One of Europe's biggest celebrations of retro motorsport, the Donington Historic Festival, returns on 29/30 April with a special collection of historic F1 machines for the 30th anniversary of the 1993 European Grand Prix.
The legendary F1 race was where three-time world champion Ayrton Senna drove his opening 'lap of the gods' as part of an iconic masterclass of driving in soaking conditions. It was Formula One's only visit to Donington and the period will be honoured with displays and demonstrations across the weekend.
At lunchtime each day, F1 cars will be out on track to give spectators a feel for that famous day in April 1993. In addition to the on-track demonstrations, there will be static displays in the race paddock, featuring more F1 cars of the time, and an exhibition in Donington Park's Pitlane Suite. The exhibition sill showcase memorabilia from the Grand Prix, together with memories and photographs from members of the public who were lucky enough to be at the track on the day.
The Formula One cars scheduled to appear include:
- 1993 Williams FW15C (static display) - driven to race wins by Alain Prost at South Africa, San Marino, Spain, Canada, France, Great Britain and Germany, and to victory in Hungary, Belgium and Italy by Damon Hill.
- 1993 Benetton-Ford B193 (track demo) - driven by Michael Schumacher and Ricardo Patrese during the 1993 season.
- 1992 McLaren MP4/7A (static display) - driven to race wins by Ayrton Senna at Monaco, Hungary and Italy and to victory in Canada and Australia by Gerhard Berger.
- 1990 Benetton-Ford B190 (track demo) - driven to victory at Australia and Japan by Nelson Piquet.
- 1984 Toleman TG-184 (track demo) - driven by Ayrton Senna drove in the 1984 Detroit GP and in qualifying for that year's Monaco and Brands Hatch Grands Prix.
- 1998 Minardi M198 (track demo) - raced in period by Shinji Nakano.
As well as F1, the Donington Historic Festival offers a sensational line-up of racing machinery spanning seven decades which will provide the on-track highlights, with saloons, sports cars and even pre-war machinery filling the busy race schedule. Dozens more will also take to the track in dedicated parades.
The open paddock and pitlane walks will allow fans to get as close as possible to the cars when they're not racing. There will also be a trade village and a car display featuring hundreds of the much-loved classic cars.
Admission prices start from just £25 per day, with reductions for 13-15-year-olds and free entry for under-13s. For more information and to book, click here.