Donington Historic Festival 2023

Donington Park

20 April 2023

The Donington Park Historic Festival was one of the first large events that Kevin Wheatcroft, the son of Tom Wheatcroft, instigated when he took control of the Derbyshire circuit after his father passed away in 2009. Originally billed as the Donington Revived Meeting, it first took place in 2010, now run by MSV it has been a four wheel motorsport fan favourite ever since.

The PistonClick team have made a point of photographing this event as it has developed over the years and it is now one of our must do events. It has nothing to do with the fact that I, as an owner driver of a classic car, can park in the middle of Donington Park with the rest of the Car Clubs on display.

This makes it so easy to access the best photographic locations quickly not to mention that I can leave all of my snacks, drinks and photographic gear in the car and don’t have to lug them round the track. And as a bonus there was no queue to get in, lovely!

A quick look at our tickets at the Coppice entrance, a slow drive through the tunnel to rev the engine and shoot a few flames and we were parked up as the stewards chuckled at my childish antics.

For years I have commented on the entry fee for these types of events when car owners bring their cars to a show. I have campaigned that we as exhibiters shouldn’t pay a full price ticket as we are part of the show.

No show cars, no show is my thinking. It’s not as relevant at Donington as at some of the other events since the Historic is more about the racing, but it’s still a factor. Well for this year I’m very pleased to say it was half price for me and my passenger to get in.

Maybe someone does read these reports - the acknowledgement is appreciated. 

So as a spectator what can you expect at the Historic? First and foremost it’s all about racing from a bygone time in many different guises. Pre-war sports cars, Touring Cars from the 80s and 90s, single make races, classic Alfas and a few demo runs were being run over the two day meeting.

The pit lane was opened for the fans at regular intervals and the paddock was, as it always is at Donington, accessible to all. There were also talks and interviews with racers and team members.

The focus for this year’s event was the 30th anniversary of the 1993 European Grand Prix and one of the greatest F1 winning drives ever seen. F1 demo laps, talks about the day Senna made Donington part of F1 history, and a great display of Senna’s motoring history were to be found in one of the meeting rooms behind the cafe. 

Much has been written about that day. Here is a taste: in pouring rain Senna overtook Schumacher, Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Alain Prost on the first lap to lead over the start finish line!

I would recommend doing a quick google after reading this report, it’s worth it.

Back out on track we had qualifying and racing from some of the most beautiful cars ever built. The sleek lines of the 1960 Jaguars to the more modern but still classic Ferraris entertained, and for much of the time I just watched and didn’t point my camera in the direction of the track they were so pleasing on the eye. Well, to me they were.

There were plenty of other races going on, and one car that stood out for me was the TVR Grantura Mk2 driven by Brandt and Duane.

It was by far not the prettiest car on track, but it did have the most interesting suspension set-up I’ve seen for some time. I’m used to small hot hatches lifting a rear wheel and some American muscle lifting the front end, but this TVR was getting one tyre in the air in a ridiculous angle all the way round the corner, great stuff!

The main event for me was the Historic Touring Cars, with packs of Ford Lotus Cortinas, the odd Rover SD1 and even a Vauxhall Cavalier Ecosse which won the BTCC TOCA Shootout at Donington Park back in 1993. There was some close racing in this event down the field as evenly match cars tried to out brake each other into the corners.

But it was British Touring Car Champion royalty of Colin Turkington and his teammate Mark Smith who would steal the show, driving a classic BMW M3 E30. They would go on to win by a clear 26 seconds ahead of David Tomlin in his Ford RS500, with only one more car from that starting grid on the same lap! 

I was slightly disappointed in the race as it was so one sided after the first few laps. I was looking forward to a right battle. The main contenders to give the BMW M3 a run for their money would have been the Rick Wood Motorsports R32 GTR Nissan Skylines.

Unfortunately the two Godzillas they had brought along didn’t want to play on the day.

The blue R32 GT-R in iconic Calsonic livery did a bit of qualifying but didn’t start the race, not wanting to risk it boiling over with an over heating problem.

The latest R32 GTR to be built by Rick Wood Motorsport in stunning AXIA livery did make the grid in the hands of Jonathan White but kept popping back into the pits. This was the first race for the AXIA GT-R, and when it was on track it looked amazing, spitting flames everywhere as all of the Rick Wood Motorsport GT-Rs do.

It did put in the second fastest lap of the day so it looks like it’s going to be competitive when the teething problems are sorted, and I for one can’t wait to see it again. If you look closely at the first image below at the detail on the R32 GT-R clocks, NISMO (Nissan Motorsports) has been changed to RICMO.

And there you have it, the 12th Donington Park Historic Festival, with fire breathing GT-Rs, gentlemen GT cars, council estate cortinas and the pinnacle of four wheel motorsports, F1.

I think you will agree with us when we say this is a must do event as a spectator and more so as a photographer.

I know it’s very similar to the Goodwood Revival which the Pistonclick team also attend, but the Historic is held in the Midlands and it’s much more affordable and accessible for people who don’t want to make the eight hour round trip to Goodwood from the heart of England.