Event
February Event Roundup
From breakfast meets to exclusive visits, here's what we got up to this month.
March 16, 2026
For Supercar Driver members, new year isn’t 1st January — it’s sometime late in March...
After a long winter of cold starts, salty roads and gazing at your cars longingly in the garage, it’s the first proper excuse to get them out, stretch their legs and remind ourselves why we own them in the first place.
What started as a simple early-season get-together in the early days of Supercar Driver has quietly evolved into one of the most important dates in the calendar. Not because it’s the biggest or the loudest (although it has grown in both size and noise over the years), but because it captures pent up excitement of the adventures ahead after those glum and dark months. It feels intimate, exclusive, relaxed, in a way that’s as much about the people as much as the cars.
This year’s season opener at Donington park on 24th March was exactly that. Over a thousand people came together on a chilly Tuesday morning and the paddock was, quite simply, packed. Hundreds of supercars lined every available space, from the latest and greatest to properly driven older machinery, all sat side by side without ceremony.
Early Season Openers were more of a static social get-together. Now though, Season Opener is anything but static, with supercars and racing cars taking to the track all day long. Member sessions gave owners the chance to actually use their cars as intended. No pressure, no ego, just clean, open sessions where everyone could enjoy their cars at their own pace.
Alongside that came the motorsport machinery you just don’t get the chance to see anymore, unless you also attend Secret Meet. Modern GT3 cars delivered the pace, but it was some of the more unusual entries that really stopped you in your tracks.
Justin Law in the Martini-liveried Jaguar XJ220 looked every bit as dramatic as you’d hope, and the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione was achingly cool and sounded incredible at full chat, always with a dab of opposite lock in true ‘70s fashion — raw, loud, and completely intoxicating. If there was an award for best sounding car of the day, it would have been firmly in contention.
And then there are the cars you simply don’t expect to see. For me, the standout had to be the BMW M1 Procar. One of those cars you read about, watch on grainy footage, but rarely — if ever — see in the metal. The sort of thing that makes you stop mid-conversation and just take it in for a minute.
At lunchtime, instead of the track falling quiet, over 120 member cars took to the circuit, creating a unique rolling showcase of everything from Porsche GT models to hypercar royalty like the Bugatti Divo, Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valhalla, Ferrari SP2 Monza and SP3 Daytona and so much more.
No matter the numbers though, Season Opener still feels personal. Familiar. Easy. You could walk the paddock and bump into half a dozen people you hadn’t seen in months within minutes. And then spend the next ten minutes talking to someone you’d never met before, bonded instantly by whatever was parked nearby. Every few metres, you’d stop. Another car that stops you in your tracks. Another familiar face to chat with. Then another. And another. That’s what makes this event what it is.
Conditions weren’t exactly Mediterranean. It was cold and windy — the kind that feels like driving an Ariel Atom without a helmet — but crucially, the rain stayed away. And honestly, it didn’t matter. Because the overriding feeling all day was simple: people were just happy to be back. Back in their cars. Back with their friends. Back in that environment where we all share a love of cars.
Season Opener sets the tone for the year ahead, and serves as a reminder that, beyond the cars, the specs, and the values, this is about community. About experiences. About using the cars properly and sharing those moments with like-minded people. And raising over £25,000 for charity along the way only reinforces that.
This is only the beginning. We have a spectacular year in store for you all.
