FROM PALL MALL TO PIT LANE: THE CLUB AT DONINGTON HISTORIC FESTIVAL
Over the bank holiday weekend, our motoring correspondent Alice Locke caught up with some of the Club’s racing members at the ever-brilliant Donington Historic Festival. The spotlight was on the Pall Mall Cup, proudly supported by the Royal Automobile Club.
One of two Motor Racing Legends series run in association with the Club, the Pall Mall Cup takes its name from the Club’s historic London home and celebrates the golden era of endurance racing. The grid featured a glorious mix of pre-’66 GT, GTS, and touring cars, plus pre-’61 sports-racing machinery, all battling over a flat-out, two-hour race. To add some spice (and strategy), each team of two or three competitors had to make two pit stops – one quick and one longer refuelling stop of five minutes.
Variety, as ever, was the order of the day. And this round certainly served up an all-star cast: E-types, Cobras, Elans, MGBs galore – plus a mighty Mustang, a feisty TVR Grantura, and a vanishingly rare Porsche 901.
Friday began with glorious but cool sunshine – ideal conditions for qualifying and a welcome respite from the previous sweltering days. Among the Club contingent Frederic Wakeman, sharing a Cobra with two team-mates, made the most of the perfect conditions. With blistering pace and impressive consistency across all three drivers, they bagged second on the grid. In endurance racing, consistency is key, and these three were all within a few seconds of each other.
But as if hurling a Cobra around wasn’t enough for Frederic, he also strapped into an Audi GT3 and then a Cooper T38 alongside fellow Club member Patrick Blakeney-Edwards for the other Club-backed series: the Woodcote Trophy. Jumping between cars with wildly different handling, braking and grip is no small feat, but Frederic clearly relishes the challenge. He praised the use of Donington Park’s full Grand Prix circuit, saying the lesser-used layout made for an exciting change.
Though his Cobra sadly retired just nine laps into the Pall Mall Cup, Frederic’s weekend wasn’t over. He and Patrick bounced back to win the Woodcote Trophy despite a drive-through penalty for a too-early driver change. As that series runs as a championship, the win put them in a strong position for the rest of the season.
Also in the mix was Club member Karsten Le Blanc, behind the wheel of the stunning Porsche 901, shared with two teammates. A stalwart of the Pall Mall Cup since its early days, Karsten’s standout memory remains the post-lockdown comeback race, where he and his “Covid cycling group” took the win. This weekend, he too was double-duty, switching between the 901 and an Austin-Healey 3000. Karsten praised the high driving standards and the warm hospitality, calling the Pall Mall Cup a perennial favourite. He also tipped his hat to the new two-hour format, calling it kinder on the old machinery.
There was an added incentive for the Pall Mall Cup in the form of a special prize for the first Club member to cross the line. That honour went to Simon Drabble, who shared his MGB with his son Alex – earning them two Club-branded caps and dinner at the Club. Simon also scooped second in class, crediting it to sharp strategy and an even sharper pit stop.
Hot on Simon’s heels came another MGB – this one piloted by Club member Richard Locke (yes, my dad and co-driver!). Taking part in his very first Pall Mall Cup, Richard thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was impressed by the remarkable driving standards: no red flags, no safety cars, and barely a yellow flag was seen across the two-hour race. The weekend ended on dual high notes, with top-notch hospitality and a live band belting out classic hits.
The next outing for the Pall Mall Cup will be at the Navarra Historic event in Spain this October, ahead of the season finale at Silverstone. The Woodcote Trophy will also feature at both, with additional rounds at Silverstone Festival and Spa-Francorchamps beforehand.
