Celebrating half a century

Between history and the future, the Croix-en-Ternois circuit is celebrating its fiftieth birthday with a brand new event: the Motors Festival.

Inaugurated in 1973, the Croix-en-Ternois circuit is celebrating its half-century of existence this year. It was only fitting that the event should be celebrated in style, and this will be the case from 8 to 10 September at the Motors Festival meeting in Croix, jointly organised by the Pas-de-Calais circuit and promoter HVM Racing. The three-day event will be a major motorsport extravaganza, with a mix of car competitions, single-seater driving sequences and demonstrations on two and four wheels. All under the patronage of former F1 champion René Arnoux, the guest star of these anniversary days. The event will also provide an opportunity to look ahead to the future of the circuit and its long-awaited expansion project.

A WEEKEND OF TEN RACES

There will be ten starts over the course of the weekend, six of which will be for the European Formula Ford Festival alone, which will feature a brand new format with heats, a final and a consolation race modelled on the famous Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. The public will have the chance to watch some forty drivers of Formula Ford cars built between 1967 and 1992. In their day, these single-seaters were favoured by many future F1 champions! The Lotus Trophy is also back in action, almost ten years after its last visit to Croix-en-Ternois. Two races will pit its usual protagonists against each other, all masters of driving the legendary Lotus Seven. Finally, two other competitions will bring together the drivers of the Maxi 2L Classic, Maxi 1300 Series and Racing Over 2L grids, mainly in pre-1981 GT/Touring cars.

Drivers to watch

- European Formula Ford Festival: Belle (Lola), Genecand, 'Nelson', Dousse, Midy, Sanjuan, Monteiro (Van Diemen), Michel, McMorran, Eynard Machet (Crosslé), Lecluse (Lotus), Kozyreff, Tomsen, Deridder (Reynard), Prévost (Mc Namara), Mantz (Hawke), D'Aubreby (Swift), Dupont (Dulon), etc.

- Lotus Trophy: Jacquet, Vulliez, Metayer, Beloou, Delhaye, Odin, Berrezai, Koenig, Huret, Jan, Vest, Thiry, Seigneurin, Peinetti, Szyndelman (all on Lotus Seven), etc.

- Maxi 2L Classic/Maxi 1300 Series/Racing Over 2L: Brigand (Porsche 911 RSR), Dupuy (Ford Escort BDA), Choquet (Chevrolet Corvette), Paulus (Ford Mustang), Destombes (Simca CG), Douart (BMW Alpina), etc.

Alongside the races, the public will also be spoilt for choice with numerous demos on two and four wheels. In the first case, each day will see Stunt and especially Freestyle FMX evolutions in the presence of three big names in the discipline, including David Rinaldo, recent gold medallist at the X Games in California, who will be joined by Nicolas Texier and Maxime Grégoire. In the car category, Drift will naturally take pride of place on the Croix-en-Ternois circuit, which already hosts a round of the French Championship.

TIMETABLE, RECAP

Friday 8 September: practice, practice runs and demos from 9.00 am to 6.20 pm. Saturday: practice, races, practice runs and demos from 9.00 a.m. to 6.15 p.m. Sunday: races, practice runs and demos from 9.30am to 5.40pm.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Advance ticket sales online at (www.hvmracing.fr): 2-day pass 15 Euros (on site 20 Euros), 1-day pass: 10 Euros (on site 15 Euros). 1-day VIP pass (online only): 89 Euros, 2-day VIP pass (online only): 160 Euros. Free entry for under-16s.

Grid Walk option: 10 Euros/day, 15 Euros/we.

Track baptism option: 40 Euros

Media contact: presse@hvmracing.fr