Masters Historic Racing is aiming to recreate 1970s saloon and sports car grids with its re-launch of the 70s Celebration series.

The Masters 70s Celebration series will cater for touring cars, saloon cars and sports cars from 1970 to 1979 and will have a class structure that allows Group 1 and Group 2 Touring Cars divided by engine size; Production Saloons divided by engine size and Production Sports Cars split at the 2.5-litre mark. In addition, there will be Invitation Classes for Aston Martin Lightweight cars and for period-style cars from the 1960s and 1980s.

Masters Historic Racing Event Manager Rachel Bailey said: “We are very keen to develop the 1970s era. There is a huge range of cars eligible for Masters 70s Celebration such as the Group 2 Ford Capris and BMW CSLs that we have seen in Interserie Revival. With cars from the ETCC and BTCC, plus Production Saloon Car racing that became so popular in the 1970s, we should be looking at full grids during the season. Equally, Production Sports Car racing grew in the 1970s and with Porsches, TVRs, Morgans and Lotus all being seen in period, we hope to build this into a very strong series.

“We have run races for 1970s cars in the past but, for 2012, we have put a proper class structure in place and can now provide more people with all manner of 1970s machinery with a place to race and something to aim for. With plenty of track time and some great venues in the UK and Europe, including Oulton Park, Barcelona, Brands Hatch, Spa and Donington, this should be a must-do series for owners of 1970s cars.”

With single races of 40-minute, or double-header 25 minute races during a weekend, 70s Celebration is offering more track time than other series for 1970s cars, and will feature mandatory pit stops allowing car-sharing to help costs.

The opening race will be at the Masters Historic Raceday at Oulton Park on Saturday March 17th.