Eligibility & Technical Update Post-Donington Historic Festival
With the Motor Racing Legends Donington Historic Festival kicking off the 2026 season, here is the official update from the eligibility area covering the work carried out over the course of the weekend.
Pre-War Sports Cars
The variety of cars in Pre-War Sports Cars continues to make for one of the most colourful grids in historic racing. At Donington, we started work on reclassifying the cars more appropriately between the HTP and non-HTP categories. The aim was to make better use of the existing pit stop time differences (15 seconds versus 30 seconds) to help balance the grid.
From a technical point of view, this was implemented before qualifying, although not perfectly, and we recognise that further work is required on our side to refine the process ahead of the remaining rounds this season.
The Index of Performance was also trialled during the weekend and showed encouraging signs in balancing performance and the differing ages of the cars across the grid. It is still early days, but work is already underway on an aggregate classification system for the next round, together with refinements to the coefficients, which should help move things in the right direction.
HMRN Pre '63 GT & Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup
Overall, the level of eligibility compliance across both grids in relation to the regulations and technical notes issued since last year deserves recognition. A considerable number of cars arrived updated to the correct specification, and we would like to thank competitors and preparers for the work undertaken.
A number of items were picked up during Thursday scrutineering and early Friday morning inspections, including brake cooling, wheel dimensions and confirmation of applicable rev limits. Working alongside the Eligibility Team, we were able to address and correct these points over the course of the event.
The important point is that corrections were made and guidance provided. The next step will be continuing discussions with the relevant competitors to avoid repeat issues moving forward.
Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy
This weekend marked the beginning of a broader review process to assess where the cars currently sit and what may be required moving forward.
At this stage, the intention is not to become overly prescriptive, but rather to allow things to come together properly before making any firm decisions. With the expanded Eligibility Team expected at Brands Hatch, we hope to continue working closely with competitors and preparers both on and off the grid to help maintain the success of the category.
Generations Trophy
The Generations Trophy remains a genuinely strong concept and one that has generated a lot of positive discussion around the paddock. A great deal has been learned simply through listening to competitors, teams and general feedback throughout the weekend. In particular, the introduction of the rolling road programme for the full season gives us an excellent monitoring tool, not just for engines, but for understanding the cars as a whole.
Discussions have already started regarding several technical specifics, and these will continue ahead of the next round, although at present there is nothing significant to report from an eligibility perspective.
Equally, with no cars currently running GRP body panels, we believe this can now be removed from the eligibility focus moving forward.
One point does remain worth reiterating: the regulations are intentionally specific. Reference weights and dimensions are not provided for pre-scrutineering purposes, but to allow us to verify components should issues arise. The same applies to MSD enforcement. While implementation may sometimes be costly, it remains important that we have the correct tools available to uphold the regulations consistently.
The Generations Trophy continues to demonstrate exactly what historic racing should be all about. It is not solely about outright performance or winning races, but about participation, enthusiasm and shared experience across generations. If awards existed for both the most chaotic pit lane and the loudest support during a pit stop window, this grid would surely have claimed both this weekend.
Historic Touring Car Challenge
The variety and presentation of the Historic Touring Car Challenge grid was excellent throughout the weekend. From Group 1+ machinery through to AWD turbo Group A cars, the series continues to showcase a fantastic spread of eras and technical approaches while remaining highly competitive throughout the field.
Constructive discussions took place with several preparers regarding current technical trends, and work is now progressing towards a field trial of a pop-off valve system at Brands Hatch. One preparer has volunteered to assist with trialling the equipment, allowing us to better understand both fitment and operation.
Alongside the work carried out within the pre-war category, we also reviewed the current classification structure with a view towards possible future refinement, potentially including an index-based element moving forward. There is still work to be done, but overall, the category remains in a very healthy position.
Action Plan Going Forward
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Ensure full MSD implementation across all grids where mandated, alongside enforcement of the applicable rev limits
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Continue supporting and clarifying specification requirements, particularly regarding brake cooling limitations and wheel width regulations detailed within the Technical Notes
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Follow up directly with competitors regarding all points identified at Donington to ensure compliance ahead of the next round
As always, please contact eligibility@motorracinglegends.com should you have any questions regarding eligibility or technical matters; we are here to help.
