Here is the latest (as of 13th January 2012) Croft Circuit 2012 Fixture List (provisional):

Date/Event:
22 Jan Jack Frost Rally (DDMC)
1 March-1 April Motorcycle races (NEMCRC)
28-29 April Car races (BARC)
19-20 May Car races (DDMC)
23-24 June Dunlop BTCC (BARC)
21-22 July Car races (BARC)
4-5 August Nostalgia Weekend (HSCC)
18-19 August Motorcycle races (Derby Phoenix)
8-9 September Car races (DDMC)
29-30 September Car races (BARC)
28 October British Rallycross (TBA)
24 Nov Roger Albert Clark Rally
TBA Christmas Stages Rally (NAC)

Croft Circuit has issued an action-packed motor sport fixture list for 2012 with the star-studded Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (23-24 June), its own historic racing festival, Nostalgia Weekend (4-5 August), and the Roger Albert Clark Rally on 24 November featuring the hero cars of rallying’s golden era from the Seventies among the major highlights.

Croft Circuit Manager Tracey Morley commented: “Once again we are committed to providing the public, particularly families, with a great day’s entertainment when they visit us. We are very proud of our line-up of events for 2012, particularly considering we are limited to just 40 days per year of competitive activity here at Croft – of course the BTCC and Nostalgia weekends will attract star billing, but there are plenty of other gems in there for the public, media, officials and competitors to enjoy. We very much look forward to seeing them all during the forthcoming season.”

You may also be interested to know that Croft Circuit has re-launched its website www.croftcircuit.co.uk – providing fans, media, competitors and officials with greater and far speedier details about its exciting calendar of motor sport events and performance driving experiences.

Beaulieu is now taking bookings for its eagerly anticipated Custom & Hot Rod Festival, taking place from the 15th – 17th June 2012 in the grounds of the National Motor Museum, and early-birds who book before the 31st January 2012 will be rewarded with an extra 20% discount off weekend and Sunday Drive-In tickets.

For the first time ever at this popular event, camping over the weekend will be available to everyone, regardless of whether or not you own a custom or hot rod vehicle, so if you fancy making a weekend of it, book your camping tickets now and take advantage of the early-bird offer.

This year’s event is set to be bigger than ever, with the addition of the Custom Motorcycle Show, featuring hundreds of world-class custom motorcycles as well as the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, creating an exciting new dimension to the weekend. There will also be hundreds of trade stands selling a range of merchandise for both custom motorcycle and custom car enthusiasts.

The festival will include a Saturday Cruise-Out to a local visitor attraction within the New Forest National Park, with free entry to everyone taking part in a custom vehicle. Sunday’s Drive-In will be a fantastic, colourful display of up to 600 custom and hot rod vehicles in the Beaulieu Arena and surrounding parkland. With a large range of entertainments on offer throughout the weekend, including live music, jitterbug and swing dancers, this festival promises to be a great event for all the family.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.beaulieushop.co.uk or by telephone on 01590 612888. Advance weekend tickets for those arriving in custom display vehicles are adult – £33 and child – £10, and for those arriving in non-custom vehicles, adult – £43 and child – £15. For advance Sunday Drive-In, prices are adult – £8 and child – £4, and one child gets free entry with every paying adult. Don’t forget, if you book before the 31st January 2012 you will receive an extra 20% off these prices. All other entries will be via Beaulieu Visitor Reception at normal admission charges.

Admission to this event includes entry to the whole Beaulieu attraction, including the National Motor Museum with the new BOND IN MOTION exhibition showcasing 50 original vehicles from the Bond films, World of Top Gear, Beaulieu Abbey, and Palace House and gardens. For more information, please visit www.beaulieuhotrodandcustom.co.uk.

The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu and EON Productions are proud to announce that Bond in Motion, the exciting new exhibition of 50 James Bond vehicles, will be unveiled to the public on 18th January 2012.

The exhibition, the largest of its kind staged anywhere in the world, will showcase 50 of the best loved and most iconic James Bond vehicles in celebration of the 50th year of James Bond. Bond in Motion will run from January to December 2012 at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

In addition, 2012 also marks the 40th anniversary of the world-famous National Motor Museum, a fitting year to be hosting a major new car exhibition with some of the most recognised vehicles in film to mark 50 years since the first Bond film was screened.

