Donington Historic Festival To Race On Grand Prix Circuit

By
George Ketsatis
-

It will be a step into the unknown for competitors at the Donington Historic Festival on the Early May Bank Holiday weekend, with a first-ever visit to the circuit’s Melbourne loop. 

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Throughout the history of Donington Historic Festival, track action has taken place on the circuit’s National layout. However, for 2025, event organisers Motor Racing Legends has taken the decision to run on the full Donington Park GP Circuit, for the best competitor – and spectator – experience possible.

“The experience for our drivers is always forefront in our minds when we’re considering our direction,” says Pierre-Antoine Lecoutour, CEO of Motor Racing Legends. “We had a lot of conversations with entrants over the winter and from those conversations, we believe that the best racing, and the best driver experience, will come from using the Melbourne loop. Principally, it gives two more overtaking opportunities on the lap, but there are also plenty of benefits from running on a longer circuit.”

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Having come down the back straight, competitors in 2025 will take the left-right at Fogarty esses before plunging downhill for Melbourne Hairpin and climbing back for the final turn, Goddards. Both Melbourne and Goddards are excellent overtaking opportunities, as famously proven by Ayrton Senna in 1993, and extremely popular spectator viewing is available around large parts of the loop.
Taking place on 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May, the event is the first Motor Racing Legends weekend of the year on British soil, and will celebrate 10 decades of motorsport history with cars from the 1920s, in Pre-War Sports Cars, to the 2010s in GT3 Legends. Opening the season for Pre-War Sports Cars is the ‘Mad Jack’ race, highlighting the 90th anniversary of the first Donington Grand Prix in 1935, while U2TC, returning to standalone grids, will enjoy two forty-minute races at its first race weekend of the year.
17 races are scheduled across three days, with racing from Friday afternoon. Saturday night’s showpiece will see the Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup race into the gloaming, with a three-hour race set to finish just before eight o’clock. 
The timetable for Donington Historic Festival is available as downloas here.

Entries are open for the 2025 Motor Racing Legends season 

MRL Club members receive a discount on entry fees and an extra 10% off any entry made before 1st March. Race entries, membership and more are handled through the Motor Racing Legends app, available here.

more information

The 2025 Motor Racing Legends calendar:
27th March
Motor Racing Legends Club Exclusive Test Day
Goodwood

4th-6th April
Portimão, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
(Category 2)
1950s Sportscars European Challenge*, HTCC and Tony Dron Trophy, GT3 Legends European Challenge**

2nd-4th May
Donington Historic Festival, Donington GP
(Category 1)
Pre-War Sportscars, Stirling Moss Trophy and Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, HMRN Pre ’63 GT, Royal Automobile Pall Mall Cup, U2TC, HTCC and Tony Dron Trophy, GT3 Legends

27th-29th June
Motor Racing Legends Snetterton Classic,Snetterton 300
(Category 2)
U2TC, HTCC and Tony Dron Trophy

22nd-24th August
Silverstone Festival, Silverstone GP
(Category 1)
Stirling Moss Trophy and Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, HMRN Pre ’63 GT, HTCC and Tony Dron Trophy, GT3 Legends

1st September
Motor Racing Legends Club Exclusive Test Day
Goodwood

25th-27th September
Spa Six Hours, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
(Category 1)
Pre-War Sportscars, Stirling Moss Trophy and Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, GT3 Legends

9th October
Motor Racing Legends Club Exclusive Test Day
Circuito de Navarra

10th-12th October
Motor Racing Legends Navarra Historic,
Circuito de Navarra (Category 2)
Pre-War Sportscars, 1950s Sportscars European Challenge*, HMRN Pre ’63 GT, Royal Automobile Pall Mall Cup, U2TC, European Historic Touring Cars Cup***, GT3 Legends European Challenge**

17th October
Motor Racing Legends Club Exclusive Test Day
Silverstone GP

18th-19th October
Motor Racing Legends Silverstone GP,
Silverstone GP (Category 2)
Pre-War Sportscars, Stirling Moss Trophy and Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, HMRN Pre ’63 GT, Royal Automobile Pall Mall Cup, U2TC, HTCC and Tony Dron Trophy

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