Plum Pudding Race 2025

The Plum Pudding Race event at Mallory Park is a motorsports race meeting I have never been to before. That changed last weekend when, along with two of the PistonClick stalwarts, I made the journey to the self-titled friendly track. 

I know Mallory Park very well, having visited the Leicestershire circuit on numerous occasions. Being held on Boxing Day for nearly 50 years, it has always been inconvenient for me to attend. Family commitments over the holiday season have taken priority. Not this year, however; a free Boxing Day and with fine weather forecast, I packed my camera kit. Setting off to experience the last track meeting of the year, the journey was uneventful, with little traffic and glorious sunshine.

Last year, David and Andrew, who I would meet up with later, weren’t blessed with the same fine weather conditions. Fog, mist, and drizzle hampered last year’s meeting. It got that bad that the racing was abandoned. 

I had set off early and breezed into the circuit after being relieved of £20, which included a basic programme. David had warned me that they had queued for 45 minutes the previous year, so my plan to arrive early was a good one. There was a good-sized crowd, and as I walked up to the hairpin, I could see the traffic building up to get in.

Plum Pudding Race Hairpin

The hairpin at Mallory is one of the slowest corners of all of the UK tracks. It is also one of my favourites when the sun is shining. The weak December sun would be just about high enough for the first motorcycle practice session to bathe the corner in the golden rays of sunshine, making the bikes pop in my images.

However, the race schedule was not going to plan. It might have been sunny, but it was very cold. It was that cold there was frost and a little ice on the track. The Marshalls and the rest of the safety team were doing their best to remove it by driving every vehicle they had available around the track.

A decision was made, and the cars would come out first. In my opinion, a wise one. The first few laps were interesting, with quite a lot of opposite lock being applied as the back end of the cars stepped out on the tricky conditions.  

I was looking forward to this meeting as it’s something quite different to a standard motorsport event. Motorcycles and cars would be racing, but not at the same time. The cars and bikes would race in separate races with different class within the races. The 750 Motor Club was organising the cars, with the East Midlands Racing Association looking after the bikes.

Plum Pudding Races

There is no qualifying for the cars, just a few practice laps, and off they would go racing around the short but fast Mallory circuit. The grid position is determined by the time of your entry to the event. This proved to be an interesting way of doing things. The first race of the day was carnage.

A combination of fast cars  trying to get past slower ones and differing racing abilities led to five-cars having to be recovered. This was not one indecent; three came together at the back of the pack, ending up spinning into the exit of the pit lane! The second incident saw two cars hit the barrier at Gerrard’s. Due to the cars leaking fluids, an early lunch was called to give the Marshalls time to recover the stranded cars.

Saloon/Hatchback 

After lunch, we were back racing; the motorbikes were still to make an appearance. There were two separate car classes: Sports-Racing cars and Saloon/Hatchback . The Saloon/Hatchback were out again and provided some entertaining racing in the still tricky conditions. Lots of interesting cars to see; Daniel Earl giving the VXR a proper workout was great to watch.

Giles Kirk in the SEAT Leon Eurocup and Jenson O’Neill-Going in the Hyundai i30 N TCR claimed victories in the Saloon Cars.

Sports-Racing cars 

The Sports/Sports-Racing cars were a riot of vehicles. Jonathan Edwards in the Chiron Sports was so fast. That fast that he lapped everyone! It’s not just about the overall win in the Plum Pudding; there were battles going on down the order for class wins.

I’m not sure how the classes were decided in the Sports-Racing cars. It’s the first time I have seen a Legends v Truck v Chiron v Caterham v VW Beetle thing. To be honest I wasn’t that interested in how the classes were decided. I was enjoying the spectacle of so many different race cars out on track together. Jonathan Edwards in the Chiron Sports took the overall victory in both Sports-Racing cars races. 

Plum Pudding Motorcycle Races

Finally the motorcycles came out. Just like the cars the grid was an eclectic mix of machines. I headed to the inside of the track to get close to the bikes at one of the best spots to watch racing at Mallory. The Esses is a great place to watch and take a few snaps of the action. Located just behind the scrutinising bay you can see all the way from Gerards to the Hairpin, not many tracks give you that kind of view.

Aaron Staniforth #117 took two wins in the Open Class from the two motorcycle races. Daniel Galloway also had two wins in the 125-400cc Class. 3 Morgan Creasey and Luke MacRae had a win apiece in the 500 Class.

A special mention must go to Pete Humphres on the Honda 125. I loved the sloth on a bike in the paddock and hats off to him for racing a 125cc machine in tricky conditions against 1000cc bikes.

Plum Pudding Race Conclusion 

To sum up the Plum Pudding racing at Mallory Park is quite easy. It’s an eclectic mix of machines taking to the track for one last time this season. For the race spectator this year there was a great mix of cars and bikes that eventually got out on track for you to watch racing. Will I go next year, yes I will lets hope that the weather is kind in 2026, according to Greta it should be!

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Thanks to David and Andrew Harbey for the images. You can see more of Davids images in the links below.