Support grows ahead of UK historic racing comeback

The Historic Sports Car Club will run the annual Legends of Brands Super Prix at the Kent circuit this weekend and a week later (18-19 July) Masters Historic Racing has a re-scheduled date at Donington Park for the start of its European season.

They will be the first historic meetings to be held in the UK following the coronavirus pandemic, with the first club meetings of the year having already taken place last weekend.

With a largely UK-based competitor pool, the HSCC is upbeat about the response to Brands Hatch and has taken 330 entries for an 18-race programme, which is an increase on the same event in 2019.

"The response from our competitors has been excellent," said HSCC CEO Andy Dee-Crowne.

"There is clearly an appetite to go racing, even under the restrictions that are correctly in place to safeguard everyone involved."

Masters, which typically has a pan-European schedule, says that competitor support is encouraging but still mixed.

"The most important thing is to provide racing for our competitors," said events director Rachel Bailey.

"Our GT and Touring Car grids are good and climbing, but some of our other grids are still evolving. We think that the news on travel arrangements to the UK was a bit late coming for some of our European racers and obviously we have no drivers coming from the US at the moment."

Bailey believes that Masters' next UK date, at Brands Hatch in late August, will show increased support.

"It will build and we think people's confidence in travel will grow. Not everyone wants to go racing at the moment but the signs are encouraging across the board."