It’s getting to the time of year when we start to think less about what motorsport events we’re going to this year, and more about what’s going to be on our list for next year. Alongside the likes of the British Grand Prix, your local BTCC round and the reprieved Silverstone WEC race, why not consider watching some historic racing?

The biggest and grandest of the British Historic meetings, the Goodwood Revival, has just graced our TV screens. Every year, fans young and old, many in period dress, gather at the East Sussex circuit in a coming-together of beautiful cars and beautiful people.

Or so the television has us believe. Away from the 1950s couture and shockingly valuable cars on show, there is also a really good race meeting going on. Whether your thing is screaming single-seaters, or battling saloons, elegant sportscars or snarling prototypes, even bikes, they will be duking it out somewhere at Goodwood.

If you’ve ever felt that Formula One cars these days are too quiet, or that racing cars all look the same, then historics will probably appeal. There is nothing quite like a full grid of 1950s F1 cars for the noise factor, or a classic touring car race for unlikely scraps between Minis and enormous Ford Mustangs.

What a historic race can’t really give you is the out-and-out drama of a live championship with points and prizes at stake. There is nothing quite like getting behind your favourite team and willing them to a win. However, there is also nothing quite like the sheer visceral thrill of loud, lairy old cars being driven as they were built to be, at speed. They slide, they lift wheels, they understeer and they make a fantastic racket.

That’s not to say that there won’t be any star drivers at a historic meeting. BTCC champions Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal own an immaculate Ford Lotus Cortina which they race together, taking in such meetings as the Revival and the Silverstone Classic. Another BTCC champion, Andrew Jordan, regularly appears in an Austin A40 with his father, Mike. You might even see the likes of Giedo van der Garde in an AC Cobra, or Formula One veterans such as Jochen Mass, Jackie Oliver and Jacky Ickx on-track.

As with any motorsport discipline, the historic scene has its specialists. Kiwi Roger Wills and Greek shipping magnate Leo Voyazides are among those known for their extensive collections of exotic and venerable cars. Two of the fastest drivers in historics today are Olly Bryant and Sam Hancock, who also race modern sportscars. Their battle in the Sussex Trophy at the end of a rain-lashed Revival last week was a sight to behold. Hancock won out in the Ferrari, but Bryant gave him a strong run for his money in a Lotus. Olly Bryant is also very handy with an AC Cobra, which he often shares with his father, Grahame. The pair won the RAC TT Trophy at this year’s Silverstone Classic.

The Goodwood Revival is obviously the marquee event for British Historic racing, but the Silverstone Classic, always held at the end of July, is a worthy alternative. This two-day event covers a much wider time span than Goodwood, which does not allow post-1966 cars to take part. Here, you can watch the FIA Historic Formula One championship, dominated by the brutish and thrilling cars of the 1970s. For those wanting more recent nostalgia, the Super Touring race is a welcome opportunity to relive BTCC battles of yore. Steve Soper even won it this year.

August’s Oulton Park Gold Cup is another established event, although lower in profile than the two already mentioned. On the continent, the Le Mans Classic and the Spa 6 Hours are the ones to look out for.

The Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) is the biggest historic motorsport club in the UK, and holds meetings all over the country for pre-war cars. These are sometimes promoted as “Formula Vintage” and feature guest races for the likes of the Historic Formula One championship. This is club-level stuff, although the machinery is impressive, and you can get yourself a historic racing fix for comparatively little money.

Another big advantage of the UK Historic scene is the level of access you get to the cars and drivers. Open paddocks are commonplace, so you can get a really close look at the cars on show, watch the mechanics at work and chat to the drivers. It’s a world away from the velvet ropes and strictly-enforced access limits of the modern F1 paddock.

It has spectacle and grandeur, lots of loud engine noise and often, big grids. What is there not to like about historics? If you’re lucky, you can even get to see some wishful thinking come true: at this year’s Silverstone Classic, an Arrows even won a Formula One race. You don’t see that every day.