Tour Britannia route to be unveiled at Race Retro

More details about the route for Tour Britannia (7-9 June) will be unveiled at Race Retro, the International Historic Motorsport Show, at Stoneleigh (24-26 February).
 
Classic venues like the Croft and Cadwell Park race circuits are already confirmed along with the famous Harewood Hillclimb and the awesome Oliver’s Mount motorcycle course at Scarborough. More venues for both races and asphalt special stages will be revealed at Race Retro, where Tour Britannia will have its regular position in the main ‘speed street’, Hall 2 stand 36.
 
“We’ve been busy with the final stages of route planning over the last few weeks and have some interesting news to announce both to our regular competitors and prospective new entrants,” said event director Alec Poole. “We’re inviting everyone to come to Race Retro and see what we have in store for this year. I think it will be one of the best routes we’ve had so far.”
 
Tour Britannia is Britain’s only classic race and rally tour and the eighth running of this unique event will be based in Yorkshire. The Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate will host documentation and scrutineering during Wednesday 6 June before another first for the event, a special prologue stage in the grounds of the hotel on Wednesday evening.
 
Thursday’s leg will take in the event’s first visit to Croft as well as Oliver’s Mount, along with a brand new special stage venue never previously used on the tour. Friday’s route will include Cadwell Park and Harewood, while on Saturday the route heads south before finishing in the Midlands.
 
Running alongside the classic event will be Targa Britannia, a parallel event open to any post ’75 road legal car, including sports, GT and saloon cars capable of carrying a crew of two, and complying with MSA race regulations.

Targa Britannia launched at Autosport International

Targa Britannia, a race and rally tour for modern cars, was launched at Autosport International. The event, which will run in parallel to the well-established Tour Britannia (7-9 June) will open this type of competition to owners of modern cars, having previously only been accessible to those in classic pre ’75 machinery. The traditional event for pre ’75 cars will run to its well-established and popular format.

Targa Britannia will give competitors the chance to tackle a unique event in British motor sport, with three full days of competition including three races and quality asphalt special stages at up to a dozen venues including the Harewood hillclimb and the sensational Oliver’s Mount motorcycle course. The competition car is driven between each venue, providing a challenge for both driver and co-driver as the public road route takes in some glorious British scenery. The total competitive element makes the tour excellent value for money when compared to single-day race meetings and the vibrant social atmosphere will add to the sense of occasion.

The existing Tour Britannia will remain the province of the older cars and will remain unchanged. The two events will share a common route, taking in three races and a series of asphalt special stages during three days of competition. The event will be based at Harrogate and includes races at Croft, Cadwell Park and Mallory Park.

In 2011, Mike Smith and Ian Ashley contested an invitation class of Tour Britannia in a Caterham R500 when their intended Porsche 911RSR hit gearbox problems just before the event. “It was a fantastic experience,” said Smith. “I don’t think anyone had ever competed across the Epynt ranges in the rain in an R500 before.”

Now, event organiser Alec Poole has decided to open the tour up to more modern cars. “We think there are plenty of competitors out there with modern machinery who would like the chance to tackle something rather different,” said Poole.

Targa Britannia will be open to any post ’75 road legal car, including sports, GT and saloon cars capable of carrying a crew of two, and complying with MSA race regulations. This covers items like roll cage, fire extinguisher, harnesses and towing eyes. Drivers must have race licences, while the co-driver only needs a basic MSA licence, available from £39.

There will be three classes: up to 1600cc, 1600cc to 2000cc and over 3000cc. The organisers will cap the field at 35 cars to allow the entire Targa field to compete in a single race, while the main Targa award will be based on an Index of Performance to give the less powerful cars an equal chance of success. Team prizes will be awarded within the Targa event.

Co-drivers will work with a straightforward road book to guide their driver from one venue to another. The co-drivers stay in the car for the special stages, but leave it to the drivers at the race circuits.
Finally, to make the event as flexible as possible for potential entrants, competitors can join in for a single day if they wish but would not be eligible for any awards other than ‘Driver of the Day’. Their day will run for 24 hours from 6pm the previous evening so that cars can be scrutineered and paperwork completed before having dinner and then being ready to start the following morning.

