Other notable innovations include the debut of Motor Racing Legends new GT3 Legends grid - an instant crowd-pleaser - and a revamped appearance for the site for the weekend. Individual 'garage' tents for each individual Motor Racing Legends grid create an impressive vista, with a sweep of dozens of pre-War sports cars greeting spectators as they entered the paddock, for example. New branding for the event - highly evocative of iconic 1970s race car liveries - further enhanced the atmosphere.

Underpinning all of this was the traditional Donington Historic Festival timetable of full-on track action from exceptional historic race grids. The addition of GT3 Legends, the return of the ever-popular single-seater Formula Juniors and the first of two standalone races built on a well-established strong foundation. The icing on the cake? A former Le Mans winner taking the chequered flag!

Friday was a healthy mix of qualifying for several grids - some of whom will race on Saturday or Sunday - plus four races. The race action was kickstarted by a gaggle of front-engined machines from the FJHRA 'Silverline' Championship for Formula Juniors - the division into two races necessitated by the size of the entry, with some 50 cars entered across the two grids. Ahead of the event, Ray Mallock was described as 'the man to beat', and he lived up to his reputation, taking the chequered flag in his U2 MK2, designed and built by his father Arthur. Nick Taylor (Elva 100) and Charles Cook (Nike Mk 1) claimed the second and third spots on the podium.

The rear-engined Formula Junior race was no less energetically contested. Fresh from his second-place finish at the Goodwood Members Meeting, Alex Ames went one better this time, sweeping to victory in his Brabham BT6. Philipp Buhofer followed in second place, with Mark Woodhouse in third.

In the first of two races this weekend for the under two-litre touring cars of the U2TC, the laurels went to no less than a fully-fledged Le Mans winner. Guy Smith brought his Ford Lotus Cortina across the line some 43 seconds in front of Jonathan Mitchell and Richard Dutton - also in Lotus Cortinas. 

Racing concluded for the day with the first of three races this weekend for the Superformance Ferrari Club Classic series. These are almost always very close-run things, and today was no exception, with Tim Mogridge just squeaking in ahead of Tristan Simpson to take victory. A mere .869 of a second separated the two in their F355 Challenges. Third place was taken by Colin Sowter in this F355 Spyder. 

Away from the racing, spectators were treated by track parades from a stunning array of Ferraris, brought along by Supercar Driver, and a lovely mix of classic and collectors' cars, cherished by members of the dozens of car clubs attending this weekend. The open-access paddock - complete with smart new tent garaging - was a popular place for getting a good look at the hundreds of classic racers on display, and Friday visitors also had the chance to take a peep at the ex-Jenson Button Williams FW22 and the Super Touring cars which will all be putting on high-speed track demos over the weekend.