Silverstone Classic 26th - 28th July 2019
SUMMERTIME CLASSIC AT SILVERSTONE
The annual Silverstone Classic festival of historic racing took place over the weekend of 26th - 28th of July, utilising the newly resurfaced Grand Prix circuit. Mixed conditions greeted the competitors, with qualifying day on Friday taking place in dry conditions and the two race days both starting out wet before drying out later on for the twenty-one race card. Various manufacturers and models are celebrating milestone birthdays this year with numerous displays and parades taking place in commemoration, including luxury brand Bentley's centenary, Italian sports car maker De Tomaso marking 60 years of existence, Ford's Capri model reaching its 50th birthday and also the quintessentially British Mini's 60th anniversary of production for which two special races were organised but more about them elsewhere...
The annual Silverstone Classic festival of historic racing took place over the weekend of 26th - 28th of July, utilising the newly resurfaced Grand Prix circuit. Mixed conditions greeted the competitors, with qualifying day on Friday taking place in dry conditions and the two race days both starting out wet before drying out later on for the twenty-one race card. Various manufacturers and models are celebrating milestone birthdays this year with numerous displays and parades taking place in commemoration, including luxury brand Bentley's centenary, Italian sports car maker De Tomaso marking 60 years of existence, Ford's Capri model reaching its 50th birthday and also the quintessentially British Mini's 60th anniversary of production for which two special races were organised but more about them elsewhere...
Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy for FIA Masters Historic Formula 1 championship leader Matteo Ferrer-Aza worked his way through the pack to win the opening race for the Post 1966 3-litre Formula One cars aboard his 1979 Ligier JS11. Front row starter Martin Stretton's 1983 Tyrrell 012 lost out at the start to the pole-sitting Irish driver Mike Cantillon's 1981 Williams FW07C but soon fought past at Vale, establishing a small margin out front whilst the young Italian Ferrer-Aza made his way forward. The Italian caught Stretton with 5 minutes of the 20-minute race to go, first attempting to pass at his favoured Stowe Corner with the move repelled by Stretton. The Ligier grabbed the lead at Copse next time around after getting a great run through Woodcote. For race two the top eight finishers were reversed, placing Kyle Tilley's 1977 Ensign MN177 on pole with Steve Hartley's ex-John Watson 1982 Detroit Grand Prix winning carbon fibre-chassised 1981 McLaren MP4/1 alongside. Hartley led the whole way but had to fight off the close attention of Michael Lyons' 1976 McLaren M26 early on before edging away as Cantillon's FW07C came through, the Williams repeatedly setting fastest lap despite a wobbling front wing, to close to within half a second of Hartley at the chequered flag. The 1981 Williams FW07C of Belgian Christophe D'Ansembourg came home in third whilst Ferrer-Aza racked up more points with fourth in his Ligier. Third on-the-road finisher Martin Stretton’s Tyrrell was penalised for a yellow flag infringement, dropping him down to seventh behind Lyon’s McLaren and Jamie Constable’s 1982 Tyrrell 011.
A gamble on a wet set-up failed to pay off for Gallet Trophy for HGPCA Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars race one polesitter Jon Fairley's 1964 Brabham BT11/19 as he was gobbled up by Miles Griffiths' 1959 Lotus 16, Will Nuthall's 1960 Cooper T53 and Sam Wilson's 1960 Lotus 18. Nuthall and Wilson both overcame Griffiths' Lotus as he faded to fourth behind Michael Gans' 1964 Cooper T79 to complete the podium, in tenth position Joe Colosacco brought his glorious flat 12-engined Ferrari 1512 home as the top 1500cc finisher. Sam Wilson gained the lead at the start of race two and was never headed in his Lotus. Jon Fairley's Brabham recovered to second, having started sixth, taking Will Nuthall's Cooper on the last lap as Nuthall finished right on Fairley's tail. Also competing in the pair of races was the 2014 Sebring 12 Hours winner Marino Franchitti at the wheel of a 1957 Maserati 250F, taking the flag in 19th and 17th positions.
