Photographing the Masters Historic Racing Test Day

Donington Park 

7 March 2023

Race cars and motorcycles all over the UK are getting their final pre-race check overs, the winter dust covers have been tidied away and the trailers and transporters are being prepared for the new racing season.  And so another year of racing starts. March is traditionally the month that the various race series have their media and test days before the season starts in earnest in April.

So on a cold but bright March day we headed off to Donington Park to watch the Masters Historic Racing Test Day. I really like test days as it’s the first opportunity we get to see new cars that have joined the series and any cars sporting a new livery.

It was to be a far from a full grid on a cold Tuesday but more than enough to keep me occupied, and reflecting the testing element of the day, entrance was free of charge. 

The Masters website had all the information we needed to plan our day, with the first car on track at 09:00 and, importantly, a list of what was expected to be out on track.

Now if you are one of those that knows your Lola T70 Mk3B from your Lola T212 the list would have made sense to you. I'm in that group that knows you are going to keep reasonably warm in one, and the other is going to be decidedly chilly as you take the full force of cold March morning breeze in your face round the Craner Curves.

The Masters Historic Racing is an odd race series in that the PistonClick team didn’t deliberately start to follow or report on it. We kind of just keep turning up every year. For me it's now one of the events that I make a point of going to see during the racing season to photograph and one of the few chances to hear some proper old school loud engine noises in the UK. 

The main attraction is the F1 cars from 1966 to 1985. The sound is amazing and they look great from any angle. There were a few out at Donington, none of which were going fast enough to trouble the very different aero systems employed over the years.

It was a testing and cold track so it was understandable. These cars are part of motoring history and need to be preserved for future generations and treated with respect when being driven or they will bite with the unthinkable consequences. 

The Endurance race cars are also a fan favourite. With cars that raced from 1995 - 2016 in the Prototype and GT classes that raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours, or any of its feeder series this makes it an eclectic field.

The Prototypes are the ones for me to point my camera at. We will only see these cars in the UK on three occasions this year 7 - 8 April back at Donington,  Brands Hatch May 27 - 28 and the Silverstone Classic August 25 -27.

All of these events clash with other race series that I want to visit, so part of turning up for this test day was to make sure that I see the Masters Historic Racing in 2023, and I'm glad I did! 

The Dallara/Oreca DO-05 had a moment at the Old Hairpin losing the off side front wheel which looked to have split in half with the tyre coming completely off! This could have been disastrous if it had been driven at full race pace, luckily it wasn’t. It came back out later looking as good as new.

The remaining race cars testing were the Historic GT & Touring Cars, which included the Historic Touring Cars and Gentleman Drivers race series.

These are great cars to watch. The power of the American muscle taking on the agility of the British sports cars is always entertaining. Out of all of the test sessions these were the most enjoyable as there seemed to be a bit of a competitive element being introduced into the test day. 

Let's just say this group of cars caused the most red flags for spins and kept the hard working orange army busy recovering some classic metal from the kitty litter. 

In summary, the Masters Historic Racing Test Day is a good event for the spectator photographer to attend to get some pre-season snapping practice in. It has a great selection of vehicles on show with a time table that flowed nicely all day. And the cherry on top is that it's free. This event gets four PistonClick clicks.

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