Silverstone, 26-28 August, 2022

The 2022 Silverstone Classic enjoyed beautiful weather through the course of the weekend, unlike the 2021 edition which had been a mix of sunshine and heavy rain showers. As is its tradition, the gathering drew enormous crowds, both in terms of spectators (over 100,000 over the course of the three days), car club display participants and race entries, with massive grids for most of the 20 races that were run over the weekend. The Friday track activity comprised of the qualifying sessions for the Saturday and Sunday race programme, together with a nineties F1 cars demonstration run, that was repeated again on the race days, the circuit once again resonating to the screams of their V8, V10 and V12 engines. There was also a celebration of the 40^th anniversary of Group C, with a fine display adjacent to the International paddock. This was curated by Henry Pearman, featuring the likes of Porsche 956 and 962 models, Jaguar XJR 6, 8 and 11s, an Aston Martin Nimrod, and a Kouros liveried Mercedes,  a number of which participated in demonstration runs over the weekend, headed by sports car racing legend Derek Bell in a blue and white Rothmans liveried Porsche 962 that he drove in period.

The span of machinery on the track ranged from the ‘20s and ‘30s in the MRL Pre-War Sports Cars “BRDC 500” race, where the oldest example was a 98 year old Bentley Tourer from 1924, whilst the youngest was a mere 83years old, a 1939 Alta Sports. At the opposite end of the spectrum was a race for GT4 cars including those currently homologated to race internationally, with another for Endurance Legends in two age groups, 1995-2010 and 2011-2016. Within the band between these two, there were a pair of races for historic F1 cars, their races being renamed the “Frank Williams Trophy for Masters racing Legends”, in honour of the founder of the Williams F1 Team, Sir Frank Williams who passed away in November 2021. Other races were for historic Formula Junior, Historic F2, Thundersports, Pre-66 Grand Prix cars, the RAC Woodcote & Stirling Moss Trophy race for ‘50s sports cars, the RAC Historic Tourist Trophy for Pre-63 GT cars, the Adrian Flux Trophy for Pre-66 touring cars, the Yokohama Trophy for sports car legends, the International Trophy for Pre-66 GT cars. There was also another memorial race, this one being for the late Tony Dron, famed for his performances in the Triumph Dolomite Sprint in period, then later in historic racing and motoring journalism, this was the Tony Dron Memorial Trophy for MRL Historic Touring Cars. Thus it can be seen that there was a very broad spectrum of track activity, which produced some exciting racing in the various categories through the course of the weekend

Both the infield and outfield were seas of one marque or model car club displays, providing a wide variety of choice for visitors to enjoy, ranging from Minis to supercars like Ferrari and Lamborghini, a number of which also did parade laps on the circuit between races. The Telegraph newspaper supported by MotroEasy.com once again sponsored a display titled “The UK’s Rarest Cars”, which featured models that were once common sights on the road in their day, but are now rarely seen. They included a Ford Cortina “Woody” estate car, an amazingly pristine Lancia Beta 1600 saloon, an Austin Vanden Plas Princess 1500 (think luxury Austin Allegro!), a Skoda Estelle 120L, a 1967 Vauxhall Cresta and a Wolseley 6/90 Police Car.  There were also two special feature displays, one featuring some of the vehicles from the latest James Bond film “No Time To Die”, soon to be auctioned by Christies. The second was in an adjacent marquee, featured an impressive display of all seven of Lewis Hamilton’s World Championship winning cars, together with a display of current F1 cars from Alpine, Aston Martin, Red Bull, and Williams. Then there was the “Shift & Drift” arena, children’s play areas, an expansive vendor area, a Silverstone Auctions auction and a variety of peripheral activities, to satisfy virtually every taste. As part of the entry fee, the expansive funfair area rides were free to all, a nice gesture by the organisers given the current soaring rate of inflation and energy costs, which was certainly much appreciated by parents and children alike. Equally so were the live music stages on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, with ‘80s pop phenomenon Rick Astley bringing the show to a close on the final evening.

