COMING UP…
Things are heating up now, literally and figuratively. Make space in your diary for these fabulous summertime events
23-26 June
La Leggenda di Bassano Based in Bassano del Grappa in northern Italy, this regularity rally for pre-1961 racecars is as popular with slack-jawed onlookers as it is with the entrants.
laleggendadibassano.com
23-26 June Goodwood Festival of Speed The theme for this year is ‘The Innovators – Masterminds of Motorsport’, so expect to see landmark cars of the past and bleeding-edge modern machinery blasting up the hill at Goodwood.
goodwood.com
24-26 June
Summer Trial
The beginner-friendly Summer Trial will be held in Lincolnshire this time, with things kicking off in Grantham. Crews will drive some 400 miles in total, tackling eight special tests along the way.
heroevents.eu
24-26 June
Rallye Père-Fille
The relaxed rally for father-and-daughter crews will be based in Monte Carlo for the first time.
happyfewracing.com
28-30 June
London Concours
Eighty of the world’s finest cars gather in the gardens of the Royal Artillery Company, hidden away in the heart of the City of London. Among the classes is ‘Coachbuilt and Concepts’, which will include creations such as a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow pick-up truck.
londonconcours.co.uk
29 June – 3 July Abruzzo Gran Tour & Circuito di Avezzano
This regularity rally for open cars takes crews to sites of historical interest around Avezzano in Italy, and will end, as always, with a night drive around the city.
circuitodiavezzano.it
30 June – 3 July
Le Mans Classic
Thanks to Covid, this normally biennial event hasn’t been held since 2018, so the crowd is sure to be even more appreciative than usual as cars spanning 87 years of Le Mans history do battle.
lemansclassic.com
2 July
ACE in Motion Tour Organised in aid of ACE SMA, a charity supporting children with spinal muscular atrophy, this driving tour of Oxfordshire begins at Bicester Heritage and stops off at Williams Heritage.
heroevents.eu
2-3 July Heveningham Concours
The field of classics and supercars at Heveningham Hall in Suffolk will be complemented by a display of a dozen vintage aircraft, including four famous Spitfires.
heveninghamconcours.com
2-3 July
The Ellis Journey
A re-enactment of the first UK journey made by motor car, but two- and three-wheeled machines are welcome, too, as long as they were built before 1905. The 43-mile drive from Micheldever Station to Datchet is on Sunday, while on Saturday entrants display their vehicles at the Norton Park Hotel, just outside Winchester.
ellisjourney.co.uk
2-3 July
Back to Blackpool
TVR was born in Blackpool 75 years ago this year, and marque club Blackpool Thunder has arranged two days of birthday celebrations. As part of the Blackpool Carnival, there will be a static display of TVRs on Blackpool Promenade, and the cars will lead off the traditional Carnival Procession, too.
blackpoolthunder.com
8-10 July International Classic Car Meeting Baden-Baden
The German spa town of Baden-Baden gets even prettier with the arrival of 350 classic cars.
oldtimer-meeting.de
8-10 July Dragstalgia
Santa Pod serves up the sights, sounds and smells of drag racing in years gone by.
santapod.co.uk
9 July
Concours d’Elegance at Copshaholm
This concours in South Bend, Indiana, is organised by the Studebaker National Museum, but you wouldn’t know it: there’s a dedicated class this year for Chrysler, and other marques abound in classes such as ‘The American Pony Car’.
concoursatcopshaholm.org
9 July
Brooklands Years Relived
The cars, motorcycles and bicycles that appeared at Brooklands between 1907 and 1939 return to evoke the atmosphere of a pre-war race meeting.
brooklandsmuseum.com
10 July
Rally of the Giants
The Pre-’50 American Auto Club heads to Blenheim Palace, bringing with it some cars rarely seen on this side of the pond.
pre50aac.com
15-17 July
Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort F1 cars, Le Mans prototypes and more go flat-out at Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands.
historicgrandprix.nl
16 July
VSCC Silverstone Meeting The Vintage Sports-Car Club first raced at Silverstone in April 1949, and some of the cars that lined up at that first meeting will be back in action 73 years later.
vscc.co.uk
16-17 July
Classic Nostalgia
Cars at Shelsley Walsh will include some 20 BRMs to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the marque’s F1 Manufacturers’ Championship win.
classicnostalgia.co.uk
17 July
Classics & Supercars Sherborne Castle in Dorset welcomes more than 2000 cars old and new.
classic-supercars.co.uk
19-21 July
Yorkshire Elegance
Held over three days and including a meeting at Harewood Hillclimb, a concours and garden party at Bowcliffe Hall and a tour of the Yorkshire Dales.
thefastlaneclub.com
20 July
Austin 7 Centenary Festival of Motorsport Prescott Hill Climb throws a party to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Austin Seven.
prescotthillclimb.co.uk
20-23 July
Ennstal Classic
This, the organisers claim, is ‘driving in the last paradise’: three days of regularities and hillclimbs in the mountainous Austrian province of Styria.
ennstal-classic.at
21-23 July
Eifel Rallye Festival
Held on closed stages used in the German rally championship, this event invariably features and excellent line-up of cars.
eifel-rallye-festival.de
22-24 July
CarFest North
Chris Evans and Pudsey Bear will be joined at Bolesworth in Cheshire by Richard Ashcroft, Nile Rodgers and others.
carfest.org
29-31 July
Oulton Park Gold Cup
The packed grids at Oulton Park will boast an array of singleseaters, sports cars and saloons, but there will be plenty to enjoy away from the track, too.
oultonparkgoldcup.com
5-7 August Copenhagen Historic GP Flat-out fun in the Danish capital on a 2.6km street circuit, with great cars and some famous faces.
chgp.dk