Donington Historic Festival

[john ruston]

That BMW-Ideal for WBR at Snetterton next Saturday.

[terence]

Already spoken to Alan about it John,no go unfortunately. Even been offering free entry to anyone buying the 2002!!!!!!!!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by john ruston

That BMW-Ideal for WBR at Snetterton next Saturday.

I guess it races on slicks. WBS- No slicks! Perhaps next year a race for cars so equipped. It will probably then rain

[MartinSmith]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

I guess it races on slicks. WBS- No slicks! Perhaps next year a race for cars so equipped. It will probably then rain

Well you never know!...No Slicks was the only rule for this race I think. oh and the Red White and Blue rule of course

[SAMD]

Originally Posted by ClaireSmith

Well you never know!...No Slicks was the only rule for this race I think. oh and the Red White and Blue rule of course

And no old sports 2000 cars with different engines

[brands]

Excellent entry there today and some good racing.
The event deserves a better venue though.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by brands

The event deserves a better venue though.

COMPLETE AND UTTER RUBBISH!.....whats wrong with donington, the track is a driver favorite, racing and entry showed that!.....silverstone has the classic, brands has the superprix, now donington has its historic festival....what exactly is wrong with the venue?...and dont say its a building site.....pretty obviously it is at the moment, but its also clear work is being done to get its to its former glory

[brands]

Sorry meant to add, best wishes for a speedy recovery to Frank Sytner.

[Yorkie 'S']

Sorry meant to add, best wishes for a speedy recovery to Frank Sytner.

Hear Hear - was very sad to hear of the accident. I heard a red flag had stopped the session, but was wholly unaware of what had happened at the time, I saw him earlier that morning and only thought how well he was looking. I hear he is in Derby Hospital in a medically induced coma.

Get well soon Frank !!!

[dwh43scale]

Originally Posted by brands

Excellent entry there today and some good racing.
The event deserves a better venue though.

Donington is a fine venue that might have been lost to motor racing. As they continue to put right the vandalism induced by the former leaseholders all will be well.

Best wishes to Frank Sytner.

[chunterer]

Crikey!!! What happened???

Had no idea but couldn't hear the tannoys much from where i was viewing having wondered why he wasn't on the grid for the F2 race as well. Best wishes to Frank for a speedy recovery.

Lovely weather today and what a superb circuit Donington still is, ideal for classic car racing really I would say, and hope it returns evern bigger and better next season!

Missed the U2 Touring Cars but the Juniors, Pre 63 GT's, F2, Group C's were all great spectacles.

Sadly, the JD Classics turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax..... couple of late entries including a TWR G2 RX7, the Spa winner, which lasted one lap, but 3 of the 4 Batmobiles didn't take the start and neither did the TWR XJS, which was one of the main reasons why I went in the first place. The car was in the Paddock but I'm assuming something happened in qualifying to it, and some of the others.

I heard Marcus Pye saying Alex withdrew his CSL, but I didn't hear why?

Alex what happened chap?

Mr Wiltshire has a lot of work to do in the coming months to reassure those who did enter that all will be well and also to reassure all those out there who for whatever reason are reluctant to bring their cars out of hiding to come and play. Not sure I was that keen on seeing an assortment of CSCC runners bolstering the entry, as those cars whilst very nice aren't pukka cars? Why was there a 240z and a 911 entered? Better than no cars at all though I suppose.

Group C and Historic F1 started with fairly limited numbers but gradually ore and more cars came out. There is so much potential for this saloon series, Primary targets are surely Mike Newman and his 635, the Cologne Capri owners and the various Rover Vitesses that live here for a start!!

Running these cars will surely only help add value to them as well in the longer term.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Crikey!!! What happened???

i wont try and speculate too much...

