THRUXTON STEPS BACK IN TIME FOR SPECTACULAR HISTORIC MEETING

Thruxton Circuit rolled back the years this past weekend (June 11/12) as a bumper crowd flocked trackside to savour the annual Historic meeting.

Now a regular fixture on the UK motorsport calendar having debuted back in 2018 as part of the venues 50th Anniversary celebrations, the two-day spectacle brought legendary machines and racers together for an adrenaline rush like no other.

One of the headline acts of the weekend was undoubtedly the two-part Jochen Rindt Trophy, which celebrated the best single-seater race cars with up to 2-litre engines from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Race one saw a fascinating head-to-head battle take place between Benn Tilley and Rob Wainwright – with Tilley narrowly pipping him to the chequered flag by less than a second. Wainwright was able to strike back in the second bout however as he claimed victory ahead of Matthew Wright and won the prestigious Jochen Rindt Trophy.

Former British F1 driver, Derek Warwick was also in attendance to watch drivers race for the Jochen Rindt Trophy and was reunited with his Formula 3 cars from 1977 and 1978.

Outright honours in the HRDC ‘Classic Alfa Challenge’ went the way of James Wright whilst Jamie Boot guided his TVR Griffiths to the top step of the podium in the HRDC ‘Dunlop Allstars’ for Pre-’66 Sports GT & Touring Cars.

Whilst the latest crop of British Touring Car Championship racers starred up at Oulton Park, those at Thruxton wound back the clock courtesy of the HRDC Jack Sears Trophy. Neil Brown and Richard Dutton proved to be the perfect combination as they teamed up to pilot their Lotus Ford Cortina Mk.1 to the top step of the odium.

Tipped as one to watch in the lead up to the event, Ric Wood and his Nissan Skyline GTR delivered a mighty drive to claim outright honours in the Historic Touring Car Challenge with Tony Dron Trophy.

Pre-61 sportscars took centre stage in the one-hour RAC Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy race – and it didn’t disappoint. Boasting an eclectic mix of iconic machines, Ben Adam emerged as the driver to beat as he guided his Lola Mk1 to victory in commanding fashion.

Rounding out the list of race winners was Pippa Cow and Tom Walker, who scored a win apiece in the Lackford Engineering Midget & Sprite Challenge, Andrew and Max Banks who triumphed in the Sixties Touring Car Challenge with U2TC and the duo of Wrigley and Wainwright, who were the victors of the sole Pre 63 GT & Jaguar Classic Challenge contest.

Unmissable action also took place in the skies above during the course of the weekend as a new heritage aviation feature paid homage to the venues role in WW2 and its ongoing use as a training facility and home to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Service.

One of the headline attractions was a flypast from the iconic Spitfire on Saturday and Hurricane on Sunday from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flught. Whilst the equally jaw-dropping Augusta Bell Sioux and the Westland Scout, amongst many others, were on the ground and available to be viewed up close.

Elsewhere, a record number of car clubs were in attendance and on display for all to see across both days. Leading Land Rover clubs were out in force in particular as they played their part in the Land Rover Legends show, which celebrated the history of the marque in style.

Thruxton’s next major event takes place on July 9/10 as the British Truck Racing Championship thunders into town to headline the highly-anticipated Convoy on the Plain weekend.

Advance tickets are available to purchase for the titans of truck racing, as well as the upcoming BSB and BTCC.