The first day of the 12th Donington Historic Festival treated crowds to top drawer retro racing with winners including British Touring Car Champion Colin Turkington.
Turkington, and his teammate Mark Smith, took a dominant win in the Historic Touring Car Challenge and Tony Dron Trophy & Sixties Touring Car Challenge, the second race of the day. Driving a BMW M3 E30, they were over 26 seconds clear of David Tomlin in his Ford RS500 with only one more car on the lead lap.
The Historic Touring Cars, like all the championships competing today, featured an eclectic grid of cars with Ford Lotus Cortinas, Rover SD1s and even the Vauxhall Cavalier Ecosse which won the BTCC TOCA Shootout at Donington Park in 1993.
The opening race was the Jaguar Classic Challenge which featured pre-1966 Jaguars, the grid was therefore packed with the gorgeous Jaguar E-types. The E-type, which was the world’s fastest road car when it was first sold, is the picture of historic racing in the United Kingdom and was right at home on the Donington circuit. The Jaguar Classic Challenge was won by Graeme and James Dodd in a 1962, 3800cc E-Type.
The packed grid for the Superformance Ferrari Club Classic Series included 26 retro Ferraris taking to the track. The race was won by Gary Culver in a 328 GTB from fifth on the grid but was a lap away from being won by Wayne Marrs from 21st on the grid in an F355 Challenge. Marrs had climbed up the field to the very front and with a fastest lap nearly two seconds quicker than anyone else, he looked to have the win nailed before the oil pressure dropped just before the end and he was forced to retire. The Superformance Ferrari Club Classic Series will race twice again at the Donington Historic Festival tomorrow.
The Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup rounded out the day with a three-hour endurance contest. The Simon Evans/James Littlejohn partnership won ahead of the charging Andrew Jordan/John Tordoff. Jordan and Tordoff pushed for the win for the whole race and were only four seconds off at the end of the race. But with incredibly consistent driving, Evans and Littlejohn clinched the win in the final race of the first day.
Full race results are available by clicking here.
The first day of the Donington Historic Festival also included a wonderful array of non-racing activities including F1 car demonstrations, car displays and track parades from car clubs in attendance.
As well as that, the 1993 European GP Exhibition proved an instant hit with art installations celebrating Ayrton Senna, memorabilia from the race weekend and a replica Senna helmet made from nearly 50,000 Swarovski crystals. The first Q&A of the weekend featuring Dick Bennetts, Colin Turkington and Matt Neal telling stories of the Senna and discussing his impact as a racing driver was another brilliant addition. Dick is back in tomorrow’s Q&A with McLaren Chief Designer Neil Oatley and Clerk of the Course David Scott.
Tickets for the Donington Historic Festival on Sunday 30 April are available on the gate for £30 for adults with reductions for 13-15-year-olds and free entry for under-13s. For more information, click here.