Posted on 1st August 2016
Now in its 26th year, Silverstone Classic quite rightly claims to be the World's biggest Classic motor racing Festival, and it's easy to see why it has grown year by year and is so popular with visitors, exhibitors and competitors.
As several people pointed out over the weekend, Silverstone Classic offers unrivalled access to some of the most iconic and rare racing cars ever produced, all within an extremely relaxed environment.
The weekend is a delight to attend, there are little or no queues for the wide variety of food outlets, or the toilets, a refreshing change, and Silverstone employ an army of helpers to keep everything fresh and clean.
There are attractions to suit all ages, including a period fun fair and big wheel, shopping village offering everything you can think of and more, hot air balloon and aerobatic displays, and evening concerts, this year headlined by the Boomtown Rats and The Stranglers.
In fact the festival occupies every area of the 800 acres that Silverstone offers, with plans afoot to expand further next year.
But what most people come to see are the cars, and what a fabulous selection there is, Saloon and single seater racers from the 1950's and Formula One cars from 1970 to 2014 all appearing on track at some point over the weekend.
Priceless cars like the legendary Ferrari 250 SWB “Breadvan†in competition dicing wheel to wheel with immaculately prepared Jaguar E-types AC Cobras and the like, the sound and the smell evoking fantastic memories for the 100000 plus visitors to this year's event.
The Formula One cars from the 70's and 80's sounding like F1 cars should, and Mika Hakkinen's McLaren MP4-16A sounding as good as I can remember.
Away from the track, The various owners club areas provide further interest. I have never seen so many Porsche cars in one place 1200 in total I believe, with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Morgan, AC, MG, Lotus, Mercedes and Triumph also with a variety of models in attendance.
Above the Wing Pit lane, Silverstone Auctions had some fabulous cars on offer including an immaculate 1976 Ferrari 208 GT4 ‘Dino’ as well as other exotica, you could spend several hours in this area alone.
In the garages below, it's possible to get up close and personal with a variety of F1, Touring Cars, Can-Am and Group C Cars and have time to chat with enthusiastic mechanics, drivers and fellow petrolheads.
All in all a fabulous weekend, with the weather proving kinder than in 2015. If you haven't been to this festival before, check it out for 2017, without a doubt it is the finest showcase for Classic Motor Racing in the world
