The Donington Historic Festival returned to Donington Park, Leicestershire, on May 2–4, 2025, ushering in a new era under Aythorpe Promotions Limited, which took over the event following its acquisition of historic race promoter Motor Racing Legends in 2024.
Happily, the Donington Historic Festival’s latest chapter is off to a strong start. For fans roaming the paddock, the impact of the ownership change was immediately obvious.
A brand refresh – characterised by apt 1970s-inspired motor sport iconography – as well as a layout overhaul, meant the event felt fresh and the visitor experience more refined. The all-new paddock village was a major improvement and served as a central hub for the event, occupied by food and drink stands, retailers, exhibits and more.
The focus of the event, however, rightly remained on the thrilling racing and breathtaking demonstration runs around Donington Park’s undulating 2.55-mile ribbon of Tarmac. As ever, the event boasted an incredibly diverse line-up of Historic racing grids, ranging from pre-war pioneers to race cars from the 2000s.
Highlights of the race card included the combined Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy for pre-’61 sports cars, the HRDC Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1 saloon cars of the 1970s and early ‘80s, as well as the Historic Touring Car Challenge and Tony Dron Trophy for 1970s touring cars.
The new GT Legends contest was perhaps the most keenly anticipated event, however, and saw packed grids of GT1, GT2 and GT3 race cars of the 2000s compete for the top step of the podium. The line-up of cars included the Aston Martin V12 GT3, Ferrari 458 GT3 and Dodge Viper GT3-R. The V12 Aston proved indomitable in the hands of Jonathan Mitchell, who won both the Saturday and Sunday events.
Fans of fearsome pre-war racing machinery were intrigued by the presence of four Bentley Continuation cars – three Blowers and a Speed Six – that raced not only against one another but also against their near-100-year-old counterparts in the ‘Mad Jack’ Pre-War Sports Cars Race. The race was won by Gareth Burnett in his Alta Sports.
Other highlights included the Jaguar Classic Challenge, which saw E-types and Mk2 saloons battle for position; the HSCC Super Touring Car Challenge for 1990s tin-top racers; and the Dunlop Allstars for pre-’66 sports, GT and saloon cars.
The most eagerly anticipated part of the weekend for many, however, were the earsplitting Formula 1 car demonstration runs. On Saturday and Sunday, former Ferrari, Force India and Renault F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella returned to the cockpit of his 1997 Bennetton B197 – the very machine in which he made his Grand Prix debut.
The banshee scream of Fisichella’s Renault V10 engine was only rivalled by the Williams FW22 that 2009 World Champion Jenson Button drove in his first F1 race in 2000. While Button himself wasn’t behind the wheel, fans were nonetheless awestruck by the speed and sound of the BMW V10-powered machine.
The next edition of the Donington Historic Festival will take place in spring, 2026. Dates are expected to be announced in the coming months. For more information, click here.
