The 2009 Motorsport calendar is now go at Lydden Hill, with some mouth-watering racing coming up for the remainder of the winter season and the start of the new season, we have some very exciting racing from prestigious two and four wheeled genres of Motorsport.
The 2008 season was very exciting times for Lydden, not least with nearly £1m of investment into the circuit, facilities and updating but also we enjoyed fantastic racing from the MSA British Rallycross Championship, British Drift Championship, Historic Bikes, Champ Cars, the amazing birth of the BHP Performance Show and even some Charity Bike Riding (of the pedal kind).
The most welcome news and probably one of the biggest Motorsport headlines from 2008 was the announcement that the European Rallycross Championship will be returning to Lydden after a ten-year absence on UK soil, not least after a lot of hard work, planning and development, to all those involved we are eternally grateful and this can only mean bigger and better things to come for Rallycross in the future.
The 2009 calender kicked-off in style last Saturday (3rd January) with another Rallycross return in the form of a 2-round Winter Series Championship, organised by the newly formed Lydden Hill Motorsport Club and with accreditation from the MSA - Round two of this championship takes place on the 7th February where an 'over-subscribed' entry list is expected from European and British competitors who are wanting to use the opportunity for testing after the winter developments in preperation for the 2009 ERC Round one.
Moving further down the calender we welcome the return of SEMSEC (South East Motorsports Enthusiasts Club) who will be making appearances each month from April until September with the ever popular Saloon and Sportscar Championship.
Making a return to the Lydden Circuit will be the ACU and AMCA British Supermoto Championship where top Supermoto riders from the UK and Ireland will be battling for honours in Round three on 16th May.
The British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) have confirmed their slots for May and October with spectacular Championship Car Racing, also expect to see the Classic Touring Cars make a return in July followed by Vintage Motorcycle Racing scheduled for August.
The Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship has swapped its regular Easter Monday slot to Bank Holiday Monday 25th May making way for the 'bill-topping' Round one of the European Rallycross Championship on the 19th/20th April. Meanwhile the MSA BRC will retain its regular August Bank Holiday Monday (31st) outing.
The second BHP Performance Show is confirmed for Bank Holiday Monday 4th May with a special Japanese edition to the show making its debut on Saturday 19th September.
Also making a much anticipated return is the 'Lord of Lydden' event hosted by BEMSEE in October, this spectacular event features modern and vintage Motorcycle racing including the famous 'Sidecar Burnup'!
Finishing off the highlighted portions of the 2009 calendar will be the much anticipated 'ProDrift - Battle of Nations' taking place mid October where the top four Drifters from each Euro country will be battling it out for the ultimate title.
Coupled with around thirteen dedicated Car and Motorcycle 'Track Days' the first of which takes place on the 17th January, we really do have something to offer everyone with our Jaw-dropping Calendar for 2009. We thank you wholeheartedly for your support during 2008 and can't wait to see you trackside or even on-track in the very near future at the 'new' Lydden Hill Race Circuit.
