Forthcoming UK Events
| Date | Event | Location |
| 06-08.07.2012 | Formula 1 British Grand Prix | Silverstone (Arena GP) |
| 01-03.06.2012 | British Drift Championship | Norfolk Arena |
| 23-24.06.2012 | MG Live 2012 | Silverstone |
| 25-26.08.2012 | FIA World Endurance Championship | Silverstone |
The 2012 Season Starts Here
The last week has seen a flurry of activity as championships big and small held their annual media days and opening tests, with some already even getting down to racing proper. The British Touring Car Championship heads strongly into a new all-turbo generation and this year boasts 10 models from nine different marques on its 24-car grid, including the technicolour liveried return of the MG name.
The BTCC season opener hits Brands Hatch on 1st April, followed a week later by the first rounds of the British GT Championship and the British F3 International Series at Oulton Park. While some single-seater formulae have struggled in recent times - Formula Renault postponing its UK series due to poor entries - British F3 continues to attract young talent. With recent champions including the Scuderia Toro Rosso pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, its status as a stepping-stone to Formula 1 is hard to dispute.
Read more...Silverstone Classic Opens in Style
- Details
- Category: Misc News
- Saturday, 23 July 2011
The whole Silverstone estate has been filling through the day with a stunning collection of over 7000 classic cars from more than 120 car clubs. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of Jaguar E-types already on site ahead of Saturday’s bid to set a Guinness World Record for the greatest number of E-types in a parade. The celebrations for the 50th anniversary of this iconic British sports car are a central theme of this year’s Silverstone Classic.
The on-track action has been fast and furious as drivers battled for grid positions for the races. Such is the scale of the entry that both Silverstone paddocks are full of glorious racing cars. Some of the races are accommodated in the stunning new ‘Wing’ pit complex, while others are situated in the existing National pit and paddock.
Single-seaters, sports, GT and touring cars spanning the period from 1928 to 1991 are all in action as the Silverstone Classic justifies its proud claim to being the 'the world's biggest classic racing festival'. The total value of cars racing this weekend is well over £300 million, with some worth several million pounds each.
The entire Silverstone site has been taken over by racing cars, displays, attractions and activities for the entire family, while superb music concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon will complete this unrivalled weekend of entertainment.
In the qualifying sessions, notable performances included those of Le Mans racer Andy Meyrick, who set pole position for the Grand Prix Masters race ahead of a fabulous field of 33 Cosworth DFV-powered Grand Prix cars of the 1970s and early 1980s. Other cars in the race are those driven in their heyday by drivers like John Watson, James Hunt and Nigel Mansell.
The multi-million pound Ferrari 250GT SWB of Hans Hugenholtz topped qualifying for the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy from the Aston Martin DB4 GT of former Le Mans winner Richard Attwood and Stuart Graham, the only man to win the Tourist Trophy on both two and four wheels.
Other pacesetters in qualifying included Jon Minshaw, who headed a magnificent field of 52 cars for the Jaguar E-type Challenge race, local ace Gary Pearson, who put his Jaguar D-type on pole for the Woodcote Trophy and Scotsman Alasdair McCaig, who will head the Pre ’66 Grand Prix car grid in his Cooper T53.
As the sun set over Silverstone, qualifying concluded with a magnificent field of 30 Group C cars taking to the track. It will be Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes, Nissan and Lancia battling for supremacy in the pair of races, with the first Group C race running as a spectacular into-the-dusk affair on Saturday evening.
"It has been a fabulous day of qualifying here at Silverstone,” said event director Nick Wigley, who also found time to post eighth fastest time on the Pre ’66 Grand Prix car grid in his Cooper T51. “The stage is set for some epic races over the weekend, but that is only part of what is on offer for visitors to Silverstone this weekend!”
