19 & 20 April 2008.
The successful Grande Passione historic racing extravaganza returns to Donington in 2008.
The inaugural Grande Passione meeting in May this year was very well received by all concerned.
The drivers, the press, the track, the preparers, the stewards, the marshals and the thousands of visitors who braved the wet bank holiday weekend weather were all impressed with the streamlined paddock layout for close-up viewing plus the impressive grids featuring very rare and authentic marque examples. They enjoyed some of the best historic racing anywhere last spring.
Encouraged by this very positive response, Grand Events Ltd (GPE) is running the event again in 2008 at Donington Park on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April.
The very popular ‘Speed Street’ race car display and paddock based assembly area are back. So too the Drivers’ Club area, Drivers’ Gala Dinner, trade sales presentation & car clubs but GPE are adding extra features for 2008:
• The passionate Ferrari Owners Club will be present in force and they will be running two races of their Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic grid featuring cars from the pre 1990 era. Expect to see very fast 308s, 328s and GT4s wheel to wheel.
• A 90 minute headlight race into the dusk on the Saturday night by the charismatic Gentleman Drivers over 2 litre grid. This race will feature some of the most expensive and famous pre ’65 GT and Sports Cars by Ferrari, AC, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Maserati and more.
• Proto 70s – new for ’08, a grid of prototype cars that ran at Le Mans in period. A decade of awesome machines including Sauber, Osella, Lola, Chevron, March and many more.
Grande Passione – sets your heart racing!
260 of the greatest racing cars ever made will battle for each sweeping curve of Donington Park in 14 races. The meeting is rightly called Grande Passione.
Grand Prix cars covering a 50 year golden era of racing will be competing and you can get up close to them all in the Paddock. See the actual cars driven by legends; Moss, Fangio, Hawthorn, Clark, Hill, Brooks, Surtees, Brabham, Hunt, Fittipaldi, Stewart, Rindt, Reutemann Beltoise, Cevert, Bonnier and Peterson.
The front engine pre ‘61 grid you should see the ex Phil Hill Monza GP winning Ferrari 246 versus the Lister Monzapolis versus the ex Rob Walker Connaught b-type.
In the rear engine pre ‘66 grid don’t miss a gaggle of the early 2½ litre Cooper’s ex Moss/Trintignant/Brabham battling with the later V8’s, T66 T73 originally driven by McLaren/Amon/Gardner/Hill/Bonnier
All the important marques of the period are represented in the F1 grids; Cooper, Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, BRM, Lotus, McLaren, Tyrrell, Connaught, Matra, Wolf, March, and more. Many of the cars in the pre-78 race were those driven by stars of the 1970’s driven to F1 podium positions in period. Most racing enthusiasts agree there’s nothing quite as electrifying as hearing a grid full of DFV engines on the red line.
Speed is everything
Normally at home at Le Mans, the awesome Lola MkIIIb’s and Porsche 917 go head to head with a rare Ferrari 3 litre prototype, Alfa T33 in the big class with Chevrons, Lolas and many more adding more muscle. Their advanced aerodynamics gives these cars exceptional speed around Donington’s famous fast sweeps and long straights.
Lots of litres means lots of fun
The 5 litre V8s of the Lola T70s & GT40s will be in the thick of the racing action. Expect ground shaking excitement as these titans dice with McLaren M1Bs at breath taking speeds through the Craner Curves with Elvas, Lotuses and Merlyns nibbling at their heals.
Not so gentle Gentleman racers double up
Our Gentleman Drivers will deliver the most closely fought battles in some of the most stylish pre ’66 GT designs. Expect to see SWB Ferrari 250s & 275s, Aston Martin Zagatos, lightweight ‘E’-Types, the shattering Cobras and charismatic Bizzarinis.
New for 2008 is a separate race for the Under 2 litre GT cars with MGBs, Morgans, Alfa Romeos and Lotus Elites and more locked in close battle. These races will feature two drivers with mandatory pit stops and is always popular at historic festivals.
Sports car heaven
The sports car class provides some of the most beautiful and charismatic machines from the ‘50s. The lines of the ‘C’ Type Jaguar, Aston Martin, Maserati, HWM and OSCA are unmistakeable. The outright performance of these 50 year old cars will amaze you too. So will the ability of the drivers to drift them through the corners on their narrow racing tyres. The disc brake class will feature Cooper-Monaco’s versus Lister-Jaguars originally driven in battles by Archie Scott Brown/RoySalvadori/Jack Brabham, and the drum brakes class features Maserati 300S vs thundering Allards against the tiny Cooper Bobtails. The event website contains an exciting 4 minutes video overview of the 2007 meeting: gpeuroseries.com
Provisional Race Programme:Saturday 19th April, 200811 x Qualifying Sessions and 5 x Races:The Speedmaster Grand Prix Masters (Race 1)HGPCA pre ’61 GP (Race 1)The Hagerty World Sportscar Masters (Race 1)Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic (Race 1)JCB Gentleman Drivers over 2 litres (Race)Sunday 20th April, 200811 x Races:JCB Gentleman Drivers under 2 litre (Race)HGPCA pre ’66 GP (Race 1)The Conforto Sports Racing Masters (Race)HGPCA pre ’52 (Race)The Hagerty World Sportcar Masters (Race 2)HGPCA pre ’61 GP (Race 2)The Speedmaster Grand Prix Masters (Race 2)Proto 70s (race)HGPCA pre ’66 GP (Race 2)Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic (Race 2)HGPCA Sportscars
Who is behind Grand Prix Events Ltd?
Three of the leading organisations in historic motorsport; The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA), The Masters Racing Series (GPM) and private bank Arbuthnot Latham Co. (AL), have come together to form Grand Prix Events (GPE). The objectives of GPE are to organise and promote international historic motorsport events offering a high quality experience for drivers and spectators, and to raise the profile of historic motorsport.
GPE is owned equally by the three Founders: GPM, HGPCA and AL, who represent the leading organisations at the heart of historic motorsport, each with a long-established presence in the field. They have a single vision of raising the profile of historic motorsport, and by channelling their resources through GPE believe they can strengthen their efforts to this end.