Bond in Motion will feature a whole range of vehicles which have appeared in Bond films over the years including cars, boats, motorbikes, sleds, jets and many more. This collection of iconic movie vehicles will include the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 and the 1937 Phantom lll Rolls-Royce both from Goldfinger, the Lotus Esprit S1 affectionately nicknamed ‘Wet Nellie’ from The Spy Who Loved Me, the Bede Acrostar jet famously flown in Octopussy, the BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies, the original villain Parahawk featured in The World is Not Enough and the original SFX Cello Case Ski famously navigated by Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights.

Beaulieu’s Commercial Director, Stephen Munn said, “2012 is going to be a very exciting year for Beaulieu. After many months of planning, the preparation of the Bond exhibition area is about to begin and the first consignment of vehicles, on their way from the USA, will be arriving in a few weeks”.

Children around the world have simply the best imaginations. They are not fettered by the chains of an adult existence and when it comes to imagining the future direction for cars, there is simply no stopping what they can come up with. It’s a pity more of us don’t look back at that to see solutions to problems – I’m convinced we’d all be more creative and successful! Toyota is launching another dream car competition which allows children to express themselves in whatever way they see fit when designing a car, whether they want it to fly, run only on water or even drive under water!

Young people around the world are invited to contribute paintings or drawings of their ultimate car, whether it’s one that’s kind to the environment, built for supersonic speed, or the last word in luxury. Winners of each national section of the competition will go forward to the World Contest and the chance to attend an awards ceremony in Japan in 2012.

Hopes are high for Britain’s junior designers to do well, following the example of Elisa Dawa and Amy Jackson who were among the 30 World Finalists in the 2011 contest.

Entries are being invited now, with a deadline for work to be submitted of 31 January 2012. Full details of how to take part, downloadable application packs and a gallery of some of last year’s entries can be found at www.toyota.co.uk/dreamcar.

Winning entries in each national contest will be announced in February 2012 and they will go forward to the World Contest in May. As well as gold, silver and bronze prizes, there will also be judges’ commendations and a special award-winner selected from the top three by Toyota’s President, Akio Toyoda.

The British Touring Car Championship remains one of the most exciting types of circuit racing in the UK. 2012 is sure to be no different, with new cars on track and plenty of thrills and spills. Here are the provisional dates:

Date and circuit:
31 March-1 April
Brands Hatch (Indy), nr Dartford, Kent

28-29 April
Thruxton, nr Andover, Hampshire

9-10 June
Oulton Park (Island), nr Tarporley, Cheshire

23-24 June
Croft, nr Darlington, North Yorkshire

11-12 August
Snetterton (300), nr Attleborough, Norfolk

25-26 August
Knockhill, nr Dunfermline, Fife

22-23 September
Rockingham, nr Corby, Northamptonshire

6-7 October
Silverstone, nr Towcester, Northamptonshire

20-21 October
Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), nr Dartford, Kent

The date of the Donington Park event is yet to be announced, but will not impact the start or finish dates of the 2012 season. BTCC organiser TOCA expects to be in a position to announce that calendar date within the next three weeks.

Here’s the latest from the Beaulieu Motor Museum on an attraction you’ll want to see:

The actual TGV12 ‘sports train’ from the latest series of the popular TV motoring programme has just pulled into the World of Top Gear Exhibition at Beaulieu. The ‘sports train’ was driven by Jeremy during Top Gear’s valiant attempt to reduce the cost of railway travel using innovative car-based rolling stock.  The ‘locomotive’ is really little more than an old jag convertible with some different wheels and the ‘carriage’ is actually an old caravan with the top sawn off, some racing seats bolted to the floor and a massive spoiler on the back!

Yet, this simplicity is also the very genius of Clarkson’s creation and might explain why the TGV12 successfully completed a journey from very near Leicester all the way to the outskirts of Loughborough and, unlike the train created by Hammond and May, did so without catching fire or getting clobbered by a real train along the way.  Strangely, none of the major rail networks have shown any interest in this innovative design which is why it’s at Beaulieu instead.

