Jake Hill – Champion
The month of October kicked off with Jake Hill being crowned the British Touring Car Champion of 2024. A significant achievement for a genuinely nice bloke. Jake is a professional driver, often seen racing various Historic cars. He races a Group 1 Capri in the Gordon Spice Cup at Goodwood’s Members Meeting. He also races a Nissan Skyline GTR in the Motor Racing Legends Historic Touring Cars Series. Both cars are prepared and co driven by Ric Wood.
So, hearty congratulations Jake.
Changes at Motor Racing Legends:
Having taken over Motor Racing Legends in late April this year Aythorpe Investments Ltd headed by Shaun Lynn, historic racer announced the appointment of Pierre-Antoine Lecoutour who joins the organisation as CEO. The press release notes that Pierre-Antoine has a wealth of experience in Historic Motorsport; “he previously led the Peter Auto organisation; in which role he has been at the helm of events such as Le Mans Classic, Tour Auto, Chantilly Arts and Elegance, and the various Historic Racing Series by Peter Auto.”
Obviously the plan is to take the organisation to a whole new level so it will be interesting to watch progress. There is a suggestion that more events will be on the calendar next year.
The previous UK based historic motorsport organisation to take these steps was Masters Historic Racing, and of course both of these organisations provide the backbone of the annual Silverstone Festival. Worth noting that MRL concentrates on closed wheel (except for the pre war races) whereas Masters includes Formula 1 from 1967 onward.
Thank you to outgoing CEO and founder Duncan Wiltshire for getting the whole thing going and increasing interest in the category.
So, professionalism may be the watchword.
Professional Teams:
Historic Motorsport has long been viewed as an alternative to modern racing by many teams, witness Jordan Racing Team. The ex BTCC Champion Andrew and his dad Mike, now build and prepare a large number of cars for their own drivers and for owner drivers.
Whilst this doesn’t stop pure amateurs from entering, the fact is that they are up against teams and drivers who are able to spend time testing and honing their skills, whilst the amateur driver is sitting at his or her desk earning the entry fee.
Some organisations have spotted this and with the announcement of a 6hrs of Donington historic race to be held on 5th July 2025 Equipe Classic Racing made the following statement: “Please note that whilst professional drivers are allowed a full professional team will not be accepted. Please call to discuss should you have any questions.“ I think this means a pro am approach to entries.
The Equipe Classic Racing 6hrs of Donington also precludes the entry of the GT40, a car that has come to dominate the Spa 6hrs in recent years. They have a 40 car grid capacity and the entry fee is £3500.00 per team. Discounts do apply for Equipe members but see the announcement for details.
Another point to bear in mind is that this event clashes with the bi annual Le Mans Classic where most of the professionals will be plying their trade. It also means a lot of the E Types and Cobras may be off to France, thereby opening up the event to more of the club racers such as the TVR Vixen, MGB and MGAs etc. I understand a certain Gilbern GT will be entered.
back to October Events:
This month sees the HSCC Finals meeting on the Silverstone National Circuit on 12th and 13th October. Then the following week (testing on the 18th) Motor Racing Legends has its Grand Prix circuit meeting on 19th and 29th. This will see the first running of the newly announced GT3 Legends series, together with all the usual series including the Pall Mall Cup.
The Historic Racing Driver’s Club (HRDC) will also be in attendance with the Gerry Marshall Trophy, the Jack Sears Trophy and, the Allstars/Alfa Romeos. The meeting is being run from the National Pits, using the Historic Circuit, (effectively a smoother entry to Club Corner), rather than the Wing, so there’s a bit more space in the open paddock but smaller pit garages. Plenty of opportunity to meet the drivers and teams.
If you like to race in warmer climes, there’s the Algarve Classic Festival in Portimao on 25th to 27th October. If you’ve never been it is a treat. Great viewing and a tremendous circuit for racers. Among the entries are the UK’s Historic Grand Prix Cars Association for pre 1966 Formula 1 cars and the GT and Sports Car Cup. Lots of local series and championships make up the balance of the grids. This was always a personal favourite and provided a few podiums for me and my co drivers over the years.
That’s it for October but racing doesn’t stop. 02/03 November sees the Walter Hayes Trophy for Formula Ford 1600 cars return to the Silverstone National Circuit. Always a fun and exciting event.
References:
Click on the links below for more information.
Peter Mallett Racing 
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