History in the Making at Thruxton Easter Revival

This year’s evocative Thruxton Easter Revival (19-20 April) will not just be celebrating the very best of motor sport history – it will also be making motor racing history all of its own. The special two-day event was established 12 months ago and harks back to the famous Easter race meetings of the late Sixties and Seventies, when all the top drivers of the day would compete at the super-fast Hampshire airfield circuit in front of huge holiday crowds.Back then, racing legends – including world champions Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt – would wow the packed spectator banks racing in iconic Formula 2, sports and saloon cars. Many of those fabulous machines will be back reliving those golden years competing at the spectacular Easter Revival.Adding to this year’s excitement, the action-packed programme also includes the opening rounds of the eagerly-anticipated new HSCC Super Touring Car Championship.Fronted by the British Touring Car Championship here in Britain, Super Touring was the global saloon car racing phenomenon in the Nineties, with a host of major manufacturers keen to prove the sportiness of familiar family cars on the world’s racetracks. Formula One teams including Williams and McLaren were commissioned by the likes of Renault and BMW to create what remain the most high-tech generation of racing tin-tops ever seen. The F1-inspired cars weren’t only incredibly fast but the no-holds-barred, bumper-to-bumper racing served up a feast of entertainment followed by millions on television.Two decades later, many of those super saloons are being prepared once again for battle. Over the past few years, a handful of one-off revival races have been held. These proved so popular with competitors and fans alike that now a full-blown championship has been re-established. Later this summer, rounds will be staged at Oulton Park, Brands Hatch and Silverstone – history will be made, though, when Thruxton hosts the inaugural two rounds at Easter.It’s going to be a magical occasion that no touring car fan will want to miss, not least as the welcome Super Touring rebirth has seen several of the star drivers from that glorious epoch dusting off their overalls. Both double BTCC champion John Cleland and touring car legend Patrick Watts are expected to be among those rolling back the years at Thruxton, as late Nineties models of the ilk of the BMW 320i, Honda Accord, Nissan Primera, Vauxhall Vectra and Williams Renault Laguna prepare to go wheel-to-wheel with the fearsome, flame-spitting Ford Sierra RS500.“We are honoured that Thruxton will be hosting the very first rounds of the new Super Touring Car Championship,” said Bill Coombs, Thruxton Group Managing Director. “Lots of us grew up watching those epic BTCC battles on our TVs and so it’s great to see so many of those fantastic cars – not to mention a few of the illustrious drivers – recreating what was a memorable period in motor sport history. Thruxton is the fastest and most challenging circuit in the UK and thus the perfect place for fans to see these incredible machines back in breath-taking action.”Tickets for the Thruxton Easter Revival are already on sale either online via the official http://www.thruxtonracing.co.uk/ website or by calling the ticket office on 01264 882200.


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