The World of Top Gear features a collection of cars, created by the presenters, for some of their most ambitious challenges on the TV show over the years. Exhibition highlights include the Top Gear ‘Enormodrome’ which recreates the feel of the Top Gear studio, where the TV show is filmed in front of a live audience.

Regular features from the programme including the Cool Wall and the Celebrity ‘Lap Times’ boards are kept up to date in line with the show.  Visitors can also watch behind-the-scenes footage of the Top Gear production zone and clips of some of the best Top Gear moments.

World of Top Gear can be viewed as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction including the National Motor Museum with its collection of over 250 vehicles, the James Bond exhibition with genuine vehicles and memorabilia from the films, Palace House, home of the Montagu family since 1538 and the 13^th century Beaulieu Abbey.

Beaulieu is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 10am. For more information telephone 01590 612345 or visit www.beaulieu.co.uk.

Here’s the latest from Beaulieu on their forthcoming attractions:

Visitors to Beaulieu on Bank Holiday Monday, 29th August, will be stunned into silence hearing the incredible melodies created by the multi-cylinder engines of some of the most awe inspiring supercars and superbikes, as they are put through their paces in the Beaulieu Arena. This is an opportunity to admire a variety of prestigious vehicles, of the highest craftsmanship and calibre.

If you’ve ever fancied listening to the throaty roar of a Ferrari or the rumbling growl of a Porsche then this is the event for you.

Spot your favourite supercar in the 2011 line-up, which will include the unique Ford Supervan 3, a sporty Ford GT, the new and highly exciting gull wing Mercedes SLS, a racy De Tomaso Pantera and the very classy Bentley Continental Mullinger R.

In addition to these vehicles, some heavyweights of the supercar world, Porsche of Bournemouth and the Ferrari Owners Club, will also be bringing a selection of their beautiful motors to display.

New for this year’s event, there will be a Demonstration Run in the Beaulieu parkland, where some of these exquisite vehicles will be allowed to open up their engines at full throttle, giving visitors a tantalising glimpse of what these powerful engines are really capable of.

This event can be enjoyed as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction, which includes the National Motor Museum, World of Top Gear, the James Bond Experience, Beaulieu Abbey, and Palace House and gardens.

For more information, please visit www.beaulieuevents.co.uk or telephone 01590 612345.

The new Amarok is the latest pickup from Volkswagen and it’s already showing real promise – by using just four of these powerful beasts in order to tear down a 67m high steel chimney weighing 140 tonnes and standing at nearly the same height as Westminster Abbey.

In what can only be described as a fantastic stunt, the VW Amarok was chosen for the job after some careful inspection by the specialists at EDS.

Four 200m lengths of rope were rigged to the top of the chimney and attached to the towbars of four standard Amarok pick-ups, each with Volkswagen’s latest four-cylinder, 2.0-litre TDI engine producing 163 PS of power. For this demonstration they were fitted with a ‘quick release’ safely mechanism for the towing ropes, ensuring the safety of the stunt drivers in the unlikely event of the structure falling in the wrong direction.

At the right time, all four of the VW Amaroks charged forward, taking the building with them in a triumph for four wheeled prowess. If you ever had any doubt of how tractable a real world vehicle with commercial uses (and rural uses) can be, then look no further. The Amarok is a powerful vehicle with a wide range of uses.

Simon Elliott, Director, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “The new Amarok is packed with power and intelligence, and we wanted to achieve something extraordinary to demonstrate this for its launch. Working with the right experts and taking a scientific approach, by demolishing a 67 metre steel chimney we’ve shown the maximum strength and power of the Amarok.”

Eldon Stevens from worldwide decommissioning experts EDS was delighted to be part of the dramatic demonstration: “EDS has a reputation for taking on highly complex demolition projects that really test our engineering abilities, so we were thrilled to work with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to see if the new Amarok could bring down such a vast structure. Thankfully our combined skills were up to the challenge!”

