Silverstone Classic – Icons go hell for leather

The Silverstone Classic made a welcome return this year and those familiar with the set-up will be relieved to hear that the format remains unchanged for its 30th anniversary. Maintaining its status as the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival, it focuses on the historic car races and packs in three days of non-stop racing and track action. There is literally so much to see.

Car and Classic picked a day out of the hat and elected to spend the Saturday in exceptional company on what is considered hallowed ground in British motor sporting circles. Originally the organisers planned to celebrate 30 years in 2020, but for obvious reasons the party was postponed for a year. However, the delay has meant more anticipation in what is in effect a greatest hits programme of racing, displays and entertainment with a handful of genuine surprises.

A rough rundown of Car and Classic’s coverage of the Silverstone Classic can be summarised as a tale of two paddocks that house much of the action, interspersed with tens of dozens of classic car clubs in between. Further attractions include a drift zone, young drivers experience, live music, a funfair and a traders shopping area. It is a full weekend, so trying to squeeze in as much as possible in a day was hard work and required a strict schedule for your roving reporter but hopefully, it paints a picture of the day.

Among the number of anniversaries celebrated this year was the 60th anniversary of the E-Type Jaguar, with other cars such as the Triumph Stag and DeLorean celebrating notable birthdays . This 1961 convertible road car was one of two Equipe Endeavour team cars, originally prepared for Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori. It led the parade of cars that evening.

Not to be overshadowed by the E-type, the race-bred XJR-15 marked its 30th anniversary of commemorating the Intercontinental Challenge of showdowns at Silverstone in 1991. Each car was priced at £500,000 new, but despite this only 5 of the 16 cars remained unscathed. The top three finishers of that day were present at the Silverstone Classic, but were not subjected to aggressive competitive spirit and therefore remained damage free.

Let’s move down the value scale and wander off away from the International Paddock to observe what was going on at the Telegraphs UK’s Rarest Cars stand presented by Andrew Roberts. As a fan of an evocative type of motoring, where scones and butter with a dash of tea from a flask is preferred over Champagne and Grouse sandwiches, he painstakingly curated a selection of mass-produced cars, which have now become incredibly rare.

Andrew told us ‘This was possibly the only time when an Austin Allegro Special LE, a Ford Consul Cortina ‘Woody’ and HM The Queen’s old Vauxhall Viceroy Estate graced the tarmac at Silverstone.” He added “And countless show-goers ignored the Ferraris and other exotica in favour of the Hillman Hunter GLS and other such exclusive machinery”. The temptation to stay on the stand and mingle with the owners and visitors in this little haven of garden-variety machinery was strong, but time and the oncoming bruised clouds meant that we couldn’t camp down among the Simcas and Colts for too long and moved on.

While still on the rarity theme, the Piper club had a healthy number of cars on display on their stand, considering how few were built. Up to 100 of these race-bred GRP-bodied coupe cars were manufactured between 1967 and 1974, with around half of those being known to have survived. Sadly the economic climate heralded the end of the brand, otherwise had the timing been correct, these luxurious fully-built cars might have seen further development.

While on a walkabout hunting for the Classic Z stand, we stumbled across this fascinating diversion by Caterham. Produced to celebrate 21 years of the brand, which is obviously best known for its 7, the idea was to create a more practical and conventional car based on the agile abilities of its best-known product. Launched in 1994, with a range of different engines, only 40 to 50 cars were built. Strong competition from mass producers essentially killed off the car, but it remains a fascinating insight into how the company was keen to expand its portfolio.

Here we are, this is what we were looking for. The classic Z register had a fine selection of the original S30 240Z cars on display. Values have increased considerably over the years, with a new generation of younger buyers feeding a demand which has resulted in an increase in the number of cars in the UK after the initial decline of numbers. The red car is well known in the Z world as it was featured in the press when new and appears in a number of period road test articles. While the UK response to the car was positive it was dampened by its high pricing, but in the States, the car became a hit and instantly saw MG and Triumph owners make their way to Datsun dealers.

After some track action we’ll return to some of the static displays. Each of the three days featured a variety of race and competitor cars spanning more than 90 years of motoring, with Historic Formula 2 cars taking the stage in the morning, followed by a section of historic F1 cars as part of the Murray Walker Memorial Trophy for Masters Historic F1 in the afternoon. Walker is a name that is inextricably tied to Motorsports in the minds of those of a certain age, since his ardent and impassioned commentary was a big part of Formula 1’s attraction. As the cars thundered past at full (and noisy) force, one couldn’t help but think of his lively joyful tones echoing across the commentary.

This was followed by a superb selection of sports-racing and GT cars under the HSCC Thundersports banner, consisting mostly of ’70s Can-Am racers. It was at this point the weather decided to take charge and forced the cars after just one lap to return to the pits for wet tyres. Pity the drivers who didn’t have closed cockpit cars.