A record 52-car field of stylish two-litre HSCC Historic Formula 2 single seaters took to the grid for the wet race one on Saturday, Miles Griffiths’ 1978 Ralt RT1, Martin O'Connell's 1977 Chevron B40 and Darwin Smith's earlier 1972 March 722 engaging in a fierce scrap for honours, running three abreast down the Wellington Straight on the last lap. A high-speed spin for O'Connell at Copse dropped him to fourth behind Andrew Smith's 1974 March 742 in third as Griffiths triumphed over Smith. A drying track greeted the Formula Two runners for race two on Sunday morning, with a choice to be made between running slick or wet tyres on the rapidly drying surface. Early on, Andrew Smith's March 742 sped clear having opted for wets but soon a slickshod Martin O'Connell eased up behind, passing Smith on the brakes up the inside at Village in his Chevron B40 before easing clear to win. Smith also fell prey to Miles Griffiths' Ralt and Darwin Smith's March, both on slicks, as his wet tyres faded to finish fourth.
Banks brothers Andrew and Max's 1968 McLaren M6B Can-Am car eased to a forty plus seconds win from pole position in the fifty minutes mini-endurance race on Saturday evening, taking the Yokohama Trophy for FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars after being robbed of victory by gearbox failure in 2018. Gary Pearson, going solo in his 1969 Lola T70 Mk3B, worked through to second, having qualified down in eighth, ahead of an entertaining battle for third. The Jason Wright/Andy Wolfe pairing aboard their 1969 Lola T70 Mk3B took the position on-the-road having recovered from one drive-through penalty, after Wright pitted too early to swap with Wolfe, but incurred another for speeding in the pit lane taking the first one which went unserved, for which they were slapped with a 30.7 seconds time penalty. This dropped them to fifth behind Portuguese driver Diogo Ferrao's immaculate 1973 Lola T292 Group 6 car and Martin Stretton's rare 1969 McLaren M6 GT, Wolfe's T70 had passed between the two of them down the Wellington Straight on the last lap. Running close behind this squabble had been Michael Gans' diminutive 1972 Lola T290 two-litre car in sixth but unfortunately retired last time around, giving the place to the 1971 Lola T70 Mk3B of Gary Culver.
Motor Racing Legends combined their Royal Automobile Club Woodcote and Stirling Moss Trophies for Pre-1956 and Pre-1961 Sports Cars for their 50 minutes of action and it was a classic battle of handling versus power as the 2-litre 1958 Lotus 15 of Oliver Bryant took on and defeated David Hart's 3.8-litre 1959 Costin-bodied Lister Jaguar and the 'Knobbly'-bodied 1959 Lister Jaguar of Tony Wood/Will Nuthall in third for the Stirling Moss Trophy, whilst brothers Gary and John Pearson took their 1955 Jaguar D-Type to the Woodcote Trophy spoils from the 1953 Cooper-Bristol T24/25 of John Ure/Patrick Watts.
Soggy conditions greeted the HSCC Thundersports competitors on Saturday for the twenty-five minutes of race one and it was Can-Am weaponry to the fore as the 1972 McLaren M8F of Dean Forward eased away from poleman Georg Hallau's 1972 Lola T310, Robert Beebee's 1969 Lola T70 Mk3B coupe came in third ahead of a giant-killing performance from Martin O'Connell's 1968 Chevron B8 in fourth. It was wet again for race two, a forty-minute mini-endurance feature and it was the Lola T310 of Georg Hallau that led initially but was soon overtaken by Forward's McLaren M8F. The orange monster continued to pull away until a water hose came adrift, giving Forward a hot bath and forcing his retirement. Hallau eased to the win, whilst in second position and giving valiant chase, former works Chevron driver John Burton's 1974 Chevron B26 finished 2.7 seconds behind. Father and son duo Robert and Josh Beebee again completed the podium in their Lola T70 Mk3B from the older 1966 McLaren Elva M1B Can-Am car of John Spiers, who was debuting his recently acquired machine.