The Volkswagen Amarok is officially launched and in showrooms from Monday 9 May. The Amarok is available as a four door doublecab in three trim levels, with on the road prices starting from £21,343 (inc VAT). Full Amarok details are available from www.vwamarok.co.uk or by calling 0800 717131.

This is sure to be one of the events of the year, so don’t miss it!

From 22nd to the 24th July 2011 Silverstone will be host to a massive variety of cars from racing E-types to historic F1 via Group C and GTs – meaning there’s something for everyone.

Event Director Nick Wigley revealed that this year’s event – marking the 21st anniversary of the first classic racing festival at Silverstone – will be the biggest and best yet.

“The numbers are astonishing. We will have more than 1,000 competitors racing more than 800 cars spanning the full spectrum of motor racing history right up the nineties. We are promised a number of exciting cars that are seldom seen racing in the UK including a newly restored black and gold JPS Lotus 72 grand prix car while an awesome Lancia Martini LC2 Group C sports car is due to star in an atmospheric dusk race on the Saturday.

“We are planning two special races celebrating the 50th anniversary of the glorious E-type Jaguar, with up to 58 examples starting one of the headline races on Saturday evening. We hope to create a world record with a cavalcade of 1,000 road going E-types taking to the track and we have more than 120 car clubs taking part with more than 7,000 classic cars on display,” he said.

Under the banner ‘Rocking and Racing’, the three-day event promises a feast of entertainment for race fans and their families. There’s a full programme of 22 races for all manner of historic and classic machinery over the weekend – and there’s a celebrity charity event in identical race-prepared Morgans featuring star names from TV, radio and music – while the evenings are packed with live music: three top tribute bands on Friday followed by classic acts Suzi Quatro, 10cc and Wishbone Ash on Saturday.

On Sunday, spectators will be encouraged to take things a little easier and bring a picnic to the paddock while listening to the Amadeus Orchestra, Tetra Electra and Tenors Un Limited.

Other attractions include air displays, hot air balloons, a funfair, shopping village, steam rally and even lawn mower racing. To ensure no visitor goes hungry, festival catering will be provided by Jamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts. Because there’s so much going on, a fleet of iconic London Routemaster buses will be laid on to ferry spectators around.

Best of all it’s ‘access all areas’ – the displays, the live music, the fun fair and, of course, grandstand seats for the racing are all included in the entry ticket.

Here’s the latest from Beaulieu on what is sure to be a very special celebration in relation to Rolls-Royce:

This year the famous Rolls-Royce mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy, marks its centenary anniversary. To celebrate this important icon of motoring history, and its connections with the Montagu family, a new exhibition will be unveiled on 5 May 2011 in the family home of Palace House.

Telling the intriguing story behind the mascot’s creation, this exhibition explores the connections between motoring pioneer, John Montagu, his friend, the British artist and sculptor, Charles Sykes, and John’s London-based secretary and mistress, Eleanor Thornton.

In 1910, Claude Johnson, the Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, commissioned Sykes to design a mascot “that belonged to the (Rolls-Royce) car as much as a carved wooden figurehead belonged to a sailing vessel.” The Spirit of Ecstasy mascot has adorned the radiator of every Rolls-Royce since 1911.

Widely believed to be the inspiration for Sykes’ iconic mascot, Eleanor never lived to witness the global success of the emblem made in her image. Whilst travelling to India on the P&O liner SS Persia with Lord Montagu in 1915, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. Whilst Eleanor lost her life in the attack, Lord Montagu survived and returned to England, distraught with grief, but unable to openly mourn for his secret lover.

Eleanor’s secret love affair with the married John, Lord Montagu was immortalised in another mascot Sykes designed for Montagu. It was christened The Whisper and depicts a young woman, widely believed to be based on Eleanor, in fluttering robes with a secretive forefinger pressed to her lips.

With original artworks and ephemera rarely seen in public, this promises to be an exhibition not to be missed. On display will be some of Charles Sykes’ original artwork, including special edition covers for The Car Illustrated magazine, which was edited by John Montagu, as well as several original bronzes.

The exhibition will be on display in Palace House until October 2011 and can be seen as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction.

Find out more about Beaulieu at the official website.