DHF26: spotlight on five standout machines
From 1st to 3rd May, Motor Racing Legends will open its 2026 season at the 15th Donington Historic Festival. The meeting will feature 18 races and more than 300 cars on track, including some exceptional rarities. Let’s shine the spotlight on five standout machines.
On track at Donington
1932 Maserati 8C 3000, chassis 3001
Mad Jack’ for Pre-War Sports Cars
In the early 1930s, Maserati entered a pivotal stage as it sought to establish itself alongside Grand Prix leaders Bugatti and Alfa Romeo. Before his death in March 1932, Alfieri Maserati developed an advanced eight‑cylinder engine made from exotic alloys and fitted with a supercharger, forming the basis of the marque’s next major racing car. Designated 8C 3000, only two examples were produced, for the 1932 and 1933 seasons.
The first, chassis 3001, won the 1933 French Grand Prix on the banked Montlhéry circuit with Giuseppe Campari, before being driven by Count Baconin Borzacchini, who tragically suffered a fatal accident at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Once repaired, it was sold to an Italian privateer who continued to race it, including at the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix.
Now raced by Josef Rettenmaier, chassis 3001 will compete in the ‘Mad Jack’ for Pre‑War Sports Cars at the Donington Historic Festival.
1954 Jaguar D-type, chassis XKC 402
Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy
The Jaguar D‑Type was built for one purpose: outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It succeeded brilliantly, securing three consecutive wins from 1955 to 1957. While it shared the straight‑six XK engine and several mechanical components with the C‑Type that preceded it, its structure was radically different, featuring innovative monocoque construction and aerodynamics, from the pen of Malcolm Sayer, that drew directly from aviation technology. Total production is believed to have numbered 75 cars, including 18 factory examples.
Chassis XKC 402, better known as OKV 1, was the second built and one of the three original works entries for Le Mans in 1954. Driven by Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton, it was the Coventry marque’s top finisher that year, taking second place. At the end of the 1955 season, the car was sold to Hamilton, who converted it for road use and kept it for almost thirty years. This remarkable machine, now owned by Martin Halusa, will compete in the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy at the 2026 Donington Historic Festival.
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’
HMRN Pre‑’63 GT
The Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ stands as one of motorsport’s most striking independents. Soon after the failed Maranello coup in 1961, former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and the Venetian Count Giovanni Volpi start to build their own special to take on Ferrari. They bought an ex‑Gendebien, Hill, Trintignant and Scarfiotti 250 GT SWB, lowered and moved its engine further back, and clothed it in a radical Kamm‑tail body. Built in Modena in just 15 days, it was taken to Le Mans by Volpi’s Scuderia Serenissima team. Instantly nicknamed ‘La Camionette’, and later ‘Breadvan’ by the English press, it was driven by Carlo Maria Abate and Colin Davis, using its superior handling to outpace the GTOs despite a four‑speed gearbox. After four hours, a propshaft failure forced retirement. It returned to win the GT category at Brands Hatch and then finished 3rd at the 1962 Montlhéry 1000 km with Ludovico Scarfiotti and Colin Davis.
Competing in the HMRN Pre‑’63 GT, this unique machine will be a major attraction at the Donington Historic Festival, and, like D-Type XKC 402, is owned and entered by Martin Halusa.
1984 Jaguar XJS, chassis 005
Historic Touring Car Challenge
Jaguar’s revival began in 1981 when chairman John Egan backed a return to touring car racing to restore the marque’s identity. Tom Walkinshaw Racing developed the XJ‑S to Group A regulations, and the car duly dominated the 1984 European Touring Car Championship with seven wins, including two 1‑2‑3 finishes and victory in the 24 Hours of Spa, Jaguar’s first 24‑hour success since 1957. Momentum continued with famous win at the 1985 Bathurst 1000, cementing the TWR–Jaguar partnership that later delivered major Le Mans triumphs.
Chassis 005 made its debut at Zolder in 1984, won the Macau Guia race in John Player Special livery at the end of the year with Walkinshaw at the wheel, and started on the front row at the 1985 Bathurst 1000 before engine issues ended the run for Jeff Allam and Ron Dickson. Fittingly in TWR’s 50th year, 005 is entered by Richard Meins for the Historic Touring Car Challenge at the 2026 Donington Historic Festival.
1989 Holden VL SS Group A Commodore, chassis PE 007
Historic Touring Car Challenge
It’s not very common to see cars from the Australian Supercar Championship in Europe. This one, though, has British flavour, born from a collaboration between Holden and Tom Walkinshaw Racing. In 1988 TWR, who had won at Bathurst with the Jaguar XJS, was asked to refine the VL SS Commodore Group A, whose drivers found it unstable at high speed. Work in the MIRA wind tunnel produced a complex composite‑fibre aero kit with large spoilers and a prominent bonnet bulge. Its looks were criticised, but the numbers impressed; drag reportedly fell from 0.40 to 0.34, with a clear gain in downforce. These upgrades helped the car counter turbocharged rivals and win Bathurst in 1990.
The PE 007 chassis, entered at Donington by Mike Whitaker, was purchased by the Bob Forbes Race Team and went on to contest the Bathurst 1000 five times: 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Now wearing its 1990 livery, as raced by Kevin Bartlett and Russell Ingall, it will compete in the Historic Touring Car Challenge.