HEROCARDS

Since 2003, AD Group, in association with RML, Graham Nash Motorsport and the other teams with which it has raced, has published nearly thirty different collectors' autograph cards or, to use their American terminology, HeroCards.

Handed out at official autograph sessions, during pitlane walkabouts, or simply from the back of the team garage, these cards have proved very popular, and highly sought-after. Cards signed by the drivers appear regularly on Internet auction sites, and sometimes command surprisingly high prices. One card, signed by Thomas Erdos, realised over £20.

As the generic name might suggest, the idea originated in the United States, where drivers and teams, especially those associated with Nascar, regularly started to publish "Hero Cards" in the 1980s. The first British team acknowledged with employing genuine HeroCards was Team Marcos in 1994. The team's manager at the time, Gene Pinnell, had spent several years in the States, and suggested the idea. It then took off in a big way when the team released a pair of cards for the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1995.

Since then the idea of handing out high quality large-format postcards at race meetings has become common practice by many teams and drivers. Easier to handle and more durable than posters, the cards represent a great memento of a day at the circuit, and make the perfect medium for collecting autographs.

There is a complete checklist of all the cards AD Holdings has published between 2003 and 2007 on our companion website at www.mg-lola.com. One day, perhaps, when I've got nothing better to do, this page may continue where the MG Lola listing leaves off, and chronicle the team's HeroCards from 2009 onwards.