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What’s on and Who’s who at Race Retro? – 23-25 February 2018

Who to look out for at the Race Retro show 2018? 

Legendary Formula One designers John Barnard and Frank Dernie will appear on the Motor SportLive Stage at Warwickshire’s Stoneleigh Park on Saturday 24th February. They will be talking about their careers, the cars they influenced and how their designs are still used in modern motorsport.(John Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula 1: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in 1981 with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox which he introduced with Ferrari in 1989.)

Frank Dernie studied engineering at the Imperial College London university where he developed suspension geometry software that was seen by senior engineers of the Hesketh Formula One team. He joined the Hesketh F1 team for 1976, and at the age of 26 designed his first Formula One racing car, the 308E. Frank was the first racing car designer to develop software to aid Formula One car design.

Triple British Touring Car Champion Matt Neal will make his debut at Race Retro. Matt, who is also a record six-time BTCC Independents Champion, will talk about his career as well as signing autographs for enthusiasts at the three-day show.

Rally legend Miki Biasion will be back behind the wheel at Race Retro, to mark 30 years since his first World Rally Championship title in 1988. Best known for his career with Lancia, in action on the Live Rally Stage with the crews from Rallying with Group B on the Saturday and Sunday. (Biasion came to prominence in the early 1980s, winning both the Italian and European Rally Championships in 1983, driving a Lancia 037.)

Racing legend Brian Redman, the most recent racing driver to be inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame, will make his debut at Race Retro. Excelling in sports cars and Formula 5000, Lancashire-born Brian raced a supercharged Morris Minor Traveller at Rufforth in 1959. It was six years before his career gained momentum when almost unbeatable in Charles Bridges’ lightweight Jaguar E-type during 1965.

When he moved into sports cars, Brian was first found behind the wheel of the Lola T70 moving onto the Ford GT40, which he drove in the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours. Brian also raced in Formula 2 in the Lola T100-Ford and he ended 1967 by winning the non-championship Kyalami Nine Hours with Wyer’s Mirage M1-Ford and Jacky Ickx. Brian made his GP debut in South Africa with a works Cooper T81-Maserati and he finished third next time out in Spain, now driving a BRM-powered T86B.

What to look out for? 

Race Retro, will pay tribute to the late great Dan Gurney at this year’s show, with the last Formula One car Gurney raced on display – the McLaren M14A. American racing driver Dan Gurney, who died in January at the age of 86, won four Grands Prix including the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix behind the wheel of his own car, the Eagle-Westlake T1G, which he entered under his Anglo American Racers banner. He also competed in NASCAR and at the Indy 500 throughout the 1960s. While Gurney never secured the win at the Indy, he started from the front row and scored three top-three finishing positions.

Few racing cars are restored forty years later by the very people that built it in the first place, but that’s exactly what’s happened to the little-known Connew F1 car, which will be on display in the Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live.

Peter Connew was a designer at Team Surtees who decided to build his very own F1 car and in 1970 set out to do just that. The first designs were drawn up by Peter early that year, and although the car was completed by spring 1972 what’s truly amazing is the team comprised just three people working on a tiny budget.

The Historic Sports Car Club will have a major eight-car display at Race Retro, showcasing the forthcoming racing season with the display at the heart of Race Retro, located in ‘Speed Street’ in the event’s main hall. The cars on show will represent the tremendous variety and depth of the club’s racing programme, which opens its 52nd season at Donington Park in early April.

With a portfolio of 16 championships and series, the Club remains at the forefront of historic racing and the range of HSCC racing will be evidenced by cars ranging from the front-engined, front-wheel drive Bond Formula Junior to the 2017 title-winning Classic Formula 3 Ralt RT3 of Gaius Ghinn. A Mallock Mk21 represents Classic Clubmans, while the Road Sports classes are illustrated by another 2017 title winner, the Morgan Plus 8 raced by Will Plant.

The cars on show with the HSCC at Race Retro will be:
Classic Formula 3: Ralt RT3 from Gaius Ghinn
Historic Formula Junior: Bond from Jon Goddard-Watts
Guards Trophy: Chevron B8 from Westie Mitchell
Classic Clubmans: Mallock Mk21 from John Harrison
Historic Formula Ford: Merlyn Mk20 from Marcus Pye
Historic Touring Cars: Ford Anglia from Neil Wood
Historic Road Sports: Morgan Plus 8 from Richard Plant
Historic Sporting Trials: Cannon from Frank Lyons

Tickets are now on sale for Race Retro, held from February 23-25 2018 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, with free parking for all visitors. For the latest updates and ticket information, visit www.raceretro.com.

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