A number of famous British marques will be going head to head at the Silverstone Classic as part of the Battle of Britain races.
Two 20 minute races are set to be staged, with the likes of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, TVR, Mini and Triumph joining the line-up.
The cars that have been selected to take part in these races are British-made GT and touring cars, which were manufactured between 1947 and 1965.
Event director Nick Wigley said: “We are always looking for new grids to widen the Classic’s appeal and these ‘Battle of Britain’ races will do just that,”#
“You only have to look at all the fabulous displays put on by car clubs at the Classic to know that the Fifties and Sixties were glory days for the British motor industry with brands such as Mini, MG and TR very much to the fore. Now we will have lots of these wonderful icons competing against each other in what are going to be hugely exciting, patriotic and crowd-pleasing encounters.”
Masters Historic Racing is responsible for promoting the Battle of Britain races. This organisation has been behind a number of other championships that have appeared in the Silverstone Classic weekend, such as the FIA Masters Historic Formula One and the FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars grids.
Rachel Bailey, Masters event manager, said that she expects to see a field of 58 cars taking part in the Battle of Britain races. She said that some fairly novel enquiries have already come in and that she expects that the races will include a wide variety of cars and a special feel.
She promised: “It’s going to be a remarkable homage to the period.”
To make sure entry to the races cover as full a tribute to the era as possible, there will be six different classes welcomed. These include touring cars with sub-1,300 cc engines and GT cars with engines of more than three litres. Saturday’s race results will decide Sunday’s grid with the combined classification of both races.
As well as these races, there will be a lot of other entertainment across the weekend, which is the 25th anniversary of the Silverstone Classic. For example, there will be aerial displays by Spitfires and other aircrafts from the Second World War to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1940 air battle, The Battle of Britain. There will also be live music from Status Quo and Paul Young.
There are 22 races happening across the weekend in total with a number of different themes. For example, Pre War Sports Cars from the 1920s and 1930s will be taking to the track, as well as Super Tourers and GT Legends from the 1990s.
The Silverstone Classic will be held from July 24th to 26th. Early bird tickets are currently on sale and offer savings of up to 15 per cent. Adult tickets are priced from £34 and include admission to both race paddocks, trackside grandstands and the live music concerts.
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