Silverstone Classic 2010

Promoted as the world’s biggest classic racing festival, the Silverstone Classic is set to take place on 23-25 July 2010 at the renowned Silverstone Circuit between the Northamptonshire villages of Whittlebury and Silverstone in England. Legendary British racing driver, Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE, will be one of the guests of honor at this three-day celebration of auto racing, which includes activities and entertainment to suit the entire family.

Having recently hosted the Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix as part of the 2010 Formula 1 Championship series of events, the Silverstone Circuit will play host to a series of events representing five decades of auto racing heritage during the festivities. More than 800 cars will make an appearance on the track for the 22 race program. These finely-tuned machines will include Grand Prix classics, sports, saloon, GT and single-seater cars, some going back to the 1930s. Motorbikes, including the legendary Harley-Davidson, will also feature on the weekend’s action-packed program.

Event director, Nick Wigley, noted that spectators can expect an unrivalled quality of racing as 60 years of Formula One Championships are celebrated and the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars is launched. This sixty-minute event features early 60s racers with two of the rarest Aston Martins among the competitors. The program also includes two twenty-minute events for HGPCA Pre-61 Front Engine GP Cars and two twenty-minute HGPCA Pre-66 Rear Engine Cars, as well as two Formula Junior events featuring cars from the 60s. These trips down memory lane are a vivid reminder of just how far, and how fast, the sport of auto racing has progressed.

Friday evening’s highlight on the racetrack features radio, TV, music and entertainment celebrities competing for the checkered flag in a fund-raising effort for the Bobby Moore Foundation. Among the celebrities driving the fleet of Fiat 500 Abarths will be BBC Radio 2 presenters Richard Allinson and Johnnie Walker, celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal and James Martin, and dancer Brendan Cole.

Entertainment for the weekend includes performances by 60s and 70s British bands Dr Feelgood and the Yardbirds, with the Rick Parfitt Junior Band and Stars from the X Factor taking to the stage on Saturday. Certainly, organizers are going to great lengths to ensure a family-fun weekend for auto racing enthusiasts of all ages.