...all i saw was going up schwantz curves, just before it flicks left into mcleans, franks car left the track and went head on into the barriers, there was no contact, no other car involved and noone near him on the track, i heard the throttle lift on the car but he didnt turn into mcleans and there was braking before it hit the barriers, so obviously the car hit pretty hard, however it stood up really well in the impact and the crash structure was perfectly ok...

...again wouldnt like to speculate on the cause of the incident...just glad the medical crews did a brilliant job and managed to get him to hospital where he can be cared for properly while he recovers.

[Tom Walker]

This particular Rome cant be re-built in a day. Donington is a superb driver and spectator circuit. Surely you can forgive the temporary minor glitches. How can you be a contributor to this forum and not want to support one of our best and most historic circuits ?

I was lucky enough to be asked to share the drive in Charles Gilletts cracking little Frazer Nash in the Mad Jack race for pre-war cars, and havnt enjoyed myself so much in ages. Theres something fairly impressive (or do I mean bloody terrifying ?!) about having one of those huge 8 litre Bentleys crammed in your mirror, or hoping he's clocked you as you stuff him up the inside on the brakes going into the chicane! I have been away from vintage racing for a couple of years, but am going to drag my old special out of the shed for Mallory and Cadwell, assuming i can get it past the scrutes !

From what I saw on saturday, there were plenty of interesting cars, a very pleasant atmosphere, and some very happy looking punters. Well done Mr Wiltshire and team

[HRSTR5]

I had wondered how driving the Formula Junior round a gravel-lined modern track would feel after the tree-lined adrenaline rush of Targa, well I'm pleased to report it was still fun!

My first round of this year's FIA Lurani Trophy, at Donington Park, having missed the earlier rounds at Monza and Hockenheim. The car was woefully unprepared having been away for so long, but I checked a few obvious bits, put in some fuel and went well in qualifying having not sat in the car for six months; I was quite pleased with a 1:28:3, 3rd in class C. Had a couple of interesting slidy moments, one tank-slapper through the Craner Curves had my full attention!

Race one sadly was a complete disaster... Good enough start, although I'm still not great at getting this car off the line, interesting first lap, but a broken gear selector at the chicane saw me coasting into the pits and into retirement. Very disappointing, and a bit ironic that it wasn't anything I would have checked in the uncompleted winter job list.

Fortuitously I had a spare selector, and got it replaced (when the car should have been in Parc Ferme apparently!), and with a generous nod to that engineer of last resort, Mr Heath Robinson, we lined up for Race Two on Sunday morning ... Not a bad start and a good couple of laps, but then red-flagged after a three car shunt at the front of the field, disappointing considering we'd had the riot act read to us that morning by the Stewards, after some iffy driving standards on Saturday. I don't know how the shunt came about, but I crested the rise at Coppice to find bits of car all over the road, and came past John Fyda's broken car to see him lying alongside as a marshal arrived urgently beckoning more support ... I am pleased to report that he has just a broken ankle, but I didn't find this out till later, frankly it had looked worse than that when I came by... Hope your leg mends quickly John.

Got a poor start in the second attempt, and got tangled up with the front-engined cars, also leaving a small margin as I expected to find a 'box full of neutrals at some point, and coupled with a gusty wind chucking the car about, I was well off the my Qualifying pace, but sitting on the grid for 20 mins whilst ambulances and broken cars come past you really doesn't do much for your confidence ... Pleased just to finish to be honest. 3rd in Class, of 5. 15th overall from 32 starters.

A very long wait for the cars to be released from Parc Ferme, whilst there was a lengthy Steward's enquiry, then the M1 was closed, then our chosen alternative the A361 was closed, then the kids needed a break ... We got to Delta's to drop the car off gone 18:00... Ho hum!

Well done to the awesome Callum McLoed for two fine wins in the Caravelle.

Get well soon to John Fyda, and I hope to see the mangled cars back out soon, especially Stuart Roach's beautifully prepared Alexis.

Best wishes to Fearless Frank for a full recovery.

