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