HRH Princes Marie and the Royal ProAm winners 2009 photo Maria Laub

Copenhagen Grand Prix

This year the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix will focus on the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo. Highlights during the weekend will be demonstrations by noteworthy Alfa Romeo racing cars and the official Danish launch of the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, one of which will serve as course car for the event in full race trim. A large display area has also been reserved for the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, who will be bringing cars form all over Europe.
 
Jakob Vigelsø, who is in charge of CHGP 2010, has kept the popular Royal ProAm race on the schedule. This race, in which amateur owners share their cars with international and professional motor racing stars, will include such drivers as local heroes, Tom Kristensen and Casper Elgaard alongside icons from abroad, Jan Lammers, Gijs van Lennep and Jackie Oliver, with the “royal” part of the race supplied by event patron HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark.

Other races on the programme are for pre-’66 Touring Cars, pre-’66 GT and GTS, Touring and GT up to 1971 (split into two races, for under and over 1300cc), racing cars up to 1947 and a round of the Danish Championship for Touring and GTS cars up to 1976. Fitting for a city circuit, there will also be a race this year for hybrid racing and road cars. 
 
Among the many historic racers who have already signed up is the Dutch team State of Art, with two beautiful 1955 Porsche Spyder 550-1500 RS. 


Just outside the circuit the largest show ever of classic road cars in Denmark will be on display in the Classic Car Park. With more than 600 classics, the free parking lot has developed into a unique manifestation of the huge and growing interest for classic cars and historic motorsport in Denmark.

Race date is 7-8 August. See www.chgp.net for more details.

Association Sportive

The most active club in France for historic racing, ASAVÉ (Association sportive automobile des véhicules d’époque) will renew its successful challenge for the ninth year. The Challenge ASAVÉ is open to GT and Touring cars built from 1947 to 1976 (split into two age categories: up to 1965 and up to ’76) and incorporates a special cup for Porsche cars (Coupe Georges Sevin) and a special class for Gordini-engined cars.

The 2010 calendar is a full one: having raced on 2-4 April at Val de Vienne, they move on to Charade on 30 April-2 May; 11-13 June Croix-en-Ternois; 2-3 July Spa (2-hour race for one or two drivers); 3-5 September Nogaro; 1- 3 October Dijon (3-hour race not counting for the championship); 22- 24 October Lédenon.

The Challenge ASAVÉ, along with the other historic French Championships, enjoys the full support of the FFSA, the country’s ASN, and race meetings are organised where all the French Championships can participate.

For regulations and information contact Alain Goupy on +33 (0)6 11 48 38 28, email: alainagoupy(at)aol.com or see the web site at www.challenge-gt-tourisme.com.

Historic Grand Prix at the Canadian GP

30 or so historic Grand Prix cars, from the late ‘60s through the mid-‘80s, will be competing next June 11-13 at the Grand Prix of Canada, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, making a second visit for these cars, that produced such an impressive grid in 2004 at Montreal. Historic Grand Prix Racing will not only race their cars, but the owners/drivers will also showcase their cars in a tent that is accessible to the general public in the support race paddocks.

François Dumontier, president of Octane Racing Group and promoter of the event enthused, “Each time they go on track, it is one of the most popular moments of the weekend. The list of cars entered is impressive and a true reflection of the history of the first decades of the Canadian Grand Prix. They include cars that our loyal fans can relate to and cars that were successful on Canadian soil.”

“Historic Grand Prix are thrilled to be invited” said James King, co-director of HGP. “Our owners and drivers are as enthusiastic about the sport as the fans attending the race and we have fond memories of our last visit to Montréal in 2004. We plan on bringing two Gilles Villeneuve Ferraris to Montréal, his 1978 312 T-4 and the 1979 312 T-5. Both these cars were at the 2004 event and the reception from the Montreal fans was something none of us will forget. Several of us in HGP raced with and knew Gilles in his Formula Atlantic days and we hold him in very special esteem. He was a talent and a character second to none and we are honored to be able to bring some of his history back to Montreal”

Historic Grand Prix includes several Canadian owner-drivers who plan to participate in the 2010 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada. Brothers Brad and Dean Baker from Oshawa respectively drive a 1973 BRM P-160 and a 1973 Brabham BT-42. Keith Frieser from Edmonton has a 1973 Shadow DN-1, and Ottawa resident Hamish Somerville drives a Williams FW-07B, the same model that enabled Alan Jones to win the 1980 Grand Prix of Canada and to be crowned that yearʼs Formula 1 World Champion. Contact rebecca(at)historicgrandprix.com for entries and information.

Circuit International des Remparts d’Angoulême 2010

The Circuit International des Remparts revival event has taken place each year for decades now, and has always proved very popular with participants and spectators alike. This year it will take place on the 3rd weekend of September (17-19) on the street circuit that boasts it is the only one that has remained unchanged since the inaugural race meeting there, in 1939.

