Donington Park Test Day – Murray Shepherd to the Rescue

A Difficult Start at the Donington Park Test Day

Another Donington Park test day began exactly as planned. The alarm went off at 5:45am, followed by breakfast, a quick walk with the dog, packing the camera gear and leaving home by 6:45am. By 7:45am I was in the paddock with a coffee in hand, collecting the day’s running schedule before heading off to scout the garages.

As usual, I selected three interesting cars that I thought would make an excellent feature. After introducing myself to each driver or owner, I arranged to return around lunchtime for interviews once I had photographed them around the circuit.

Everything appeared to be running perfectly. Then everything unravelled.

The first of my chosen cars completed just one lap before disappearing. The second managed only a couple more laps before heading back to the paddock. To complete my miserable start, the third car ground to a halt directly in front of me before being loaded onto the recovery truck.

Back in the garages, I discovered that two of the cars had already packed up and gone home. The third sat in pieces with its gearbox spread across the garage floor after locking itself in third gear on its opening lap.

My planned feature had disappeared before it had even begun.

Then my phone buzzed.

“Hi Graham, at Donington today in a Chevron B8 and an Elan. Pop down and say hi if you’re about. Garage 29.”

The message came from Murray Shepherd.

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.

Murray Shepherd Comes to the Rescue

I headed straight for Garage 29 and arrived just in time to wave Murray goodbye as he climbed into the passenger seat of a beautiful 1964 Lotus Elan 26R, wearing a huge smile.

Readers may remember that I featured Murray back in February while he was coaching Ben Snee and his brothers. This time he was working with Joel Hopwood and David Humpston.

When Murray returned to the garage, we caught up on everything that had happened since we last met.

He explained that life had become incredibly busy as a contracted professional driver. Driving such a wide variety of machinery has allowed him to meet owners, engineers and teams throughout the historic racing world. By consistently producing strong performances and building relationships within the paddock, new opportunities continue to arrive.

Within days he would be racing a 1957 Ford Fairlane alongside Thruxton circuit owner Alex Thistlethwayte at the Thruxton Retro meeting.

The following weekend he would swap American V8 power for something completely different by driving the ex-Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi F8, a car I featured earlier this year. Murray also hopes to return to the Gordon Murray-designed Brabham DFV at Silverstone later this season.

Today’s role focused on coaching.

Murray first met Joel Hopwood while instructing at Pembrey through Martin Stretton’s driver training programme. He now regularly coaches Joel while also working with David Humpston, who usually shares driving duties in the Lotus Elan.

Only a few weeks earlier, Murray had partnered Joel in the Elan and delivered an outstanding podium finish after starting 60th on the grid.

“It all comes down to driving as many different cars as possible,” Murray explained.

“Every car teaches you something, and every good result opens another door.”

If anyone is looking for an experienced historic racing driver to race, develop or help set up their car, Murray Shepherd has built an impressive reputation for doing exactly that.

Joel Hopwood’s Historic Racing Journey

After speaking with Murray, I spent time chatting with Joel Hopwood, the owner of the three cars brought to Donington. Joel casually described himself as

“just an ex-salesman having some fun.”

That has to rank among the biggest understatements I’ve heard in a paddock.

Like many enthusiasts, Joel began by attending track days in whichever performance car he owned at the time. He believed he was reasonably quick until one memorable passenger ride changed everything.

Mark Shaw took him around the circuit in a Lotus Elan 26R. The speed, precision and balance of the little Lotus completely transformed Joel’s understanding of driving. As soon as they climbed out, Joel asked whether he could buy the car. Mark agreed.

The deal also introduced Joel to race mechanic Tom Smith Racing, who still prepares and maintains the cars today.

The original Lotus Elan wasn’t designed as a racing car. However, private teams such as Willment and other independent specialists quickly realised its potential. Colin Chapman watched these modified Elans become increasingly successful before introducing the factory-built 26R competition version.

Even then, no two examples were exactly alike. Many left the factory as kits before owners finished them to their own specifications, making it difficult to know precisely how many genuine 26Rs exist today. Although around 97 cars are generally accepted, the true figure remains uncertain. Joel’s car was converted to full 26R specification around ten years ago by Lanzante.

His collection expanded when another conversation at the Silverstone Festival led to the purchase of a 1968 Chevron B8.

“It fits you like a glove,” Joel laughed. “You’re practically sitting on the floor. What nobody tells you is that you need to be a contortionist to climb in and out.” Watching him squeeze into the cockpit certainly proved his point.

Learning Every Time He Races

Joel measures success differently from many drivers. Rather than chasing outright victories, he focuses on constant improvement.

“What inspires me most is starting at the back one weekend, then starting in the middle of the grid the next because I’ve found another two seconds a lap. That’s what makes me happy.”

He also praised Tom Smith’s contribution to the team.

Tom quietly keeps everything running smoothly, knows exactly what each car needs and creates a relaxed atmosphere throughout the paddock. During our conversation, Murray mentioned one of Joel’s YouTube videos documenting a race weekend at the Algarve Classic Festival. After watching it myself, I can only agree.

If you’re interested in historic motorsport, it offers one of the finest behind-the-scenes looks at a classic race meeting that you’re likely to find.

David Humpston’s Expanding Racing Career

David Humpston has only been racing for around a year but has already become an important part of Joel’s historic racing programme.

Away from the circuit, David founded View Point Videos at just 18 years old. With Joel acting as both mentor and business adviser, the company has continued to grow over the past fourteen years.

That success now allows David to race alongside Joel while sharing the Lotus Elan. This season he also plans to contest the European 2.0L Cup in his 1960s Porsche 911.

Several of his business clients already compete in the championship, and David hopes to challenge them on track as well as behind the camera.

Together, Joel and David also own the small blue Rochdale Olympic that joined them at Donington.

Unfortunately, its day ended almost immediately. A broken valve destroyed the engine on the opening lap, punching a sizeable hole through one of the pistons. Thankfully I had already managed to photograph it before the failure occurred.

The Man Behind the Cars

Keeping Joel’s cars on track is race mechanic Tom Smith from Norfolk, whose workshop also maintains Mark Shaw’s impressive collection, including the Lotus Elan that Joel now owns.

John’s passion for motorsport started in childhood. His father knew several Mk2 Jaguar racers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and young John regularly accompanied him to race meetings.

“I was always going to end up in motorsport,” he explained.

He trained as a mechanic before becoming a mobile technician, gradually saving enough money to purchase a rolling road. After opening his own workshop, local racers soon began bringing their cars for tuning.

More than thirty years later, John now prepares historic race cars and supports teams trackside throughout the season.

Although he briefly competed in grass-track racing himself, building and preparing race cars always provided the greatest satisfaction.

“The highs are incredibly high,” he said, “but the lows can be absolutely devastating.”

“It broke my heart, but that’s racing.”

The blown Rochdale engine had certainly left its mark.

He then summed up motorsport with a quote that everyone in the paddock immediately understood.

“It’s like having a really attractive girlfriend who’s also really abusive.”

A Test Day Saved

What began as one of my most frustrating test days at Donington Park ultimately became one of the most rewarding. Mechanical failures had wiped out my original plans before the morning had properly begun, but a timely message from Murray Shepherd opened the door to an entirely different story.

Instead of writing about three anonymous test cars, I spent the day meeting passionate racers, talented mechanics and dedicated professionals who perfectly capture the spirit of historic motorsport.

Sometimes the best stories are the ones you never planned to write.

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Thanks to Graham Atkinson for this Donington Park Test Day report. You can find more of his work by following the links below.