Unusual tropical weather with temperatures into the 90s Fahrenheit matched the heat on the track at the Silverstone Classic. Called “The World’s Biggest Motor Racing Festival,” it was a true motoring extravaganza where every petrol head could get enough of a “fix” to last a whole year.
Racing fans were treated to 24 on-track grids featuring no fewer than 1,125 entries covering the full spectrum of motor racing history. The unprecedented number of entries topped last year’s figure of 1,113 and established yet another new global benchmark for any motor sport event. At the close of the racing on the track each day, the main stage rocked to the sounds of top pop bands and tribute acts, so there was something for everyone.
Off track, Silverstone Auctions made records of their own at their two-day sale, achieving their highest sales value ever by totaling more than £5million, while securing some world record prices and a sell-through rate of 85 percent. Topping the bill at Silverstone’s Wing saleroom was a stunning, recently restored 1950 Healey Silverstone. The car had been discovered after 30 years in hiding, and sold for a mammoth £212,750—more than £30,000 over its upper estimate.
On the track, onlookers were treated to some great individual performances. For pure grunt, the Historic F1 cars brought the noise and aura of Grand Prix racing back to Silverstone—something lacking in the current crop of cars. Amazingly, cars that seemed to struggle for pace and performance in period now head the FIA Historic F1 series. For pure emotion, the Group C race, held at dusk on the Saturday evening, evoked memories of Le Mans races of the 1980s and early ’90s when the thunderous marques of Porsche, Jaguar and Mercedes vied for podium places. The colorful “tin-top” races added a certain aggression and forceful driving that has become synonymous with those events over the years. A sprinkling of stars from the past and present were among the competitors in contests where no quarter was asked for, or given.
Unfortunately, the weekend shocked and reminded us all that the sport we treasure and love bites us back from time to time. In the F1 race on Saturday, Sid Hoole, driving his ex-Ricky von Opel Ensign N173, was involved in a nasty crash following a suspected steering arm failure that left him very seriously injured, although subsequent reports suggest he’ll make a good recovery. However, worse was to come the following day when, very sadly, the event also endured the first fatality in its 24-year history when BRDC member Denis Welch lost his life competing in the HGPCA race for pre-1966 Grand Prix cars on Sunday afternoon. I’d spoken to Denis on the Saturday as he polished the car. He was really looking forward to the challenge of racing in Malcolm Ricketts’ Lotus 18-Alfa Romeo. Having retired from Saturday’s race, he started from the back of the grid on Sunday, and the accident happened at the Loop, the slowest corner on Silverstone’s latest Grand Prix circuit layout, when apparently his front left wheel interlocked with a fellow competitor’s right rear.
Welch, whose racing career started almost 50 years ago, was well known for his work with, and driving, of Austin-Healeys. Racing big Healeys became his passion and expertise, although he also successfully competed in Formula Junior too, most recently at this year’s Monaco Historic. He was a very friendly guy who will be sorely missed around many circuit paddocks. To his family and friends Vintage Racecar extends its sincere condolences.
by Mike Jiggle