Not just a race meeting, the whole town of Angoulême gives itself over to celebrating the automobile, starting with the Concours d’Elégance on Friday night at 9pm with a parade of some thirty automobiles and their teams in their period dresses compèred by Yves Lecoq. Also from Friday onwards some 15 unique cars from one of the most prestigious French private collections will be displayed in the town hall gardens.

On Saturday the Rally will be travelling through the lush region of Cognac vineyards, where about 370 teams are expected to take part in discovering the rich Charentese heritage.

On Sunday, the historic races will revive urban speedway racing. The track will be painted red and blue and the tens of thousands of spectators will once again be in festive mood.

For further information see the website: www.circuit-des-remparts.com

Belgian Historic Cup

Building on two successful seasons, the Belgian Historic Cup goes ahead again this year as a RACB-sanctioned National Championship starting with an April 10 kickoff at Zolder. With further races at the Spa Summer Classic event on 3rd July and then another round at Zolder supporting the 24-Hour race on 19 August, the series returns to Spa on 26 September for a one-hour race before finishing the season on 23 October at the Nürburgring. Organising club BRAVO, reports that more and more foreign drivers are joining the series.

The Historic Cup is actually three Cups, as there are three main categories, Class 1 is the Historic Cup and includes homologated cars built up to end 1981; Class 2 is the Classic Cup, also for cars up to the end 1981 but allowing for modifications that must date prior to 1982. Class 3 is for the Youngtimers Cup and also enjoys numerous exemptions limited to construction year-end 1988. No turbos are accepted.

Further details can be found at www.bravo-racing.be.

Formula Ford Zetec in France

Recovering from a long period of neglect in France, Formula Ford is coming out of its coma, thanks to TOP organiser Jean-Paul Couilliot, who last year organised no fewer than 10 races for Formula Ford Zetec, named after the engine that Ford equipped these cars with between 1993 and 2006. 2010 will mark the second year of this new series, and the signs are good that the low-cost formula has attracted many cars and drivers from around Europe, including the young German Klaus-Dieter Häckel (Van Diemen) and a half dozen Swiss, the quickest of which are François Jeanneret (Swift), John Salmona (Tatuus) and Jo Zosso (Tatuus), 1st, 4th and 5th respectively in last year’s points. The French contingent is headed by André François (Van Diemen), who was second last year, Bruno Tacussel (Swift), Jean-Michel Ogier (Mygale) and Patrick Pin (Mygale).

A car can be bought for about 12,000 Euros, and the Zetec engine has a legendary reliability. Further, series sponsor, Yokahama furnishes long-lasting, all-weather tyres to competitors keeping the costs of racing these cars affordable.

Having kicked off at the prestigious Le Mans Series meeting at Paul Ricard in April, the series, from this year a formal FFSA Championship, will have six races including 1-2 May Charade; 5-6 June Lédenon; 3-4 July Spa; 4-5 September Nogaro and 13 November Dijon.

Ricard Celebrations

Plans for the Paul Ricard 40th Anniversary celebrations (see our March issue) have changed, from a day of partying in July – to a weekend of partying and racing in October. In effect, all the festivities planned for the anniversary party, will now take place at the 10,000 Tours meeting on October 8-10, where a full racing programme is scheduled.

A large public is expected, this time with the freedom to visit the whole site, and a long and illustrious list of guests have accepted the invitation to come and share their memories - from Marshals, to journalists, to the drivers and riders who wrote the history of the Paul Ricard circuit. Exhibits, both static and rolling, will mark the weekend and there will be a gala celebration dinner in the evening.

More information will be on the web site soon at www.circuitpaulricard.com or see the new 10,000 Tours web site at www.dixmilletours.com.

Spa Summer Classic

Veteran race organisers Roadbook, headed by Alain Defalle and Vincent Collard, has presented the races scheduled for their Spa Summer Classic meeting. On such a big circuit as Spa, many organisers have banded together to run grids within grids of similar cars. The announced races for the 2-4 July meeting are:

1.Spa Long-Distance Cup with Yokohama FHR Roschmann Cup and Masters Historic Racing

2.Spa 100 Miles Trophy with FHR 100 Meilen Trophy and FHR Classic Super Cup and Masters Historic Racing

3.Spa Ardennes Challenge in collaboration with Barry Sidery Smith

4.Classic K (Classic Sorts Car Club) and Historische Tourenwagen und GT (HTGT)

5.Classic Sports Car Club Swinging Sixties (CSCC)

6.Classic Sports Car Club Inter-Series Cup (CSCC)

7.Sport Proto Cup (Masters Historic Racing) and Sports 2000 (SRCC)

8.Monoposto Racing Club and Formule Zetec (T.O.P.)

9.Belgian Historic Cup

For more information contact individual organisers or Roadbook.

Spa Six Hours

This is the big one from Roadbook, with over 600 cars and 1000 drivers in attendance. Dates for this popular meeting have been set for 24-26 September and entry forms for the Six Hour race itself are already available on the Roadbook web site: www.roadbook.be.