And thanks to those of you who said Donington would be okay for the Mrs and youngsters, you were right, it was fine, and it'll be good when it's fully back as it should be - well to Donington for their efforts so far. The track, as ever is great, and we like the new chicane much better than the old one!

Next stop Porto, a full six weeks away.

[grantp]

It's not that one chooses to moan about things and there are some things that the organisers have no way to control but ...

Donington seems to be coming along quite well in many ways. However on other fronts there may be some concerns, at least for some of us.

Glorious weather on Monday only slightly offset by the rather brisk wind. That, combined with the very dry ground, made things a tad cold in exposed places and very dusty - a fine sort of dust that gets into everything. Nothing the organisers can do about that although they did water some of the tracks used by the car clubs on the infield.

Good to hear reported that the outside was open all the way around to Coppice (I was too busy socialising on the day (aka being lazy) to do the walk to check, However a visual check suggested that was indeed so and that the tunnel was open too. That bodes well for future events and the options for getting around the place.

There was a nice little grandstand at the revised chicane and a couple of places for photographers to stand that were not bedevilled with fences. Very dusty there though - we really need some rain.

On the other hand the new fencing at Redgate now has crowd control barriers behind it. A long way behind it. Currently that means the recently raised walk ways are rather narrow - I assume there is more to be done there later in the year to extend the spectator banking further out. Sadly from a photographic point of view the opportunities for anything worth while at Redgate (at least on the West side) are minimal. The crowd barrier is much further from the debris fencing than previously. I assume this is an FiA/FIM/MSA requirement.

On the other hand with the area behind the hospitality suites being used as the collection area for races without pit access the purpose of the new 'gates' at Redgate became clear and recovery of beached cars from the gravel there was much improved it seemed to me.

So, some plusses and some minuses. Biggest help they could have right now would be rain to keep the dust down and help new grass grow in the areas where ground work has taken place over the winter.

Spectacular machinery around for most of the races, some great racing right through the field - just a shame that some of the HFJ 'boys' seem to be in a somewhat over competitive phase at the moment and involving others in their antics.

Not all of them of course ... some are very well behaved.

[The Flagman]

The accident at Coppice was just that - nothing to do with driving standards and a good illustration as to how a large incident can so swiftly follow on from a minor happening.

Without prejudice to any enquiries, it was a slide wide for the leader that left the pursuers nowhere to go then all hell broke loose as the rest of the field arrived unsighted into a dust and smoke cloud.

Frankly how so few cars were damaged is a surprise. As grant p says a blessed relief that there was a less serious outcome than at first feared.

Best wishes to John F for a swift recovery.

Other reflections on the weekend - cold wind all weekend, dressed for the Arctic and was still chilly but at ground level people were out in tshirts. Expect the paddock would have been sheltered and nicely warm - but we never got there! At least the wind took the dust away from us.

Long days with no worthwhile breaks for marshals made it very tiring. Saturday 11.5 hrs on post. We had 20mins clear for lunch after cars had been put away and we had to return ready for racing. Sunday 10hrs on post - we had 15mins stand down on post. Need to look at this from the point of view of fatigue and concentration. I know I was flagging (yes in both senses).

Long races were sometimes difficult to follow even for the keenest of flaggies. This one was fast asleep during the dreadful final endurance. JD Classics need a lot more work before being awarded another grid slot. A true anticlimax to the weekend.

The whole event had a funny feeling to it. Not a patch on the previous weekend at Cadwell which was pure joy. All the right ingredients were there but somehow the cake wasn't as tasty as expected. Can't put finger on it but we were pretty jaded by hometime Sunday. Would think twice before volunteering for next year.

There was some great racing, fantastic cars, excellent track but no ra ra. Could'nt hold a candle to Pau or Monza for atmosphere.

Finally and most importantly lets hope that Fearless Frank makes it through what undoubtedly is going to be a tough time. Best wishes.