A photogenic field of Pre-1963 GT cars took to the track for fifty minutes of competition, the coveted RAC Tourist Trophy the prize. The grid was headed by the gruff V8-powered 1962 Ecurie Ecosse Tojeiro of Till Bechtolsheimer/Ludovic Lindsay from the sonorous 1961 Ferrari 250 GT 'Breadvan' of Lukas and Niklas Halusa. Come the race it was the 1961 Jaguar E-Type of Jason/Jack Minshaw, then the similar E-Type of James Cottingham/Harvey Stanley that fought through to lead but an early stop and a mid-race safety car allowed the Martin Hunt/Patrick Blakeney-Edwards 1963 AC Cobra to gain the lead as the Cottingham/Stanley and Minshaw E-Types were shuffled down the pack. The musclebound Hunt/Blakeney-Edwards Cobra took the flag to retain the trophy the pair won in 2018, the Cottingham/Harvey E-Type recovering for second place from the Halusa family Ferrari 250 GT 'Breadvan' in third and the earlier race-leading Minshaw Jaguar E-Type taking fourth.
1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes made the running at the head of the International Trophy for Pre-1966 Classic GT Cars as the Julian Thomas/Calum Lockie example headed home the similar car of polesitter David and Olivier Hart, the father and son duo's Daytona Coupe involved in some mid-race wrestling at Brooklands with the Jaguar E-Types of Jon Minshaw and another father and son pairing in Graeme/James Dodd, the Dodds' 1962 car prevailing over Minshaw's 1964 version for third and fourth in the fifty minutes race for the prestigious International Trophy.
Fittingly in Bentley's centenary year, dad and lad pairing Tim/Oliver Llewellyn took their 8-litre 1926 Bentley 3/8 to the Bentley Centenary Trophy for Pre War Sports Cars victory from Rüdiger Friedrichs polesitting 1933 Alvis Firefly, whilst at the last corner of the last lap, Patrick Blakeney-Edwards/Fred Wakeman's 1928 Frazer Nash Super Sports stole third place from the 1933 Talbot AV105 Brooklands of Michael Birch.
Fittingly in Bentley's centenary year, dad and lad pairing Tim/Oliver Llewellyn took their 8-litre 1926 Bentley 3/8 to the Bentley Centenary Trophy for Pre War Sports Cars victory from Rüdiger Friedrichs polesitting 1933 Alvis Firefly, whilst at the last corner of the last lap, Patrick Blakeney-Edwards/Fred Wakeman's 1928 Frazer Nash Super Sports stole third place from the 1933 Talbot AV105 Brooklands of Michael Birch.
Frenchman Emmanuel Collard, a former podium finisher at the Le Mans 24 Hours, screamed ahead at the start of race one of the Aston Martin Trophy for Masters Endurance Legends in the twilight of Saturday evening's closing race in his 5500cc V10 engined 2007 Pescarolo LMP1, taking the lead from the pole-starting Jonathan Kennard/Mike Cantillon's similar V8 powered Pescarolo LMP1. The pair lapped in close company until Kennard pitted to swap with co-driver Cantillon, whilst Collard clashed with Kriton Lendoudis' diesel-fuelled 2011 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP next time around after his own stop, leading to both retiring on the spot at Village. The time taken to recover the damaged cars meant that the race finished behind the safety car, giving the victory to the Kennard/Cantillon Pescarolo from the 2012 Lola B12/60 of Steve Tandy, which gained second from the Gulf-liveried 2009 Lola-Aston Martin DBR1-2 of Christophe D'Ansembourg in third. In race two, Kennard/Cantillon sped to a comfortable win despite serving a 20-second 'success' penalty for the previous evening's victory, which briefly allowed Tandy's Lola to lead before following the lead pair's Pescarolo home in second. The Sebring 12 Hours-winning 2007 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of David Porter came in third. Collard started at the back of this race and also took a penalty for his role in Saturday's clash, recovering to seventh position. A car of note in the pair of races was the 2003 Bentley Speed 8 of Shaun Lynn, the only Speed 8 in private hands. The sister car to the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours winning machine took a sixth and a tenth place finish.
