Historic F1 cars set to headline the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival live track action
A stunning collection of historic F1 cars will roar around the Pembrey Circuit when some of the most iconic cars of the 1990s put on a spectacular show at the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival is coming to Pembrey Circuit on Sunday 21 September.
And in between runs, the historic F1 cars be housed in the Pembrey Circuit pit garages – an area off-limits to spectators during a normal race meeting, but which will be open to the public during the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival; giving unprecedented access to the cars, teams and drivers.
Last year James Belton’s thrilled the crowd in his magnificent Minardi M198. Powered by a Ford JD Zetec-R V10 engine, the team drivers in 1998 were Shinji Nakano and rookie Esteban Tuero, with the Japanese driver giving the team its best result of the season with seventh at the Canadian Grand Prix.
This year the Pembrokeshire driver will be joined by several other historic F1 drivers, including Steve Griffiths, who brings his beautiful Jordan 195 to Pembrey. Powered by a Peugeot A10 3-litre V10 engine, this car raced in the 1995 Formula 1 World Championship – the highlight of which was a double podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Rubens Barrichello finishing second and Eddie Irvine third.
Benetton was one of the many F1 teams that came to test at Pembrey Circuit before and between F1 races, and a Benetton-Ford B193 is returning to the Home of Welsh Motorsport. Steve Ottavianelli’s glorious race car was designed by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, powered by a Cosworth HBA V8 engine and driven in the 1993 season by two true F1 legends - Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese.
One of the most distinctive F1 cars of the 1990s, courtesy of its Miami Blue colour scheme and advanced Adrian Newey designed aerodynamic concepts, will be also at Pembrey – with Richard Hope driving the eye-catching Leyton House CG901. Powered by a 3.5-litre Judd EV V8 engine, it was driven in the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship by Ivan Capelli and Maurício Gugelmin.
An even rarer sight is a Forti Corse race car, originally driven in the team’s last F1 season in 1996 by Luca Badoer. Forti didn’t have the financial clout of the big teams, and the car was uncompetitive – even with a powerful Ford ECA Zetec-R 90-degree V8 engine. This magnificently restored example comes from the Martin Stretton Racing stable.
In addition to the historic F1 cars, there will be a Nissan World Series Dallara SN01 (driven by Lee Newnham), a Lola F3000 (driven by Juan Moreno), a GP2 McLaren (driven by David Went), a Reynard 94D F3000 (driven by Neil Harrison) and a very rare 1964 Netuar F1 (driven by Rob Gleaning) doing demo laps.
A day-long of live track action will also include a number of Super Touring Cars, modern and classic rally cars – including an Audi Sport Quattro S1 Group B – drift displays, motorcycle stunt teams and classic motorcycles – including MotoGP, Moto2, Castrol RS250 Honda Grand Prix and Classic TT and sidecars!
Petter Solberg will also be unveiling and driving a new track day car, designed and built by Viking Motorsport in Newtown.
There will also be an opportunity for fans to ride around the famous Pembrey Circuit – slightly slower than the lap record of 40.6 seconds, set by three-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna in 1993 – in a Swansea Motor Museum vintage double decker bus!
Finishing the day’s track entertainment will be a supercar parade featuring many of the world’s most exotic and expense road-legal cars.
Tickets
Tickets for the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival are on sale now. Kids 15 and under go free.