2012 and All That.

As part of my efforts of moderating the 10/10s Motorsport Forum I have undertaken the task of populating the 10/10s Historic Event Calendar in the Historic Racing Today Forum.  Basically the idea is to consolidate all of the event calendars published by the various clubs and organisers, into one location for the posters and readers of the forum.  

Of course this exercise also highlights the increasingly crowded nature of the calendar.  So with that in mind I thought I'd kick start the 2012 season by pointing to a few events that, in my opinion, should not be missed.  (The usual caveat that dates are subject to change).

January:  Ok, not much on in this month but of course the annual Autosports International is always good to visit, even if these days it's a bit more like Max Power meets page three of the Sun!  A wander around the exhibition will often lead to that specialist who has just the part for your FJ or Anglia.  And of course the major clubs are there promoting their championships or series.  Look out for the HSCC who will no doubt be pushing its Martini Trophy for 2litre Sports Prototypes.  Great cars and the makings of a fantastic championship.

February:  Again a quiet month but there is Race Retro.  Here you can sign up for the 360 MRC 6hrs of Snetterton (highly recommended) or the Olympic Breakfast Sprint.  Look out for the 360 MRC stand.  If you are looking for new race gear then there's Racewear.co.uk or Demon Tweeks not forgetting Grand Prix Racewear.

March:  Here's where it all kicks off.  Goodwood on 9th and 10th sees the annual visit by the Masters Racing Series for its track day weekend.  For the US enthusiats there's the Sebring Classic from 1st to 4th.  This month is noteable for the Historic Racing Drivers Club Press Day at Silverstone on 31st.

April:  6th to 8th of this month means a trip to Nogaro in France for the Classic Endurance Racing - Trofeo Nastro Rosso, heading to Snetterton on 14th and 15th of this month will be the Classic Sports Car Club. 

May:  5th/6th (I will admit to some bias with the opening event of this month) for the third running of the 360MRC 6hrs of Snetterton and this year it becomes a two day festival.  On the bill will be all the HRDC series races plus the club's own sprint race and of course the 6hrs itself.  Having won the class in the previous two years I will sadly not be able to enter the 6hrs this year but we do have the Capri in the sprint race and the MGB will hopefully be in the MGB50 HRDC race.  Sadly this clashes with the Donington Historic Festival which sees the opening round of the new JD Classics Touring Cars series, one wonders why events such as these are subject to such clashes but hey ho, I know where I will be.

June:  If for no other reason than it is the world's largest single marque car club, you should make an effort to visit the MG Car Club's MG Live event at Silverstone on 23/24 June.  Prior to that the Spa Francorchamps Summer Classic takes place on 15 to 17th of this month.  We are hoping to be there sharing a D Type replica and running the MGB in the HRDC MGB 50 race.

July: Le Mans Classic 6th to 8th, need I say more?  Then 20th to 23rd, head to Silverstone for the Classic. The following weekend (28th/29th) may be a good time to visit Mallory Park for the CTCRC Classic Festival.  All the CTCRC Championships plus some interesting guest races.

August:  This month opens at Croft with the HSCC and its Nostalgia Weekend on 4th and 5th, Masters are at the Oldtimer (Nurburgring) 24th - 26th and the HSCC has its Gold Cup at Oulton Park 25th to 27th.  Another major clash!

September:  Goodwood Revival 14th-16th, followed by 6hrs of Spa Francorchamps 21st to 23rd.

October: This month has the mouthwatering prospect of a visit to the Algarve, Portimao to be precise for the Algarve Historic Festival 18th to 21st.  The JD Classics Touring Cars are on this bill.

We'll leave November and December for now. ;)

Happy new year.