CURTAIN RAISES ON ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

CURTAIN RAISES ON ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

The curtain has raised on the 2019 edition of the Silverstone Classic as large numbers of the 1000+ entries took to the iconic ‘Home of British Motor Racing’ for a unique dress rehearsal ahead of this weekend’s big show-stopping spectacular.

With an incredible ten decades of retro machinery on show, both on- and off-track, the Silverstone Classic is regarded as the zenith of historic motor racing meetings in the world, regardless of genre. 

From FIA Masters Historic Formula One machinery and Masters Endurance Legends from recent decades right back to the early pioneers from the dawn of Le Mans back in the 1920s, the Silverstone Classic features oversubscribed grids harking back to yesteryear across three days of thrilling track action.

Qualifying gets underway for all classes tomorrow [Friday] ahead of a packed programme of 21 races to be run across Saturday and Sunday. 

In preparation of the weekend’s racing action, many of this year’s competitors had the final chance to put finishing touches to their machines today [Thursday] during final test sessions around the famous Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. 

With special anniversary celebrations ahead, huge numbers of Minis and Bentleys were already out in force. To mark the pint-sized icon’s 60th birthday, no fewer than 60 sporty Cooper S models from pre-’66 will contest a pair of incredible races for the Mini Celebration Trophy presented by Adrian Flux over the weekend. 

Founded in 1919, Bentley has just reached three figures – a remarkable milestone that will be honoured by Saturday evening’s Bentley Centenary Trophy for Pre-War Sportscars. Recreating the famous marque’s formative early years, more than 20 Bentleys from the 1920s and 1930s will be racing against an evocative field jam-packed with Aston Martins, Fraser Nashes, Invictas, Lagondas, and Talbots from the first half of the last century. 

Another head-turner proudly sporting the Flying B badge is the Bentley Speed 8. The dark green prototype gave the company its first Le Mans victory for 73 years when winning in 2003. Incredibly the Speed 8 never before raced on home soil – an omission that will be corrected at this weekend’s Classic. 

While the cars are always the stars, a number of top drivers were also revving up for the weekend in the summer sunshine at Silverstone. 

Three-time British Touring Car Champion Colin Turkington is racing a BMW M3 as campaigned by tin-top legend Steve Soper back in 1991 and is a huge fan of the Classic.

“The Classic is one of my favourite weekends of the year – it’s such a super festival to enjoy as a spectator. As a driver, it delivers on all fronts with the massive crowds,” said the reigning BTCC champ. “Having just driven the M3, it’s mint! You are driving around feeling like a hero; it’s so nicely balanced and flies out of the corners – I can’t stop grinning!”

While most eyes were focused on the track, final preparations have also been completed on the huge in-field areas in readiness for the arrival of more than 10,000 stunning classic cars and 100,000 visitors over the three-day festival. 

Display areas have been assigned for the record number of car clubs attending, the huge assortment of family entertainment attractions and entertainment primed for action, large numbers of significant lots and the central music stage set-up for live performances on both Friday and Saturday evenings. This year top tribute bands will pay homage to the legendary Woodstock Festival which took place almost exactly 50 years ago in the summer of 1969. 

“We are all ready for what promises to be the biggest and best Silverstone Classic to date,” enthused Nick Wigley, Silverstone Classic CEO. “The racing is the heartbeat of such an incredible family festival jam-packed with entertainment for all ages so it’s no surprise that we have sold a record number of full weekend tickets – one day really is never enough!”

All tickets include admission to the concerts as well as both racing paddocks, open trackside grandstands and the vast majority of the family entertainment on offer for all ages. Tickets, though, must be purchased in advance and only remain on sale until midnight tonight. Gates open on Friday at 7.30am

Full details – plus all the latest event news, and results information – can be found on the official silverstoneclassic.com website and via the event’s social media platforms.

SPEED 8 DEBUT ICES BENTLEY BIRTHDAY CAKE AT THE CLASSIC

SPEED 8 DEBUT ICES BENTLEY BIRTHDAY CAKE AT THE CLASSIC

Bentley Speed 8 to race at the 2019 Silverstone Classic

For the first time in history, one of Bentley’s stunning 24 Hours of Le Mans winning Speed 8 prototypes will race on home UK soil when it debuts on track at this month’s magical Silverstone Classic (26-28 July).

