The best Christmas present for a lover of motorsport!
I am fortunate to have a wife and kids who are into motorsport, as you now know it’s one of my passions. We have visited Spa Francorchamps for a round of the WEC, and also to Silverstone for a round of the ELMS. We are definitely going to be returning to Silverstone again this year, hopefully for a longer visit so we can get involved with more of the activities at the track such as the track wall and also the pit walk.
Luckily we have Oulton Park right on our doorstep. It’s one of the great British racing circuits. I have driven there myself on a couple of track days and also attended a couple of the MSV track days in a BMW M4 and Audi single seater, along with the rally experience at the same site. I am very lucky to have received a pass for Oulton Park for the 2026 season, so naturally I have started to see which events are coming up that I don’t want to miss. The beauty with the pass is that I can now attend any event, for as long as I want. However, once you get to the track, the excitement of the racing, coupled with the noise and atmosphere, you rarely want to cut a day short there (unless the British weather gets in the way).
The first event that jumps out straight away is the British Superbikes. We have visited Oulton Park on a number of occasions for motorbike track days, but we have never been for the Superbikes. The kids have never seen them in action and it’s something they are keen to see. Thankfully the kids are free, and with having the season pass, there aren’t any additional costs. It also gives us access to the whole weekend, not just race days.
There are two other events in May that stand out to me. One is the classic touring car event. The main thing for me will be to see the touring cars that I grew up with. The Renault Laguna, Ford Mondeo, Alfa Romeo 155 among many others. This was seen as the golden era of touring cars, helped by the game on the PlayStation. One of my first memories of motorsport was watching the touring cars at Oulton Park in the early 90’s. The other event in May is the British GT championship. We have been to see the practice day numerous times before, but have never been to see the main racing event. With the visits to Le Mans, Spa and Silverstone, we are all familiar with the cars on track and the amazing noise and speed they provide.
Moving into June, again there are a couple of events that I won’t be missing. The obvious one is the British Touring Cars. We went to watch these a couple of years ago and the racing is fantastic. It’s all very close, similar level of cars and driver and lots and bumping with the odd crash. The kids love it as they are jostling for position on corners trying to get a good run to the next one. The other event is the supercar pageant. We have been going to this for a few years now. Unfortunately they used to have the GT Cup which has now moved locations. This doesn’t however detract from the day. There are loads of owners clubs for all the main supercar manufacturers. It’s great to see both new and old super cars from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. There are also loads of activities for the kids to get involved with. It’s a great family day out, there the racing takes second fiddle.
Looking at the events for July, I haven’t been to any previously. That’s the beauty of the annual pass. There are events that you will go to that ordinarily you wouldn’t. The kids are really excited for the Tunerfest event. They love Fast and the Furious, along with games on the Xbox where you can tune and modify cars, that’s something they are excited to visit.
August is going to be a busy month. There is the second round of the British Superbikes. The weather should be better than earlier in the year so expect this to be a busy event. The annual gold cup takes place over the bank holiday at the end of August. This is a great event, showcasing different owners clubs, historic racing and all sort of stands and memorabilia. There is even a classic car auction to throw into the mix. Sandwiched in between this events is the US show. Again, this isn’t one I have visited previously, but having the annual pass makes it more accessible. The kids love anything NASCAR so this will be a great event for them, and me, which we are looking forward to.
September is pretty quiet. Just one club event for amateur drivers. Luckily the ELMS is on at Silverstone that month, so no danger of a lack of motorsport.
October is a little busier, however it’s getting to the end of the motorsport season in the UK. There is a UK touring car event which should be good as a slightly watered down version of the British Touring Cars. The other two events are club events, across both cars and bikes.
Overall it’s looking a great year of motorsport. Coupled with the WEC, ELMS, IMSA and F1 there should be an event pretty much every weekend to get involved with.
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