[SFurness]

Kevin Wheatcroft was on the local news a few weeks back saying he had a £20 million/5 year development plan for the circuit which will turn Donington into a motorsport village. Whatever a motorsport village is.

Steve

[apriliadriver]

For a first try-out for a new historic weekend, I thought DHF was very good. It was a brilliantly friendly meeting with a careful selection of grids (except for JD Classics) and a fantastic selection of cars. The driving standards in U2TC and Pre-63 GT were very good.

I had entered James Wiseman and I in the Alfa GTA in U2TC, but a broken bell-housing sidelined the car after Practise. James let me co-drive his Alfa Sprint Zagato in Pre-63 GT and we both had a whale of a time - I just managed to beat a Porsche 356 to the finish line by 0.04s.

I and the other competitors sure are in debt to Kevin Wheatcroft for bringing the track back from the dead. It is enormous fun to drive and the only significant change, (dropping the Chicane back 200m or so) was probably a bit overdue anyway. Certainly makes the Pit entry easier/safer and you do arrive at Redgate going a bit quicker.

Thanks to the track marshalling team who hardly got any break on both days due to various incidents - you do a fantastic job and we are grateful.
Nick S

[john ruston]

Which 356?

[retrognome]

Driving into the paddock on Sat I felt Donington was truly back in business. The undulating track suits faster 'classics' and the media centre offers a comfortable work area with on-tap infomation. Re Formula Junior, there seemed to be an general opinion that a new, younger generation of drivers are taking life too seriously. Our freedom could rapidly disappear if organisers get worried, something some competitors should bear in mind. The last race of the day should not be derided as a/ the fight between the two BMWs gave great entertainment and b/ and again referring to the next generation, they want historic motor sport, both race and rally that they can associate with. Give it a chance. We will have report and images on site by tomorrow but I can't tell you where as I already have penalty points.

[thebullet]

Was an amazing weekend and loved every minute. Lovely cars and great company.



Photo of the weekend for me!

Best wishes to Frank, I hope he has a speedy recovery.

[Giraffe138]

I'm pleased to say that I've just taken a call from the man following Frank Sytner in this pic, Simon Hadfield and he tells me that they brought Frank out of the induced coma about an hour or so ago, and he recognised everyone in the room! However he began to get a bit confused, probably wondering why he was not still behind the wheel of his Lola so he was sedated once more. Simon tells me that his alarm was largely due to his current inability to communicate effectively, but the upshot is that the prognosis had improved quite dramatically for him, I'm relieved to tell you all.





By giraffe138 at 2011-05-02

[thebullet]

Originally Posted by Giraffe138

I'm pleased to say that I've just taken a call from the man following Frank Sytner in this pic, Simon Hadfield and he tells me that they brought Frank out of the induced coma about an hour or so ago, and he recognised everyone in the room! However he began to get a bit confused, probably wondering why he was not still behind the wheel of his Lola so he was sedated once more. Simon tells me that his alarm was largely due to his current inability to communicate effectively, but the upshot is that the prognosis had improved quite dramatically for him, I'm relieved to tell you all.

Excellent news!

[retrognome]

Originally Posted by thebullet

Excellent news!

Good news. Pity to miss you although I did pop in and say hello to a rather lonely Ted Walker. Report now up.

[grantp]

I had a relaxed day on Sunday - mainly socialising and avoiding the dust where possible.

The DPRAC compound is a rather good location for watching the action but less good for avoiding fences when pointing the camera. Maybe if I get an 800mm and a 1200mm ....

Still managed to take around 800 frames though. Must remember to slow the frame rate in future!

Some shots in roughly chronological order starting half way through U2TC.

Loved the Frankel's Giulia; nice to see Mr. Hadfield making the LC work properly on 3 wheels as it should; Jan Biekens Stanguellini had a rather large accident at Monza a few weeks ago - hence the unpainted bodywork. It may stay that way for the season.