Race Retro 2023 - Stoneleigh Park

5 March 2023

If you have never been to Race Retro it is billed as one of the biggest Historic Racing shows in Europe. With over twenty two thousand spectators visiting over the three day event it can't be denied that it is a large event. The PistonClick team have visited the show a few times over the years, and our last visit was 2020 after which the pandemic forced the organisers to remove it from the Historic Motorsports calendar. So is the show as good as it used to be?

Before we answer that question, let’s take a look at what you can expect to see and photograph at Race Retro. Located within Stoneleigh Park Warwickshire, there are a few entrances that you can use depending on if you pre-purchased a ticket or not.

As a member of our group was without a ticket we headed to the tickets for sale car park. This was located just outside of Peterborough, or so it seemed after we had walked in!

There is a demograph that goes to these events and they are generally not spring chickens. So, the extended hike to the show from the carpark drew a few comments from the people around us. The show has two main areas, an indoor static show housed within some halls, and an outdoor mixed tarmac and dirt rally stage. 

Let's take a look at the halls first where the static displays was being held. This won't take too long as there wasn't that much to see. I know a few owners of historic race cars and they had mentioned when I said I was going to Race Retro that they wouldn’t be there this year. This was due to the cost of paying for a stand, and I get that the cost of everything has gone through the roof but without content you don’t have a show.

As an owner of a classic car it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when I prep my car, get it to a show, pay to be at the show so that the public then pay the organisers to look at my car. This needs to change. 

The halls had a few nice cars but it was mostly tools, toys and parts; things I can get online and return if they turn out to be defective, which is something that is near impossible if you buy at a show. There was a small stage area with a few interviews going on but I have listened to Jason Plato rabbit on before, so I shuffled past to the Silverstone Auctions Hall.

£10 to get in, but fortunately there was a small area to one side where you didn’t have to pay and could still see some of the cars that were up for sale to the minority of the UK that the cost of living crisis has had no impact on whatsoever.

I bet the new owner of the Cossie doesn't look at their smart meter wondering what they can turn off. That is a record price I believe £596,250! 

Exiting the halls to the bright and crisp February air I headed to the rally stage via the pits/paddock that used to be housed in the old cattle sheds with the auto jumble stalls. Thank goodness the weather stayed nice as no one likes a soggy distributor, used or otherwise!

The last time we were here the main criticism was the restricted view of the cars on the rally stage. Basically you were restricted to one point just after the start ,which, with the amount of people meant you couldn’t see much. To their credit this has been sorted. The spectator area is now a reverse L shape with marshals controlling access to the "infield" area as you will now have to cross the track. 

I spent some time moving up and down the line capturing the action with my trusty Nikon D7200 with a AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED matched to a Nikon AF-S TC-14E II teleconverter. My shooting buddy for the day was using the Nikon D500 with the previous version of the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8.

I've always like the D500 and have been impressed with the images that the other PistonClick contributors have submitted from this camera. The D7200 is still a great camera, but mine is showing it's age and really needs to be relegated to a backup camera/put in the office display cabinet with all of the other retired cameras. 

As the Nikon D500 will be the last crop sensor DSLR Nikon produces I am going to take the plunge and get one while I can before I'm forced to go mirrorless. Keep an eye out on the site for a review in the not too distant future.

There were around 130 cars advertised on the website as being at the show over the three days. If you are reading this report in 2024 and planning to go to the show which will be held over the weekend of the 23 - 25 February 2024, remember that historically there has been no rally stage on the Friday. 

Saturday is probably the best day to attend as by Sunday there will have been a few casualties that didn’t make it through the weekend, standard rallying to be fair. Also it was noted that a few cars were being trailered away early Sunday, casualties or just getting on the road early?

We were more than happy with the cars that were there on Sunday churning up the mud and leaves of Stoneleigh Park. I don’t know if 130 cars is a higher or lower figure than in previous years, but they keep us entertained and we were able to capture a few good snaps.

If you wanted to get a little closer to the action, most of the cars were also doing passenger rides on a tarmac course that ran parallel to the main rally stage. This also gave us the opportunity to check out the cars in a slightly different environment, and for those snapping away, a different background, although quite an ugly background so not many pictures taken by me.

So is Race Retro better than the pre-covid days? In short no, there is less to see in the halls, the paddock area is not as good as the old cow sheds that they used to be housed in. If the weather had turned inclement, the outside auto jumble and trade stalls would have suffered, not only from the weather, but the customers would not have browsed like they used to when it was under cover.