Motor Racing Legends - Moving Forward

Originally Posted by MRL

Motor Racing Legends - Our Vision for 2025 and After
Dear Competitors, Dear Preparers, Dear Members of the Motor Racing Legends Community,

As you know, Motor Racing Legends has recently entered a new phase of its rich history, while remaining firmly rooted in the two fundamental principles that have built its reputation: the spirit of camaraderie and respect for history.

While it is up to you to maintain the former, it is our duty to ensure that the technical and historical conformity of the cars is respected.
On this subject, and in complete transparency, we have been working for several weeks, in collaboration with various promoters, including Goodwood and Masters Historic Racing, and with the support of Roger Wills in his roles with the FIA and Motorsport UK, to harmonize the technical regulations of our different series.
The goal is for any car deemed eligible by Motor Racing Legends to also be automatically acceptable to many other prominent series, with regards to specification and eligibility.

As your cars are currently in your workshops, being prepared for the upcoming season, we would like to present to you the key guidelines that will shape our events in the coming months and years.

In general, adherence to original specifications and technical compliance will form the foundation of the spirit of our races.

It is in this spirit that our technical inspections will be conducted, and it is in this spirit that your cars must be prepared. It is high time to return to consistent preparations that honor history and preserve the integrity of your cars.
We know that it is unrealistic to insist on going back at all costs. We cannot deny the technological evolution linked to the history of motorsport. Materials and oils are of better quality. The engines built today, even those meeting FIA standards, are more reliable and more efficient than they were in the past.
Similarly, we know that some parts are now unavailable or no longer reliable enough to allow you to race safely and with a minimum level of reliability.
It is therefore a balance that we must find between performance, reliability, respect for history, and costs.

Motorsport is an inherently expensive activity, and it is our responsibility to ensure that it does not become unaffordable. Therefore, we will be extremely vigilant during technical inspections and will strive to root out non-period parts, lighter components, and modern materials whenever possible.

Similarly, and as is already the case with a well-known European promoter, we are considering the introduction of rev limiters on certain cars to put an end to the relentless pursuit of power, which is always synonymous with increased costs.

We are aware that, most of the time, the competitor-owner relies on their team to prepare the car, often with blind trust. However, it is ultimately the owner’s responsibility to guide the preparer in the right direction. Conversely, the preparer has a crucial advisory role to play in guiding the owner and preventing deviations.

To support you, we will, over the coming months, clarify the technical regulations, issue technical bulletins to provide guidance on the preparation of certain specific models, and assist you as much as possible in the process of obtaining FIA technical passports for your cars.

Indeed, no one can predict the future of historic racing. But by structuring and regulating the preparation of your cars, leading to the issuance of an FIA technical passport, you guarantee a future for your car as well as its eligibility for all historic events, both with Motor Racing Legends and beyond.

However, all these principles and intentions will not be decided without your input. Thus, as was the case last September during an initial meeting, we aim to involve competitors and preparers as much as possible in our decision-making process.
For each series, we will establish a working group composed of competitors and preparers to discuss technical choices and decisions that will benefit the series as a whole.

2025 will be, for you as for us, a year of transition. Everything will not happen in one day, as you know.
We wish to take advantage of the upcoming season to engage with you, share our ideas, submit our questions, and listen to your feedback. It is only with your support, your comments, and continuous information sharing that we will be able to build the future of Motor Racing Legends together. We must all recognise that halting this arms race on every grid is necessary, we have already seen how in some respects modern racing is cheaper than historic.

Please come on this journey with us.

Best regards,