The Classic Mini Challenge takes you on another adventure, but this time with a slightly more sedate tone. What started as a 60th-anniversary celebration of the car in 2019, has developed into a proper two-round championship. The criteria are easy to follow; 60 well-prepared, pre-’66 Mini Cooper S’ bouncing and hopping around the track for 30 minutes. With plenty of character and proof that power is not everything, the fairly evenly matched cars were a real show of driver control and surprise passes.

Predating the Murray walker F1 commentary days, the HGPCA Pre-’66 GP cars were given an outing straight after the frantic gearbox whine of the Minis. While the cars are the focus, the development of the sport, as well as the facilities, promotion and organisation during this era led to the current set up of F1 but it still evoked a ‘Boys Own’ type era unspoilt by the excesses of the sport. Like many of the cars seen on the race tracks, these historic racers, many of them with unique provenance, are worth a few pennies. To see them go out and wow the crowds really symbolises the Silverstone Classic for many.

Luckily the rain soon cleared up and we had a look at some of the cars in the paddock that were not racing on the day. There is some regret at not being able to watch them in action, but it at least provided an opportunity to get up close and personal. The Alfa Romeo GTVs were ready for action for Sunday’s Historic Touring car Challenge. Maybe next year.

One of the cars that had raced in the earlier events of the day was the legendary Ferrari bread van which was competing during the RAC Tourist Trophy for Historic cars. Featuring a delicious mix of ’50s and ’60s sports cars, it’s worth remembering that these cars are also being piloted by notable and well-respected drivers carrying a huge sense of responsibility on their shoulders.

Another race focusing on another motoring legend is the MRL RAC Woodcote and Sterling Moss Trophies. This series is for pre-1956 cars and the first since the passing of Sterling Moss. Considered as the elder statesmen of the track, these iconic British racing cars, with the occasional interjection of Italian exotica, do not hang around and were often raced by the very best drivers the sport had to offer.

We take another break from the motorsports, mainly to let our ears recover and we return to the centre of the circuit to observe some of the car clubs present at the Silverstone Classic. The Porsche Club GB have a long association with Silverstone and every year without fail organise a series of stands with a wide variety of cars spanning their considerable history, but the scene was stolen by the appearance of the Porsche Super tractor. More exclusive than a Panamera and possibly better off-road too.

Accidents and incidents are all part of the experience and while it does offer a little additional drama to the races, the level of safety measures as well as precautions before and during each event are taken very seriously. Luckily, nothing of significance occurred on Saturday although the owner of this 1938 Aston Speed competing on the MRL Pre-War BRDC 500 needed a helping hand to get back to the pits after a mechanical failure.

Others, like this hard-as-nails Mustang competing on the lively Transatlantic Trophy for pre-66 touring cars, wore his scars with pride and managed to complete his laps with dignity. We’ll come back to the Transatlantic Trophy after another exploration into the Silverstone Classic’s main centre arena.

It was worth mentioning the live music being offered on the day. In the evening several well-known bands and acts entertain the crowds but the more intimate settings provided by Bamboozle offered a nice grassroots live music experience, particularly with their brand of stylish rock ’n roll music.

After some musical talent, we checked out the stalls, which offer everything from artwork and clothing to furniture but your guide for the day was distracted by the die-cast models and couldn’t resist spending his pocket money on a few items.

Happy with my purchases, we delved deeper into the static stands, where over 100 car clubs had set up their stalls. The GTR owners club had a good selection of modern machinery, which has a firm place at the Silverstone Classic, but our attention was focused on this race prepared KPGC110 Skyline. Despite Nissan not pushing the car into motor racing like previous versions, the 4th generation model enjoys a dedicated domestic fanbase. Due to a Japanese advertising effort that inevitably employed Ken and Mary, a young couple, to sell the car, it was dubbed the “Ken & Mary” car.

A fair number of modern manufacturers placed stands to entice the public, but our attention was drawn towards the Ineos Grenadier. Looking like a Land Rover concept, the brand is currently being promoted at a number of events to gauge public response. Powered by a series of BMW engines, the highly specified cars are tapping into the lucrative off-road adventure market and, all going well, will be on sale from next year.

With the little intermission over, the racing restarts and we return back to the international paddock to watch the Transatlantic Trophy. Along with the Historic Touring car challenge, this heat is a big hit with the Silverstone Classic audience, with 50 cars ranging from Minis to BMWs to Ford Falcons fighting it out on the track. The entrants are separated into four classes, ranging from A to D, with American cars dominating the A-class. It’s a sight to behold to see Mini Coopers outmanoeuvre the much more powerful Ford Mustangs.

After 20,000 steps (according to my smartphone) and a whole memory card full of wonderful experiences and captures, we decided to leave the show and head home for cocoa and bed. Always entertaining, with typical helpful hospitality and enthusiasm, the organisation and effort put into the Silverstone Classic makes it unmissable for those who want to see the winning combination of talent, skill and the occasional ding.