Silverstone Classic

On the weekend of July 30th, 2016 I had the wonderful pleasure to attend the Silverstone Classic. This visit was made as part of a longer trip for my wife and I to the UK during that timeframe. Attending the Silverstone Classic was my “go to” item for the trip.  Before attending this event, I only knew about it from information published on the official website. But it lined up with our trip schedule and sounded like fun.

I have to say that I was enormously impressed with this event! It was part vintage race car race, part car show, part state fair, part air show, part rock concert, and part auction.  The vintage car race was similar to events that I have attended in the US.  The cars were broken up in to various groups, with the groups having track time for practice and races.  There were a wide variety of groups with cars ranging from 50’s Grand Prix, sedans, 2 seaters, prototypes, and Can Am with a small class of fairly recent Formula 1 cars. The track action went on for 3 days. If you go, invest in the “over the ear” radio option, which helps you keep in touch with the track action while you are wandering through the pits and the infield.

What I was not prepared for and was blown away by was the wide variety of cars driven to the event by spectators. Car clubs of all persuasions were in attendance and had assigned parking areas in the infield. Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus, Morgan, TVR: Hundreds were in attendance. I have never seen so many Morgans in one spot. There were quite a few old Bentleys. American iron included Corvette, Mustang, and Shelby. And so many British and European brands that are not available in the US. I have included a few time lapse videos that I took at the entrance gate Saturday morning where you can see the wide variety of cars streaming through the gates.

Then there was the state fair aspect. Carnival rides. Carnival food. There was plenty for families, with most of the simpler rides being free, thanks to the Jet Fuels sponsor. One ride that I did not attempt was the Reverse Bungie, which looked like a good excuse to loose your lunch.

At noon during each day there was a wonderful air show put on by acrobatic planes. On Saturday and Sunday there were auctions of cars and memorabilia. Saturday night there was a rock concert.

I had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this event for anyone to attend if they get a chance. I have never found anything quite like it in America.