Another historic racing organiser changes hands as Lynn adds HRDC to his portfolio

The Historic Racing Drivers Membership is the newest historic racing organiser to have modified fingers previously 18 months after it was acquired by Motor Racing Legends chairman Shaun Lynn.

Prolific historics racer Lynn – father of Cadillac World Endurance Championship ace Alex – took over at MRL slightly below a yr in the past and his Aythorpe Promotions concern has now additionally added the HRDC to its portfolio.

HRDC founder Julius Thurgood will stay in cost however defined that the deal will assist to safeguard the way forward for the membership, which runs the favored Jack Sears Trophy, Gerry Marshall Trophy and Allstars/Basic Alfa Problem classes for a spread of retro tin-tops and sportscars.

“It’s thrilling – I’ve identified Shaun because the High Hat days [effectively the predecessor to the HRDC] and he used to race with me,” mentioned Thurgood.

“He’s at all times been an awesome instance of being a clear competitor, working correct authorized vehicles and simply typically championing the historic world.

“MRL is completely invigorated, it’s a brand new order in there – it’s actually upbeat.

“We’ve supported the previous MRL for years and bringing nice grids constantly. We’re simply taking it to a different degree now – the HRDC is protected by Shaun’s funding in the entire thing.”

Thurgood careworn there could be no speedy modifications for rivals and the HRDC will proceed to give attention to UK occasions, whereas MRL additionally seems at quite a lot of European conferences.

“No personnel are altering and we’ll nonetheless have the caravan and the catering,” he mentioned. “However we will put our heads collectively for making occasions in 2026 and we’ve bought some thrilling concepts for some must-do occasions.”

Lynn added: “I’ve the utmost respect for what Julius has completed through the years and it’s very important to protect what the HRDC brings to the desk.

“We’ve bought an enormous information and expertise base as a gaggle, and now we’ve a novel likelihood to place that to work.”

The HRDC deal follows Masters Historic Racing additionally getting new possession on the finish of 2023 when Ron Maydon stepped apart and GP Excessive boss Frederic Fatien took over.

Autosport says

Sadly, frequent sense might be not often seen in motorsport however this deal between Julius Thurgood and Shaun Lynn is one instance of it shining brightly.

It’s a win-win for each side and unites two organisations within the HRDC and MRL which have appeared alongside one another at varied occasions for years. As Thurgood places it, “there’s power in numbers” and, with astute businessman Lynn on the helm, it ought to guarantee a shiny future for the HRDC.

Despite the fact that the membership has loved some enormously well-subscribed grids in recent times – and its Jack Sears Trophy pre-1966 tin-top area on the Donington Historic Pageant is already into reserves regardless of being over a month away – working the HRDC represented an enormous monetary threat for Thurgood. Now he has somebody to assist shoulder that burden.

There has already been a really optimistic response from drivers to the deal and the distinction Lynn has made to MRL in current months has been stark. He launched the brand new GT3 Legends sequence on the finish of final yr that’s set to convey historic motorsport updated and additional thrilling plans are being developed for the long run, too.

The HRDC’s ethos of a welcoming and pleasant paddock – with no championships that threaten to lift tempers – has turn out to be a joyous aspect of the nationwide motorsport scene. And it’s nice to listen to that ought to now be preserved for a few years to come back.