A large and varied field of Transatlantic Challenge for Pre-1966 Touring Car battlers took to the circuit for their forty five minutes of racing on Saturday and it was the 1965 Ford Mustang of polesitter Rob Fenn/Jake Hill who led away from fellow front row starter Olivier Hart's 1965 Alfa Romeo GTA. On lap two the red and gold 'Alan Mann Racing' liveried 1965 Ford Mustang of Craig Davies fought through to lead from Hart's Alfa as the Fenn/Hill Mustang fell back into third, ahead of the squabbling Julian Thomas/Calum Lockie 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint, Andy Wolfe's 1965 Ford Lotus Cortina and Benji Hetherington's 1965 Ford Mustang. The Fenn/Hill Mustang dived for the pitlane as soon as the pit window opened after fifteen minutes to get rapid British Touring Car Championship driver Jake Hill into bat. As the pit stop sequence shook out, the Fenn/Hill Mustang started to climb the leaderboard and eventually worked its way to the top ahead of the closely following Davies Mustang, who made an ill-judged attempt at taking the lead at Vale with ten minutes remaining. Davies locked up as he moved to the inside and knocked Hill into a spin, remarkably the pair rejoined still in first and second position with Davies ahead. Fearing a penalty for his part in the collision, Davies waved Hill through and sportingly refused to challenge Hill for the remainder of the race. However, damaged bodywork rubbing on the rear tyre of the Fenn/Hill Mustang caused smoke to billow from the rapidly wearing rubber and, on the last lap, the tyre cried enough but still Davies refused to pass, allowing Fenn/Hill to take a narrow win despite the puncture from Davies. Andy Wolfe's Ford Lotus Cortina and Mark Martin/Steve Soper's similar 1963 Ford Lotus Cortina finished a rapidly closing third and fourth as the lead pair slowed, the group covered by just 1.5 seconds at the line.
Motor Racing Legends' eclectic Historic Touring Car Challenge grid of touring cars ranging from an early Group 5 Alfa Romeo GTA through Group 2 Ford Capris and a BMW 3.0 CSL 'Batmobile' to the fire-breathing Group A Ford Sierra RS500s and Nissan Skyline GTR turbocars had a dry circuit for their 50-minute encounter on Sunday morning and it was Michael Lyons' famous Eggenberger tuned, Spa 24 Hours-winning 1988 Ford Sierra RS500 Group A car that took a dominant win, only being threatened when Steve Dance's 1975 Group 2 Ford Capri RS3100 got alongside through Becketts in traffic soon after a safety car period bunched up the field. Long time second place runner Dance lost out to Craig Davies' 1989 Ford Sierra RS500 on the last lap to make up the podium. In the concurrent Tony Dron Trophy race for Group 1-specification cars, father and son pairing Grahame/Oliver Bryant's 1974 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 took the chequer ahead of the Ford Capris of George Pochciol/James Hanson (1979 Mk3), John Spiers (1977 Mk2) and Mike Whitaker (1979 Mk3), the Bryants fell behind the Ford trio after being held up by traffic at the pitstops before Oliver fought back past to win.
