First International Historic
Motorsport Show a Roaring Success
25 February 2004
The inaugural International Historic Motorsport Show which ran from
20-22 February 2004 at Stoneleigh was a hit with the historic racing
community and the general public alike, attracting over 16,000 visitors
over
its
first weekend and with 2,500 braving the cold to see the famous cars
and stars in action on the live rally circuit. The show provided an
overall view of the historic racing scene from early open-wheel racers
to modern rally classics and everything in between, giving car club
members, enthusiasts and general car-lovers alike the chance to revel
in the glorious past of world motorsport.
The prominent Pioneers
of Motorsport display at the entrance to the show
gave a clear
view
of
what was in
store
with
the
six represented
car clubs each displaying a piece of motorsport history. From the
magnificent Maserati 8CM from Donington's Grand Prix Collection to
the beautifully restored
Steyr Allard hillclimb car of
Kerry Honran shown by the Midland Automobile Club, each car showed
a pioneering moment in its respective branch of motorsport. Also
on the
stand, the
Vintage Sports Car Club were showing the not-so-vintage,
but certainly historic Ferrari F1-2000 - the car with which Michael
Schumacher took nine wins in the 2000 F1 season, and which
will be on track at the VSCC's "See Red" Ferrari Festival
at Donington later
in the year.
Two
feature displays in hall 2 covered historic Rally and Trials cars with
such gems as Paddy Hopkirk's 1966 Mini Cooper S and the Gp.B era
Audi and Lancia supercars on the stands. The exhibits didn't end there
however, with many of the series organisers, car clubs and current
manufacturers displaying racing legends. The Aston Martin Owners Club
was one such exhibitor attracting more than a few adminiring glances
at the wonderful, original 1959 Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1.
The H&H Classic Auction on the Saturday of the show was also a huge
success with over 70% of the lots being sold - a total value of £1.1Million-worth
of classic road and race cars.
Saturday also saw the Historic Motorsport Awards Charity dinner
at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, hosted by Amanda
Stretton, and in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent
GCVO. The awards were presented in the following categories in front
of almost 300 guests, with proceeds from the event to help Shelsley
Walsh, who have already
raised £400,000 through their efforts to date, and The Motorsport
Safety
Fund.
| Award |
Winner |
Presented by |
| Championship of the Year |
FIA Lurani Trophy / FJHRA |
Sir Stirling Moss to Duncan Rabagliati |
| Speed Event of the Year |
Midland Automobile Club Shelsley Walsh Festival |
Russell Brookes to Martyn Griffiths |
| Road Rally of the Year |
Liege-Rome-Liege |
Paddy Hopkirk to Jean Paul Dispas, on behalf of
Alain Defalle |
| Off-Road Event of the Year |
MCC Land's End Trial |
Pentti Airikkala to John Hayes (President of
the MCC) |
| Competition Club of the Year |
Historic Sports Car Club |
Rosemary Smith to Grahame White |
| Motorsport Company of the Year |
The Blockley Tyre Company |
Peter Digny (Chairman of the MIA and MD of
Xtrac) to Julian Mazjub |
| Race Driver of the Year |
Martin Walford |
Mike Whatley (Chief Executive of TGP and
Chairman of the 750MC) |
| Rally Driver of the Year |
Frank Fennell |
David Sutton |
| Restoration of the Year |
Hall and Hall |
John Quenby (Classic British Quality Charter)
to Rick Hall and Rob Hall |
| Journalist of the Year |
Marcus Pye |
Carol Spagg (Historic Motor Racing News) |
| Contribution to Safety |
Safety Devices |
Stuart Turner (Motorsport Safety Fund) to
Tony Fall |
| Lifetime Achievement Award |
John Brown (Historic Endurance Rally Organisation) |
Introduced by Russell Brookes; presented by HRH Prince Michael
of Kent |
The cold weather didn't dampen spirits and the show was nicely rounded
out with its live Rally Stage which saw rally
greats headed up by Pentti
Airikkala and Russell Brookes, getting their classic machinery sideways
and dirty as they do best around a weaving stage within the scenic
grounds of Stoneleigh's show ground. The dazzling array of classic
Escort RS' and Mini Coopers were a joy to see in action with Pentti
Airikkala's 1978 Chevette HSR and the awesome 1981 Audi Sport Quattro
driven by Steve Perez being the star crowd-pullers. Russell Brookes
pushed his 1971 Escort Twin Cam perhaps a touch too far with it losing
a wheel on the second Saturday stage of the event. Images from the
show and this live rally stage are available here.
See official site for Historic
Motorsport International
Related Story 15.02.2004 - Rally
Stars Gather for
International Historic Show