It is now more than 16 years since Bentley made a dramatic return to the scene of its ethos-defining early victories and scored an evocative sixth success at Le Mans in 2003 to add to its five original wins racked up between 1924 and 1930.

In the latest chapter in its history, Bentley was taken over by the Volkswagen Group in 1998 and the new German guardians were understandably keen to re-establish the brand’s sporting credentials.

To recreate those glory days, the new owners invested in a prototype motor sport programme and in 2003 briefly switched its Le Mans attack from Audi to Bentley.

British racing green livered Speed 8 coupés were designed and produced at the team’s UK base in Crewe – albeit with some technical support plus 600bhp twin-turbo V8 engines from serial LM24 winners Audi – and the programme culminated in Bentley’s first Le Mans win in 73 years. With mission accomplished, the fastest cars ever to wear the hallowed Flying B badge were immediately mothballed and VW’s endurance racing efforts switched back to more mainstream Audi ‘Silver Arrows’.

One of those stunning 215mph speedsters from 2003, though, is now in the private hands of experienced sportscar racing enthusiast Shaun Lynn and he will be contesting both showdowns for the Aston Martin Trophy for Masters Endurance Legends at the 2019 Classic – incredibly it will be the first time one of these magnificent Speed 8s has ever raced in the UK.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Shaun is joining us at the Classic to race his Speed 8,” enthused a delighted Ron Maydon, President of Masters Historic Racing. “This will be another iconic addition to our already impressive grid and is sure to be a massive crowd-pleaser. The Speed 8’s debut in a Masters’ race is all the more pertinent, of course, as Bentley is celebrating its centenary at the Classic and its Le Mans victories are very much a highlight of the brand’s incredible heritage.”

Bentley turned 100 earlier this month (W.O. Bentley was founded his eponymous company on 10 July 1919) and that milestone will be honoured with special displays, parades and races at the Classic.

Indeed Saturday’s packed programme concludes late in the evening with an evocative ‘Twilight Tribute to Le Mans’. Three spectacular sportscar races set at dusk will cover almost a century of round-the-clock racing and feature 150 great cars ranging from the Bentleys of 1920s right up to the superfast sports prototypes such as the Speed 8, Lola Aston Martin and a pair of striking Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs – another Le Mans winner. It’s not to be missed!   

“We must thank Shaun massively for bringing the Speed 8 to Silverstone – it’s an incredible car and will be the icing on Bentley’s centenary birthday cake as we celebrate the company’s milestone 100th anniversary at the Classic,” said Nick Wigley, CEO of the Silverstone Classic. “Our special Saturday evening Twilight Tribute to Le Mans is now complete: it will kick off with a wonderful array of vintage Bentleys competing in the Pre-War Sportscar race and conclude at dusk with the Speed 8 racing into the sunset. Just perfect!”

This summer’s unrivalled roster of retro races also includes special anniversary celebrations for Capris, Minis and Abarths plus evocative showdowns for classic era Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 single-seaters, all together on the same Classic race-card for the very first time.

Providing great value, all tickets – which must be purchased in advance – also give access to a wealth of great family entertainment including period funfair rides, driving experiences, interactive games, massive car club displays plus live music concerts on Friday and Saturday evening which this summer pay homage to the seminal Woodstock festival of 1969. Along with access to both racing paddocks and open trackside grandstands, all of those fun-fuelled attractions are included absolutely free in the ticket price!

Adult tickets cost from just £45 and a wide range of child, young adult and family tickets are also available along with camping and hospitality options. Full details of all ticket prices are detailed on the silverstoneclassic.com website.

GROUP B LEGENDS FINALLY ARRIVE AT SILVERSTONE

GROUP B LEGENDS FINALLY ARRIVE AT SILVERSTONE

Streetcar Shootout is in its tenth year at the Classic

Having been given the honour of hosting the very first official World Championship Formula One race in 1950, Silverstone is rightly revered around the globe as the home of Grand Prix racing in the UK.