Race Podiums

Adrian Flux Trophy for Transatlantic Pre-66 Touring Cars

1^st – #192, Ford Falcon, Julian Thomas/Callum Lockie
2^nd – #66, Ford Mustang, James Thorpe/Phil Quaife
3^rd – #63, Ford Mustang, Phil Keen/Sean McInerney

Frank Williams Memorial Trophy for MRL-F1 66-85 Race 1

1^st – #7, Williams FW07C, Mike Cantillon
2^nd – #77, McLaren MP4/1, Steve Hartley
3^rd – #23, Tyrrell 011, Ken Tyrrell

Frank Williams Memorial Trophy for MRL-F1 66-85 Race 2

1^st – #7, Williams FW07C, Mike Cantillon
2^nd – #99, Tyrrell 011, Jamie Constable
3^rd – #23, Tyrrell 011, Ken Tyrrell

HGPCA Pre-66 GP Cars Race 1

1^st – #10, Cooper T53, Will Nuttall
2^nd – #17, Cooper T79, Michael Gams
3^rd – #12, Cooper T53, Rudiger Friedrichs

HGPCA Pre-66 GP Cars Race 2

1^st – #10, Cooper T53, Will Nuttall
2^nd – #17, Cooper T79, Michael Gams
3^rd – #12, Cooper T53, Rudiger Friedrichs

Historic Formula Junior Race 1

1^st – #167, Brabham BT6, Michael O’Brien
2^nd – #68, Lotus 22, Horatio Fitz-Simon
3^rd – #96, Brabham BT2, Timothy De Silva

Historic Formula Junior Race2

1^st – #167, Brabham BT6, Michael O’Brien
2^nd – #53, Cooper T59, Sam Wilson
3^rd – #88, Brabham BT6, Alex Ames

HSCC Historic F2 Race 1

1^st – #21, Martini Mk 19/22, Ben Mitchell
2^nd – #9, March 782, Mathew Watts
3^rd – #4, March 782, David Shaw

HSCC Historic F2 Race 2

1^st – #21, Martini Mk 19/22, Ben Mitchell
2^nd – #4, March 782, Gregory Caton
3^rd – #3, Chevron B35, Timothy De Silva

HSCC Thundersports

1^st – #60, Chevron B26, John Burton
2^nd – #28, March 75S, Gregory Caton
3^rd – #119, Chevron B23, James Claridge/Goncato Gomes

International Trophy for Classic GT Cars Pre-66

1^st – #192, Cobra Daytona Coupe, Julian Thomas/Callum Lockie
2^nd – #21, Jaguar E-Type, James Dodd
3^rd – #88 TVR Griffith, John Davison

Masters Endurance Legends Race 1

1^st – #99, Pescarolo LMP1, Jamie Constable
2^nd – #16, Peugeot 90X, Steve Tandy
3^rd – #7, Lola B12/80, Michael Lyons

Masters Endurance legends Race 2

1^st – #7, Lola B12/80, Michael Lyons
2^nd – #10, Pescarolo LMP1, Timothy De Silva
3^rd – #16, Peugeot 90X, Steve Tandy

Masters GT4 Classic Silverstone Challenge Race1

1^st – #65, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS, Seb Hopkins
2^nd – #56, Ginetta G56 GT4, Freddie Tomlinson
3^rd – #38, Mercedes-AMG GT4, David Vrsecky

Master GT4 Classic Silverstone Challenge Race 2

1^st – #56, Ginetta G56 GT4, Freddie Tomlinson
2^nd – #65, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS, Seb Hopkins
3^rd – #29, Mercedes-AMG GT4, Aliyyah Koloc

MRL Pre-War Sports Cars “BRDC 500”

1^st – #11, Frazer Nash TT Replica-Supersport, G. Fisken/Patrick Blakeney-Edwards
2^nd – #18, Alvis Firefly Special, Rudiger Friedrichs
3^rd – #70, Alta Sports, Gareth Burnett

MRL RAC Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy

1^st – #24, Lotus 15, Roger Wills
2^nd – #152, Lister Knobbly, John Spiers/Hancock
3^rd – #6, Tojeiro Ecosse Jaguar, James Cottingham/Harvey Stanley

RAC Historic Tourist Trophy – MRL Pre-63 GT Cars

1^st – #66, Jaguar E-Type Huffaker, James Cottingham/Harvey Stanley
2^nd – #77, Jaguar E-Type FHC, Webb/Guy Ziser
3^rd – #72, Shelby AC Cobra, Richard Cook

Tony Dron Memorial Trophy for Historic Touring Cars

1^st – #55, Nissan Skyline, Andy Middlehurst
2^nd – #37, Nissan Skyline R32, Simon Garrard
3^rd – #7, Ford Capri RS 3100, Gary Pearson/Alex Brundle

Yokohama Trophy for Master Historic Sports Car Legends

1^st – #49, Chevron B19, Tom Bradshaw
2^nd – #119, Chevron B23, James Claridge/Goncato Gomes
3^rd – #81, Lola T70 Mk3B, Chris Beighton/Simon Hadfield

Keith Bluemel          
09/2022