The Donington Historic Festival 2026 brought together 400 cars across 14 grids, marking the opening round of the Motor Racing Legends season. The event was also followed remotely by more than 100,000 viewers via live streaming.
One of the weekend’s notable additions was the MGB Generations Trophy, which assembled 36 family-based entries and included around 15 novice drivers; it was won by Nick and Harry Whale.
The Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup attracted a 40-car grid featuring ten marques. The field included a range of period competition machinery, from the Aston Martin DB4 GT and Ford Falcon to the Lotus Elan 26R, Shelby Cobra 289 and Porsche 911. The two-hour race, held on Saturday evening, was won by Lukas Halusa and Alex Ames in the Jaguar E-type Lightweight Low Drag.
The Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy race was won by Pearson and Brundle in a Lister Jaguar Knobbly. The Mad Jack for Pre-War Sports Cars races were both won by Rudi Friedrichs in an Alvis Firefly Special.
Elsewhere, the programme included a broad range of historic machinery. Pre-war representation featured the Maserati 8C 3000, while the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan appeared in the pre-1963 GT category. Later-period entries included the Jaguar XJS in the Historic Touring Car Challenge, but victory went to Muldoon and Kellett in a BMW M3 E30 in race one, while the Middlehurst duo took victory in race two in a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32.
The Gerry Marshall trophy for older touring cars was won by Michael Whitaker in a Rover SD1. The Top Hat Pre ’66 Touring Car race was won by Spiers and Greensall in a Ford Mustang, while the HRDC Allstars/Classic Alfa Challenge was won by the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint of Ben Colburn. The Pre-63 GT races were won by Guy Pearson, who teamed up with Steve Soper for race two, in a Jaguar E-type.
Single-seater racing was represented on the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association grid, with cars such as the Ferrari 246 Dino; both races were won by Tom Waterfield in a Cooper T53 F1-2-61. The Silverline Formula Junior Championship race was won by Stuart Roach in an Alexis Mk2, while the 1961-1963 era race was won by Alex Ames in a Brabham BT6.
Demonstration runs also included later machinery, notably the Footwork FA13. More recent competition cars were present in the GT3 Legends category, which featured 28 entries from the 2000s and 2010s. Both races were won by Jonathan Mitchell in an Aston Martin Vantage V12. Away from the track, a selection of modern road cars was displayed, including the Ferrari SF90 Spider, Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport and Lamborghini Aventador SVJ.
The Motor Racing Legends season continues on June 19–21 at Brands Hatch with the inaugural London Historic Trophy, which will also introduce a new category for 2-litre sportscars. More details can be found here.
