March 8th, 2012 – for immediate release
Donington Historic Festival (May 5th/6th)
Spectators at the 2012 Donington Historic Festival can look forward to an unrivalled display of historic
motorsport, as over 300 racing cars dating from the 1920s up to the 1980s take to the track over the
weekend of May 5th and 6th.
Fast, competitive and exciting
Judging by the inaugural Donington Historic Festival in 2011, which confirmed that one of Britain’s
greatest racing circuits was back in business, the on-track action is sure to be fast, competitive and
exciting – from the ‘Mad Jack’ for pre-War sportscars, through the glorious sportscars and sports-racers
of the 1950s and 1960s, to the E-type Challenge, Historic F2, Touring Cars (both pre-66, and 1966-85),
not to mention the always dramatic Group C sportscars. To ensure that those who can only attend one
day of the Festival are guaranteed a thrilling time, the organisers have structured the timetable to ensure
an even mix of qualifying and racing on each of the two days.
Star cars and drivers include…
Early entrants include the Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours winner and ex-Formula One driver Jackie
Oliver, who has a ‘new’ Ferrari drive for the Festival. He will be sharing a 1961 250 GT SWB with
Rohan Fernando in the Pre-’63 GT race. This early aluminium-bodied competition Ferrari had a short
hillclimb career half a century ago but has never been raced before, so makes its circuit debut at
Donington.
Jackie and Rohan will race against Lukas Hüni and Gary Pearson, who will drive Hüni’s stunning
SEFAC Ferrari 250 GT SWB. The last SEFAC competition car ever built, this is the machine that
Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez took to victory in the 1000km of Paris in 1961. Coincidentally, in 1971
Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver joined forces to win the Monza 1000km – one of the renowned
Mexican driver’s last-ever races.
Another exceptional car in the Pre-’63 GT is the rare 1962 Porsche Carrera Abarth GTL; one of just 21
of these ‘giant killers’ ever built. Neil Tolich is travelling from New Zealand to share the car with Bill
Wykeham for the event. Other well-known faces out on the track for the Pre-’63 GT will include
musician Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits and ‘Sultans of Swing’ fame, who will share his AC Ace with
Alain de Cadenet.
In the 1000km race, Rainer Becker, founder of the Zuma group of restaurants, will campaign his 910
Porsche against the Spanish historic F1 racer, Joaquin Folch, in the Escuderia Montjuïc Ford GT40 that
won the 1968 1000km of Catalunya.
Finally, Jonathan Turner’s 1935 Squire Short Chassis – an early entry for the ‘Mad Jack’ race for preWar sportscars – is a very rare piece of British motoring history. The Squire Car Manufacturing
Company had a tiny production run, building just seven beautiful, rakish cars before it was wound up in
1936. Squire’s founder, Adrian Squire, who was just 26 years old when the company closed, had
worked up the initial designs – even producing a six-page catalogue – while still at school. Sadly, the
cost of his dream car was to prove his undoing; at its launch the Squire was the most expensive sports
car in Britain, costing approximately twice the price of a 2-litre Aston Martin.
Car clubs galore
50 car clubs have already signed up for this special offer, from the Bentley Drivers Club, Club Lotus,
Ferrari Owners’ Club and Jaguar Drivers’ Club, to the Morgan Sports Car Club, Porsche Club GB,
Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club and the TR Register. This gives their members the two-for-one ticket
deal – plus a free car pass to Donington’s spectacular infield parking, where they’ll form a great display
to be enjoyed by all spectators.
World-class action at affordable prices
To encourage whole families to turn up and enjoy the cream of world-class historic motorsport, advance
tickets to the Festival are being held at the same affordable prices as last year, while family members
under 16 are admitted free. In addition, each entry ticket gives two-for-one entry to the stunning on-site
Donington Grand Prix Collection during the Festival weekend and for the following two months. And to
make it even easier for car club members to turn out in force – without breaking the bank – there’s a
two-for-one advance ticket deal for registered clubs.
“Our aim is two-fold,” said Duncan Wiltshire of Historic Promotions Ltd, organiser of the Donington
Historic Festival. “First and foremost, we want to provide the very best racing, with truly thrilling ontrack action featuring historic cars from the most evocative eras of the sport. Secondly, we want to do
this at a price which club members and motorsport fans can readily afford – and all this at arguably the
UK’s best spectator circuit.”
2012 advance ticket prices
Saturday 5th May – £18 (£25 on the day) Sunday 6th May – £18 (£25 on the day)
Weekend ticket – £30 (£40 on the day)
Children under 16 – Free
Plus… two-for-one ticket deals for registered car club members
Tickets can be bought via www.doningtonhistoric.com and through the 24-hour ticket hotline 0844 873
7355.
Ends
Editors, please note:
EFG International, the global private banking group, is a principal partner of the Donington Historic
Festival.
Images
For a huge selection of downloadable print-res images to accompany editorial coverage, see
http://www.doningtonhistoric.com/press-media/images/
Media accreditation
To apply for media accreditation please visit: http://www.doningtonhistoric.com/press-media/mediaaccreditation/ Media accreditation closes at midnight on Friday, April 27th.
For further press information
Please contact: Karen Coe on +44 (0)1728 669185 or Charis Whitcombe on +44 (0)7977 500693.
Or email: media@doningtonhistoric.com