Historic racers can expect to see some changes in the format of the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship, as the British Racing Drivers’ Club has appointed Motor Racing Legends to run the well-known series from 2008 onwards – and some significant alterations are planned.

Says Duncan Wiltshire of Motor Racing Legends, “It is a great privilege to be asked by the BRDC, the most prestigious motor racing club in the world, to manage its Historic Sportscar Championship.”

Stuart Pringle, Secretary of the BRDC, adds, “We’re confident that Motor Racing Legends’ experience of organising historic races at the top level of the sport will be hugely beneficial. Working together, our aim is to build on the name and ethos of the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship but also to attract a greater number of entrants and restore the vitality which the series has perhaps lacked in recent years.”

To this end, Motor Racing Legends is introducing a number of changes, as Duncan Wiltshire explains:

“The BRDC Historic Sportscars will be run as a series of individual invitation races, and no longer as a Championship. In this way, Motor Racing Legends can ensure that participants’ cars conform to the spirit of the series, encouraging the owners and drivers of highly original cars to come ‘out of the woodwork’ and return to the track.



“Secondly, we intend to see longer races – ideally with two drivers per entry – each held at a top-calibre historic event. Competitors in our existing two race series tell us that these are the events which interest them most, and we believe this format will prove the most popular for BRDC Historic Sportscar entrants.

“Finally, our aim is to encourage entries from genuine sportscars built before the end of December 1959. Again, the intention is to please the majority of competitors who enjoy racing against cars from a similar era and of similar performance.”

The BRDC’s decision follows the success of Motor Racing Legends’ other races and series, which will continue to be run independently of the BRDC races: the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for pre-1956 sportscars, launched in 2006; the Motor Racing Legends Pre-War Sports Car Series, launched in 2004; and the annual Le Mans Legend, historic support race to the Le Mans 24 Hours, which was first run in 2001.

For more information, see www.motorracinglegends.com

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: BRDC / Motor Racing Legends