Coffee with Ronnie Peterson’s brother before Silverstone scramble

ÖREBRO, SWEDEN, AUGUST 9
Ronnie Peterson is one of my racing heroes, so a visit to see his brother Tommy in their home town was special. We had coffee and pastries in their original family home, a house their dad built in 1967. I’ve known Tommy, a lovely person, since visiting a museum dedicated to Ronnie years ago. We spent some time at a memorial in the town, where there’s also a restaurant called Monza run by a fan. There are pictures on the walls and even a Ronnie pizza!

SILVERSTONE FESTIVAL, AUGUST 20-24
Silverstone Festival started on the Wednesday, coaching the talented Rudi Friedrichs in his Cobra run by the wonderful Pearsons team. In the meeting itself, I raced with Paul Phillips in his Porsche GT3, then with John Spiers in a number of cars: two Listers (in one race), Cobra, McLaren M1A, Mustang, TVR, plus John’s March 761. It’s not really a challenge driving so many. The prime thing is knowing the timetable and working with John on whether he starts or finishes a session or race, depending on what comes next. As for the cars, which I’ve driven plenty of times before, from the moment I sit in each I immediately feel familiar and know which gear I need for each car for each particular corner. The main thing is remembering whether they are right or left-hand drive if I’m waiting in the pitlane to take over!

ZOLDER 24 HOURS, AUGUST 30-31
I love this race. I was in a new BMW M4 GT4 Evo, inset, owned and run by the family Hamofa team, who I first drove for 21 years ago. I was racing with the three Verhoeven brothers. We qualified second in the GT4 class. I started and took the lead in a 2hr 45min stint, then did another couple of hours in the night, with an end result of second in GT4 and a new lap record. A lovely family, and Zolder is a proper old-school circuit. If Belgium didn’t have Spa, it would be rated much higher than it is.

Our top events this month

VSCC – Welsh trial
Presteigne, Powys, October 8-9
Dating back to 1939, the Welsh Trial is a major date on the Vintage Sports Car Club calendar. Look out for bouncers: required in each car, they ‘bounce’ to give grip on muddy sections. There are free Spectator Hills at Ralph’s Cider’s Badland Farm and Cwm Whitton (parking charge will apply).

Historic Rally European Championship – Asturias
Asturias, Spain, October 15-18
With its temperate oceanic climate, the Asturias region is known as Green Spain (it’s in the north) – with a similar landscape to the UK and Ireland. Ideal rally country. Expect Quattros, Mk2 Escorts and Talbot Sunbeam Lotuses among other exotica, centred around Pravia, Salas and Muros de Nalón.

CSCC – Season Finale
Oulton Park, Cheshire, October 18
The Classic Sports Car Club reaches its 2025 climax with a wide range of races including pre-1961 Jaguars, pre-1966 GT and touring cars, pre-1978 sports and saloon cars and pre-1999 saloons, hatchbacks and GT models. Tickets from £16.

WRC – Central European Rally
Germany, Austria, Czech Rep, October 16-19
Emanating from the border tripoint of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, stages at places with umlauts and háčeks will play their part in shaping a season that may well go to the wire. Spectating from £22.

Formula Ford festival
Brands Hatch, Kent, October 25-26
This, the 54th Formula Ford Festival, is the centrepiece of the British Racing & Sports Car Club’s year, and is perhaps the most competitive single-seater racing on the planet. A knockout-style format promises plenty of dicing, and there’s a diverse assortment of support races. Entry from £16.

More events
Oct 9-12 Karting – Franciacorta, Italy
Oct 24-26 F1 – Mexican GP, Mexico City
Nov 6-8 WEC – Bahrain 8 Hours