One of the strongest and most competitive grids in Legends Cars Championship history is ready to line-up at Donington Park National Circuit this coming weekend, 27th/28th April, as the long-awaited 2024 season roars into life.
Starting off its 30th Anniversary season as part of the support package to the British Touring Car Championship, and therefore benefitting from incredible live television coverage on ITV4 as well as the ITVX platform, the Legends Cars will deliver first class, spectacular racing to tens of thousands of spectators at the popular East Midlands track.
Fantastically for fans of the unique 5/8 scale pocket rockets, which are all powered by 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle engines, Legends Cars Champion Will Gibson (Camberley) and inaugural Elite Cup Champion Connor Mills (Upminster) will be defending their hard-earned titles this season.
Leading an entry for the opening two rounds of the campaign which boasts tremendous quality, Gibson and Mills will face a major challenge from some extremely capable, quick and determined competitors including the likes of 2023 Elite Cup Vice-Champion Robert Barrable (Dublin) and Legends Cars mainstay Jack Parker (Wolverhampton).
Andy Bird (Calne), who was third in the overall Legends Cars Championship standings last year, is back as are fellow top six points finishers Oli Schlup (Cuckfield), Chris Needham (Altrincham) and Luke Simmons (Lingfield).
Nathan Anthony (Horley) and Rob Fountain (Boston), Masters Champions from the Elite Cup and overall Championship respectively last year, will also be on the Donington Park grid as will the dominant Rookie from 2023 Tyler Read (Weedon), embarking on his sophomore year in the series.
Looking to follow Read as this year’s top Rookie are the likes of Harri Musselle (Buckingham), for whom this will be his first full season in car racing, Ben Mahoney (Surrey), who is making his full motor racing debut at Donington, and Jai Nijjar.
In the Team Car battle, long-time Legends Cars racer Mike Schlup (Cuckfield), who is a former Champion in the class, will share the No.3 car with Paul Musselle (Buckingham) – father of young charger Harri – who made a welcome return to Legends last season after a number of years away.
Newcomer Max Popelyushko (Dollar), who only has six race weekends north of the border under his belt, will compete in the Team Car category – multiple Legends Cars race winner Steve Whitelegg (Bury) will share the car at the next event. Additionally, Motocross racer Dylan Woodcock (Rayleigh) returns in the No.321 Team Car at Donington, sharing later in the season once again with his father Lenny.
James Newbery (Burgess Hill) enters his renowned ‘Mater’ styled racer into the Team Car class this season for the first time and will share the driving throughout the year with two team-mates, Daniel Hughes and Toby Broome (Lindfield).
Other drivers to keep an eye on in the overall battle include exciting young racer Jamie Moylan (Naas), who brings some outstanding results from racing Legends in his native Ireland where he is a multiple race winner and was Rookie Champion back in 2020.
Former outright Legends Champion Stephen Treherne (Islington), race winner Nick Bridgeman (Baldock), Mark Beaty (Gosforth) and Matt Knight (Shoreham by Sea) are all ones to watch as the pocket rockets get ready to roll once again.
Phil Cooper – Legends Cars Championship Owner:
“It’s finally here. We can’t wait to be back at Donington this weekend for the start of our new season and we’re really looking forward to getting the new campaign underway alongside the BTCC. We were delighted with how popular the Legends were with the BTCC fans last season, and with the entry we have for 2024 I can confidently predict the action will be every bit as good – if not better!
“It’s a very important year for Legends Cars in the UK, celebrating our 30th Anniversary season, and we’re looking forward to seeing as many fans as possible over the course of the weekend. We always pride ourselves on being the friendliest paddock in British motorsport, so I hope as many racegoers as possible come to say hello to the drivers and teams at Donington.”
The first track action of the weekend for the Legends Cars will be qualifying at 09.10 on Saturday, 27th April. If you’re new to Legends, grids aren’t determined by times set in qualifying – instead they are determined by a ballot. Heat One is set to begin at 12.15 on Saturday, with Heat Two following at 14.30 and the Final taking place at 17.45.
On Sunday, 28th April, Heat One of round two will start at 09.05, Heat Two is scheduled to begin at 12.50 and the Final will follow at 18.05. Don’t forget, some of the race action from Sunday will be screened on ITV4 and through ITVX.