First to race on each of the two days meant that the HSCC Classic Formula 3 competitors encountered the worst of the conditions, with visibility at a premium in the spray. Andrew Smith started his 1978 March 783 from pole for race one but it was Danishman Christian Olsen who came through to win in his 1983 Martini Mk39 and he was joined on the podium by Ian Jacobs, pedalling a 1984 Ralt RT3, with Smith's 1978 March 783 in third. The similar conditions on Sunday morning for race two brought a similar result as Olson's Martini again headed the podium from Jacobs' Ralt RT3, with Adrian Langridge's 1980 March 803 on the third step. A charging drive came from Frenchman Frederic Rouvier aboard his 1981 Martini Mk34, who raced from 31st to fourth after spinning off in race one.
PICK OF THE LITER (sic): Mini 60th Anniversary Trophy
The iconic Sir Alec Issigonis-designed small British car first rolled off the production line in 1959 and to celebrate the Mini 60th Anniversary Trophy presented by Adrian Flux featured a competitive 57-car field of the Austin and Morris derivatives of the Cooper S model (plus one wooden panelled Traveller!), pedalled by drivers from the international and national stages, as well established Mini specialists and enthusiasts alike. Two twenty-minute races were held over the weekend, one on Saturday and the other rounding off the event on Sunday. Welshman Endaf Owens grabbed pole position for race one from British Touring Car Championship runner Adam Morgan (in ace Mini tuner Nick Swift's 1965 example) with Mini specialist Ian Curley and youngster Chris Middlehurst making up the second row, Owens led the opening lap before Morgan took the initiative but, on lap three, a mistake from Morgan saw him lock up and overshoot at Village, falling back to sixth before fighting back to third behind Chris Middlehurst at the flag, as works Aston Martin GTE driver Darren Turner picked his way through the slipstreaming pack for the win. In the curtain-closing race two, Morgan had a great scrap with Middlehurst for the win, the pair drawing away from the squabbling trio of Ian Curley, Michael Caine and Darren Turner. It would all come to nought though for on-the-road second place finisher Chris Middlehurst as he would be disqualified from the results after early race contact dislodged his rear bumper and left it dragging along the road, for which he received the black and orange warning flag and then the black flag - which he both ignored. A star turn early in race two came from Tom Bell, who rose through the pack to join in the leading fight early doors (complete with open boot!) before retiring. The two closely fought races were a fitting tribute to the much loved little car as they slid and slipstreamed in packs around the circuit.
The iconic Sir Alec Issigonis-designed small British car first rolled off the production line in 1959 and to celebrate the Mini 60th Anniversary Trophy presented by Adrian Flux featured a competitive 57-car field of the Austin and Morris derivatives of the Cooper S model (plus one wooden panelled Traveller!), pedalled by drivers from the international and national stages, as well established Mini specialists and enthusiasts alike. Two twenty-minute races were held over the weekend, one on Saturday and the other rounding off the event on Sunday. Welshman Endaf Owens grabbed pole position for race one from British Touring Car Championship runner Adam Morgan (in ace Mini tuner Nick Swift's 1965 example) with Mini specialist Ian Curley and youngster Chris Middlehurst making up the second row, Owens led the opening lap before Morgan took the initiative but, on lap three, a mistake from Morgan saw him lock up and overshoot at Village, falling back to sixth before fighting back to third behind Chris Middlehurst at the flag, as works Aston Martin GTE driver Darren Turner picked his way through the slipstreaming pack for the win. In the curtain-closing race two, Morgan had a great scrap with Middlehurst for the win, the pair drawing away from the squabbling trio of Ian Curley, Michael Caine and Darren Turner. It would all come to nought though for on-the-road second place finisher Chris Middlehurst as he would be disqualified from the results after early race contact dislodged his rear bumper and left it dragging along the road, for which he received the black and orange warning flag and then the black flag - which he both ignored. A star turn early in race two came from Tom Bell, who rose through the pack to join in the leading fight early doors (complete with open boot!) before retiring. The two closely fought races were a fitting tribute to the much loved little car as they slid and slipstreamed in packs around the circuit.
Report written for EDP Photo News/Vintage Motorsport magazine.