Motorsport UK’s Race Committee has made a U-turn on proposed regulation changes that would have affected the way Historic racing series and championships are organised and run. The intended rule change aimed to draw a clearer distinction between what is regarded as a Championship or a Series and would have been implemented from January 1, 2025.
The most headline-grabbing changes included competition classes as Series not being permitted to run more than six events per season, alongside the prohibition of non-UK events. Series would also not have been allowed to be named to suggest an overall award, with words such as ‘Cup’ or ‘Trophy’ not permitted unless run as a Championship.
“The proposed changes will need to go from the Rules Committee to the board for final approval before being published,” Motorsport UK’s sport, safety and technical director John Ryan told Magneto before the regulation change was scrapped.
“There’s a mixture of concerns, particularly from organisers of Championships. In effect, people are running Series without having to go through the same process that a Championship does while still having an overall winner at the end of a collective number of events.”
The new regulations were scrapped shortly after Magneto’s video call with Ryan, following vehement opposition from Historic racing series including the GT and Sports Car Cup, whose opposition stemmed from the fact the changes would prohibit them from continuing their tradition of holding the season finale at the Algarve Classic Festival in Portugal.
GT and Sports Car Cup organisers also opposed the prohibition of Series running more than six events per season and pointed out that, after 18 seasons, the regulation change would force it to change its name unless it registers as a Championship, which would make the organisation “more time-consuming, complicated and would increase fees at all levels.”
News that the regulation changes had been withdrawn broke on August 30, 2024, following the conclusion of Motorsport UK’s Race Committee consultation. A separate proposal for the use of in-car devices was also withdrawn, but will be subject to further review and consultation.
The reasons for the withdrawal have not been disclosed, although Motorsport UK did cite “valuable feedback from the Motorsport UK community.”