The hallowed Northamptonshire venue, though, has also staged World Rally Championship action in its illustrious past a chapter in the circuit’s history that ended exactly 20 years ago in 1999 and which will be retold at this summer’s Silverstone Classic (26-28 July).

A special rallying showcase organised by Slowly Sideways UK will not only feature legendary beasts from the audacious Group B era but also Colin McRae’s iconic blue Subaru Impreza – the very car in which the swashbuckling Scot competed at Silverstone in 1997 en route to winning his third and final Network Q RAC Rally.

Back in the days of crowd-pleasing Sunday Spectator Stages set at stately homes and race tracks, the World Rally Championship roared into Silverstone on five occasions – the first visit came in 1980 then again in 1989, 1997, 1998 and finally in 1999.

Those years straddle the legendary Group B era which came between 1983 and 1986 – an omission that will be plugged at the Classic as the Slowly Sideways showcase will include a number of these fearsome Group B monsters including Ford RS200, Nissan 240RS and Peugeot 205 T16 icons. 

Often termed ‘Formula 1 in the forests’, Group B regulations were introduced for the 1982 season with only a few restrictions and allowing almost unlimited power. Cars could be mid-engined two-seaters and manufacturers only had to produce 200 examples that bore no more than a passing resemblance to showroom models to meet minimal homologation requirements.

As a result, in the four years between 1983 and 1986, rallying developed further and faster than it had done in the previous four decades. Group B took the sport to the absolute edge of performance but put it beyond common sense and reasonable safety levels. When FISA, the then world governing body, called the category following a series of terrifying accidents, Group B was immortalised.

The presence of these daring Group B vestiges at the Classic will add yet another attraction to what’s already the biggest retro-racing festival on Earth. Even more so, as the beasts won’t just be caged in a showcase – they will be released for dramatic demonstration runs in the event’s popular live demos area (located on a stretch of ex-track between former Abbey and Bridge Corners) and now crowned the Shift & Drift Zone, where they will share the spotlight with stunt driving supremo Terry Grant and the ever-spectacular Streetcar Shootout.

The rubber-burning Streetcar Shootout is celebrating its tenth year at the Classic, giving visitors a glimpse of British streetcar drag racing at its very best with more than 70 of the UK's ‘baddest’ street cars battling it out to take the much-coveted crown.

Last year saw the biggest and best display to date with newcomer Danny Wilson taking top honours in his Outlaw Anglia running a 412 cubic inch small block Chevy engine with an incredible best ¼ mile time of 8.85 seconds crossing the line at an astounding 153 mph! 

What’s more, each show will be topped and tailed by three mind-blowing dragsters. Sam Freeman will open up with his immaculately turned out, supercharged Keith Black powered Dragster producing an ear-shattering 2,000hp. Closing each show will be Thing 8 supercharged outlaw – the star of last year's Classic – plus Lee Galimore’s Red Mist Altered dragster. The dynamic duo bringing the curtain down with an awesome display totalling close to 4,000hp!

Legendary stuntman Grant, a multiple world record holder, made his Silverstone Classic debut in 2018 and wasted no time wowing crowds with an incredible exhibition of jaw-dropping stunts. He left his stunned audience crying out for more… and that’s just what they are going to get in July.

“It’s great to be adding the aura of Group B to the power-packed Shift & Drift Zone show,” said Nick Wigley, CEO of the Silverstone Classic. “Those monsters really caught the public’s imagination back in the eighties and it’s no surprise that they continue to do so today. The heroics of Colin McRae were similarly exciting, so the presence of his RAC Rally winning Subaru is sure to be yet another must-see magnet for all Classic visitors.”

Entry to the Shift & Drift Zone is included in the ticket price. Adult general admission starts at £45 and all tickets also provide access to both Silverstone racing paddocks, all open trackside grandstands, live music concerts, Drive Live test drives, funfair rides and the vast majority of the great family entertainment on offer.

A wide range of child, young adult and family tickets are also available along with camping and hospitality options. Full details of all 2019 ticket prices are detailed on the silverstoneclassic.com website.