A new historic racing festival is to be held at the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit next year. This will be the first event in the newly inaugurated GP Euro Series, run by Grand Prix Events Limited (GPE) - formed at the start of 2006 by three leading organisations in historic motor sport: private bank Arbuthnot Latham, the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association, and The Masters Series.

The aim will be to stage prestigious historic motor racing events for the enjoyment of drivers, spectators and their families, and likely entries will come from owners of cars that raced from the 1920s to the 1970s, such as Ferrari, McLaren, Brabham, Maserati, Bugatti, Tyrrell, Lotus, BRM and Cooper.

The organisers expect that the event will "Delight the eye and the ear, and provide close and exciting racing".

Working with the Donington Park circuit owners, and with many existing and new promotional partners, GPE has commissioned leading international events specialists, Goose, whose clients include major corporations such as Whitbread and Unilever, to work with the planned racing spectacular, and to stage a host of family activities to entertain both regular motor sport enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

Further plans include a major display paddock, so that visitors can get up close and see all the Grand Prix cars in a manner rarely achieved elsewhere. Races will feature sports cars from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as GP cars, when all the Grand Prix teams also competed in two-seater racing. Air displays, funfairs, and the world famous Donington Grand Prix Collection, the largest display of Grand Prix racing cars in the world, plus a host of other attractions will add to the fun in what is planned to be a spectacular event for enthusiasts and their families.

The GP Euro Series is set to develop into a series of historic motor sport weekends with a number of prestigious, international race meetings in future years. The title sponsor and other companies who have pledged their support will be unveiled, together with the full programme for the Donington Park May event, at a future on-circuit launch.

The Chairman of GPE, Christopher Tate, in announcing today this May meeting at Donington Park, alongside his colleagues Julian Sutton from HGPCA and John Reed from Arbuthnot Latham, said:

“Donington in early May will see all our races to best advantage - on a circuit loved by drivers and spectators, affording an intimate look at the greatest Grand Prix cars from the most charismatic era of motor sport. Whilst there are several wonderful classic race meetings already offered to the UK public, none focuses so heavily on the drivers and teams behind these great cars, or combines the motor sport with the family entertainment which is so vital to bring the crowds back to trackside.”

A website for GP Euro Series will be launched shortly, and details on tickets and suite sales and all commercial opportunities will be available from HGPCA’s and Masters’ regular websites www.hgpca.net, and www.themastersseries.com, or from Burak Alpar at Arbuthnot Latham, on +44(0)20 7012 2000.

Text: Classic Driver
Photo: 1936 Donington Grand Prix winning Alfa Romeo 8C-35 previously owned by Robert Arbuthnot. Picture courtesy of current owner Peter Greenfield