Breathtaking action, consistently the closest races in UK motorsport and a title decider which will almost certainly go down to the last race of 2026, the Legends Cars Championship is poised for a truly nail-biting finale next weekend, 26th/27th September, at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit.
Marking the second visit of the season for the 5/8 scale pocket rockets to the Leicestershire track, albeit the previous visit being on the shorter National Circuit as support to the BTCC, rounds 12 and 13 are expected to deliver a blockbuster of a finish to what has been an incredible campaign.
With just a week to go until the finale, it has also been confirmed there will be live streaming of all six Legends races at Donington on YouTube thanks to key sponsorship from JLM, TLR Carcom Engineering, NetSense and Stunt Flying.
At the top of the championship there is hardly anything at all to choose between series leader Tyler Read (Daventry), the reigning Legends Cars Champion, and Chris Needham (Altrincham) who is the winningest driver of 2026 with a total of 13 race victories so far.
Read, who successfully defended the Legends Cars Elite Cup title in the summer at Snetterton, has an advantage of a mere five points ahead of Donington’s upcoming six races – and remember, there are 1,200 points in total to be fought for over the course of next weekend.
Needham made headlines at that very event in Norfolk by scorching to five wins from six races, and only missed out on a spectacular clean sweep by an absolute fraction as he climbed to the top of the standings. However, a points penalty for Needham from that meeting has had a big impact.
Three second place finishes last time out at Oulton Park, the only single day event of the season, enabled Read to sneak ahead of Needham in the title race despite two more victories and a third place for the latter at his home track.
It truly is all to play for, and not only between the two title favourites as third placed Aaron Cooke (Croxley Green) is determined to add to the seven wins he has so far achieved in his maiden Legends campaign. He is 380 points shy of Read, which is a significant gap, but Cooke has the speed and ability to be a thorn in the side of the top two.
Just 85 points further adrift is Oli Schlup (Cuckfield) who will arrive at Donington fourth in the driver standings. As a three time race winner this season, and the competitor with the most podium visits thus far in 2026 with 22 rostrums to his credit, Schlup too can realistically bid for the title. He is coming from behind, though, due to a penalty of 300 points which has dropped him behind Cooke.
Away from the outright title battle, fifth placed Peter Barrable (Dublin) leads the Masters Championship for drivers 40-years-of-age and above and is well placed to retain the title and add it to the Elite Cup Masters crown he successfully defended this year. The Irishman takes a lead of 315 points into the finale over chief Masters rival Andy Bird (Calne), both are outright race winners.
Luke Simmons (Lingfield) completes the top six in the overall standings, one place ahead of Bird, and is a proven Legends Cars front-runner. He is yet to register a race victory in 2026 but has been very consistent and is more than capable of upsetting the apple cart at Donington.
Both the Rookie and Team Car Championships are foregone conclusions. Nathan Williams (Higher Bebington) has been a superb addition to Legends this season, driving the #2Mater car which sports the massively popular livery of the ‘Mater’ character from Disney Pixar film franchise Cars. As well as lifting the Rookie title, he could well end the year in the outright top 10.
The No.52 Team Car which is fettled and run by LRS Racing, the family team of Luke and Paul Simmons, is all but guaranteed to claim that title. In the hands of American driver Trevor Krouse and British racer Aidan Hills, the car has been a proven outright race winner twice this season.
Donington’s entry features much more talent too, like five-time former champion John Mickel (Copthorne), who is third in the Masters chase in his first full season back since a horrifying accident at Cadwell Park in 2023. Add in the likes of Nick Price (March), Ross Marshall (Stirling) and Mike Schlup (Cuckfield), plus many more besides, and we have a fantastic entry for the finale.
As previously mentioned, live streaming of all six Legends Cars Championship races makes a very popular return for Donington thanks to the team at organising club MSVR. Look out for the link across Legends Cars’ social media in the build up to next weekend’s action.
Will Gibson – Legends Cars Championship Owner:
“We’re almost there, the final two rounds of the season at Donington GP! It’s been an amazing championship this year, so much outstanding racing and competition, and it’s pretty insane to think there are only five points between Tyler [Read] and Chris [Needham] going into next weekend. It’s been nip and tuck all year, and with 1,200 points still up for grabs anything could happen.
“Obviously, there are plenty of others who will be challenging hard. Aaron [Cooke] and Oli [Schlup] are very much still in the running for the title, so we’re all looking forward to a classic of a Legends finale and hoping to see plenty of fans in the paddock as well. Obviously, we’re absolutely delighted MSVR will be streaming all six races live – we’re ready to put on an amazing show!”
Qualifying practice for the Legends will take place at 09.30 next Saturday, 26th September, with Heat One following at 12.35, Heat Two at 15.30 and the round 12 Final at 18.10. On Sunday, 27th September, Heat One starts at 10.35, Heat Two at 13.20 and the round 13 Final at 16.30.
Provisional 2026 Legends Cars Championship Points (after Rd11)
1st Tyler Read, 5375pts; 2nd Chris Needham, 5370pts; 3rd Aaron Cooke, 4995pts; 4th Oli Schlup, 4910pts; 5th Peter Barrable (M), 4130pts; 6th Luke Simmons, 4085pts
Provisional 2026 Legends Cars Masters Championship Points (after R11)
1st Peter Barrable, 4130pts; 2nd Andy Bird, 3815pts; 3rd John Mickel, 3095pts
