Vintage
Speed Trials

A celebration of pre-war motorsport, set within the historic Grimsthorpe Castle estate.

Advance tickets now on sale. Under 16s go free.

10 July 2027

Saturday

9:00am

Gates open

3 runs

Each machine

Under 16s

Free entry

Since 1903

A century of speed in the deer park

At Vintage Speed Trials we are devoted to reviving the spirit of pre-war speed trialling. Grimsthorpe’s motorsport legacy began in 1903, when the Lincolnshire Automobile Club held the first timed runs in the old deer park.

More than a century on, our event evokes the nostalgia of those early gatherings. Cars and motorcycles built before 1939 run against the clock on the castle’s main drive, while the courtyard fills with machinery you will rarely see moving anywhere else. Come for the engines. Stay for the picnic.

How Will You Spend The Day?

Four ways to join us

Watch from the grass, run your own machine, show it in the courtyard, or join the team that makes the day happen. Whichever you choose, the drive is open on 10 July.

Watch

Pitch up track-side

Set your picnic down beside the drive and watch the action unfold, framed by three thousand acres of Lincolnshire parkland.

Compete in the speed trials

Blow the cobwebs off

With the crowds looking on, get that engine humming. If your car or motorcycle was built before 1939, the drive is waiting.

Display your pre-war vehicle

A place in the courtyard

Pre-war cars and motorcycles are given a prestigious exhibition slot in Grimsthorpe’s Vanbrugh Courtyard, in front of the castle itself.

Volunteer

See it from the inside

Lend a hand for the day and get free entry, lunch, and the best view on the estate.

Grimsthorpe Castle Estate

Three thousand acres of backdrop

Grimsthorpe Castle has been home to Vintage Speed Trials since 2018. The red deer park, the great natural lake and the castle itself make a setting no purpose-built circuit could match.

There is a fine coincidence in it, too. The market town of Bourne, just down the road, was the manufacturing home of English Racing Automobiles — England’s answer to Bugatti and Alfa Romeo in the pre-war years. Raymond Mays founded ERA here, and his father raced at Grimsthorpe in 1904.

Your ticket includes admission to the castle, so do take time to see the house and the Capability Brown gardens while you are with us.

Dress

To the nines

Many of our visitors arrive in period clothing, and it makes the day. Tweed, goggles, a good hat — whatever you have. You will feel genuinely transported.

More than a century on, our event evokes the nostalgia of those early gatherings. Cars and motorcycles built before 1939 run on the castle’s main drive, while the courtyard fills with machinery you will rarely see moving anywhere else. Come for the engines. Stay for the picnic.

With thanks to our sponsors

Looking to put your name to the day?

How it works

Machines run singly, over roughly a quarter of a mile of the castle’s main drive — from the start line in front of the house to the finish. Each vehicle takes three runs across the day.

Each vehicle takes at least three runs across the day.

The shape of the day

Time

8:00am - Gates open

10:00am - Track opens

12:30pm - Track closes for lunch

1:30pm - Track reopens

4:00pm approx - Track closes

8:00am

10:00am

12:30pm

1:30pm

4:00pm approx

Gates open

Track opens

Track closes for lunch

Track reopens

Track closes

Everything you need to know before you come →

From The Archive

Previous years

Photography by Peter Clitheroe.