In brief, May 2008

The McLaren M23 that was given to Denny Hulme by the team when he retired from Grand Prix racing will compete in Europe this summer for the first time in over 30 years. Now restored and raced by New Zealander Phil Mauger, the car is due in Britain in time for the Grand Prix Masters races at Brands Hatch on May 25/26.

Michael Lyons will make history in May when he races a Formula 1 car at Monaco at the age of just 17. Lyons will join his parents, Frank and Judy, in a three-car team of classic Formula 1 cars at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix meeting. The teenager will race the ex-Rupert Keegan Hesketh 308E in which he made his F1 debut last summer aged 16.

On Tuesday May 20 the Discovery Channel will air Speed, Style and Beauty: The Ralph Lauren Car Collection. This one-hour special will give viewers a first look at the designer’s famous collection, which includes a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Mille Miglia and a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.

Jimmy McRae, partnered by Pauline Gullick, will drive a Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 in the New Zealand Silver Fern Marathon Rally, which starts in Christchurch on October 16. McRae will contest the eight-day event for the Jardine Lloyd Thompson team, with Andrew Barnes and Neil Dashfield in another Escort.

The first four places in the popular IV Rally Clásico Isla Mallorca were taken up by Porsche 911s, with Christian Coll winning in his 911 RSR in Martini colours. Michael Stoschek squeezed past Helmuth Eschmann to take second.

The Shadow DN1 that was the first GP car entered by Graham Hill will return to racing in Europe this season in the hands of Daryl Taylor. The car is set to be used in a mix of Derek Bell Trophy and Grand Prix Masters races. Raced by Hill in Embassy colours in 1973, the car last competed in Canada in the ’90s.