Meet Tour Britannia at Autosport International

Organisers from Tour Britannia will be on hand at Autosport International (12/13 January 2012) to meet prospective entrants as Britain’s only classic race and rally tour heads for its biggest entry to date.

Event director Alec Poole will be hand during Thursday and Friday of the show and will be based with the Historic Sports Car Club (stand 6700 in Hall 6), where he will be available to chat with anyone interested in the event as well as give updates to regular competitors.

With over five months to go before the start of the 2012 Tour Britannia, more than 25 entries are already confirmed, which represents the highest number ever received so far in advance of the event.

Early entries in the competition event include Tour regulars Mike Smith/Ian Ashley (Porsche 911 RSR) and Stuart Scott/Steve Wood (Chevrolet Camaro), while Yorkshire crew Roger Kilty and Lynette Banks are back with their Ford Escort Mk1 RS1600 and aiming to put their local knowledge to good effect. As one of the few drivers with experience of racing, rallying and speed events, Kilty is well placed to challenge for the overall podium. The concurrent regularity event already has entries ranging from an MGA to a Ferrari 250GT Lusso.

The eighth running of this unique event will be based in Yorkshire and will run from 7-9 June, offering crews in both the competition and regularity events three full days of action taking in some old favourite locations as well as several new venues. Tour Britannia will be based at the Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate, which will host documentation and scrutineering during Wednesday 6 June before another first for the event, a special prologue stage in the grounds of the hotel on Wednesday evening.

Tour Britannia announces partnership with Bonhams and EFG International

Tour Britannia is delighted to announce that Bonhams Auctioneers and EFG International (represented in the UK by EFG Private Bank) have become the main partners of Britain’s premier race and rally tour for classic cars. 

Tour Britannia is one of Europe’s leading historic motoring events offering the entrant the choice of the more relaxed regularity category or full-blown competition category. Following the very successful 2011 event, the 2012 Tour Britannia will run from 7-9 June and base itself around the beautiful Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate.

Welcoming Bonhams and EFG International’s commitment to the event, Tour Britannia’s Alec Poole said: “Bonhams has assisted us greatly over the years and we are thrilled that Europe’s foremost collectors’ motor car auction house has become one of our main partners. Bonhams has a long standing partnership with EFG International, which is known for its commitment to historic motoring, and I welcome them alongside Bonhams.”

James Knight, Bonhams’ Group Motoring Director commented: “The Bonhams motoring team has thoroughly enjoyed participating on the Tour; we regard it as a perfect fit to our portfolio of events, and it was only natural to further raise our profile with Tour Britannia.”

Keith Gapp, Head of Strategic Marketing & Communications, EFG International, said: “It is a pleasure to be partnering with Tour Britannia, alongside Bonhams, with whom we have a very strong relationship. Tour Britannia has made strong progress in recent years, and we look forward to supporting its continued development.”

Details of Bonhams' forthcoming auctions can be found at www.bonhams.com.

For more information on EFG International, visit www.efginternational.com. To learn more about its commitment to historic motoring, visit www.efgmotorracing.com

Dates Announced for Tour Britannia and its Baby Brother

Tour Britannia 7, 8 & 9 June 2012

Mini Britannia 6 October 2012

It seems only days since we were in Llandudno for Mini Britannia but already it's full steam ahead planning for two events once again next year.

Speaking of Llandudno, we must say a huge thank you to all the competitors who supported us on the inaugural Mini Britannia and all the marshals and officials who worked so hard to help us put it together in just 10 weeks.

Given that short time frame, it was really pleasing to receive so much positive feedback and that has encouraged us to do it all again next year, on Saturday 6^th October.

But first, in June, it will be Tour Britannia. From its Harrogate base, the three day event will take in a variety of venues in Yorkshire and the North Midlands.

2011 has been a landmark year for us. The more challenging format for Tour Britannia has been widely welcomed by competitors and we are not resting on our laurels. We have some very special venues lined up for you next year, including race tracks, hill climb courses and classic rally stages.

Both events will once again run classic competition and regularity events in tandem, while a Targa class will be open to modern vehicles.

Further information, along with entry forms for both events, is available at www.tourbritannia.com with an early bird entry fee available for Tour Britannia until December 19^th. We look forward to hearing from friends, new and old, very soon.