Silverstone Festival

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The Silverstone Festival upheld its tradition with a dry-wet-dry weather pattern that particularly afflicted Saturday’s programme, but on both race days most of the action was nothing short of sensational, as we witnessed some of the best quality racing that historic motorsport has on offer.  

Photos Eric Sawyer

Following a pretty seamless Friday qualifying day, the brollies were out in full force for Saturday, as incessant rain that endured well into the afternoon threw a spanner in the works for the morning’s programme, run from the National Paddock.  The Formula Junior field initially ventured out for its traditional early-morning stint but their race was soon abandoned.  After a long wait, it was decided to send out the touring cars and the sports cars first, as the fendered machines were better equipped to deal with the conditions.  Then, in a second try in arguably worse conditions, the Juniors were sent out for what looked like a token effort, as they once again returned to the pits after two laps behind the safety car.  FJHRA secretary Sarah Mitriké agreed that it was the right thing to do.  In the meantime, with little time left, there was no other option but to cancel the F2 and F3 Interseries races.  Asked about his disappointment, a diplomatic series’ co-organiser Laurent Vallery-Masson and HVM Director said on a sunny Sunday morning, “I’m happier today.”

Matt Wrigley (Tyrrell 011) did well to prise pole from Monaco GP Historique winner Stuart Hall’s March

Formula One 30 drivers lined up for the two headline 3-litre F1 races with two of them proving the class of the field.  Matt Wrigley had done well to prise pole from Monaco GP Historique winner Stuart Hall’s March, but on Saturday, it took Hall just two corners to strike back when he outbraked the Tyrrell 011 into Village.  On a slowly drying track, instead of distancing Wrigley, Hall saw his rival close to within three tenths at the chequered flag.  A long way behind the pair, Jamie Constable drove a fighting race to claim third in his Tyrrell 011, from sixth on the grid.  Peter Williams proved most adapted to the conditions in the pre-78 class, as his Lec CRP1 drove to a 23-second advantage over Carlos De Quesada’s early McLaren M26, while Kirt Bennett’s Shadow DN5 pipped Ewen Sergison’s Shadow DN9 to third in class.


Alex Kapadia (March 762) won the single F2 Interseires race

On Sunday, Wrigley and Hall sat eighth and ninth on the partially reversed grid, and Wrigley was distraught to see Hall zoom past in the early stages.  But the Tyrrell driver was not giving up, and as the pair approached race leader and Wrigley’s team mate, Christophe d’Ansembourg, who had started from pole in the Williams FW07C, the Belgian made Hall work extra hard for the pass, allowing the Tyrrell to make a decisive break for the win.  In their wake, Mike Cantillon was the true star of the show, as he erased the memory of Saturday’s DNF by surging up to third from 26th on the grid.  Meanwhile in the pre-78 class, Williams had to defer to De Quesada before almost losing second place in class to Chris Perkins in a Surtees TS16.

In the RAC TT race Ward and Greensall were neck and neck, tooth and nail lap after lap in a thrilling finale that sadly ended just minutes before the flag

Read the full race-by-race report by Mattijs Diepraam and Damien Smith in our October 2024 issue…

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