cars.  Festival organisers will once again be inviting car clubs to join the party and stage displays at Donington Historic Festival 2016.

The ‘Mad Jack’ for pre-War Sports Cars at DHF 2015. (c) Jeff Bloxham

Tickets and Admission

The 2016 Donington Historic Festival takes place over the Bank Holiday weekend of Saturday, April 30th, Sunday, May 1st and Monday, May 2nd 2016.

Advance discounted tickets are now on sale for the 2016 Donington Historic Festival – Saturday April 30th, Sunday May 1st and Monday May 2nd – perfectly timed for those looking to secure the idea Christmas gift for a historic motorsport or motoring fan.

Advance tickets offer a significant saving on the on-the-gate prices. A single day advance discounted ticket costs £21 and a two-day ticket £34, while a three-day weekend ticket costs just £48 (on-the-gate prices will be £28, £45 and £65, respectively). Children aged under 16 are admitted for free.

For further information or to book advance tickets please visit www.doningtonhistoric.com

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