As It Should Be: Sportscars at the 2009 Silverstone Classic |
| Thank heavens, then, for events like the Silverstone Classic. Events |
where the petrolhead can check the baggage of emissions-based road tax,
cynically-positioned speed cameras and political and media guilt-tripping at
the gate and just enjoy themselves for a weekend. Events where a small
corner of somewhere (Northamptonshire in this instance) is temporarily shut
off from the doom-mongering, do-gooding and fun-policing of the outside
world. Where those with a mind to can get down to the simultaneously
serious and frivolous business of piloting a great car around a great
racetrack, as fast as they might care to go. |
| Having greatly enjoyed The Classic on my first visit in 2008, it was a |
foregone conclusion that I would be back for more, but as I left last July with
the sound of Group C cars still ringing in my ears, I couldn't have imagined
just how much I would be looking forward to the '09 edition. Just how much of
a necessary escape from the increasingly downbeat and discouraging
atmosphere of the real world it would come to be. The range of classes that
would be racing added more fuel to the fire of my enthusiasm. In addition to
the return of 2008's attractions, a race for 1990s Super Touring cars in
memory of the late David Leslie was added for this year, representing another
tick on the list of life's 'must-sees' for me. The predecessors of these cars
were also present in the form of the Alfas, BMWs and Lotus Cortinas of the
Under-2-Litre Touring Cars (U2TCs). This is the real beauty of the Silverstone
Classic – you get a comprehensive overview of motorsport's history, with
yesteryear's equivalents of F1, GP2, WTCC/BTCC and Le Mans Series/FIA
GT cars all running. But - the awesome spectacle of the Grand Prix Masters
cars notwithstanding - it's the third of those categories, sportscars, that truly
took centre stage, thanks to the atmospheric and absorbing 90-minute World
Sportscar Masters race for 1960s and 1970s machines on the Saturday
evening, along with the event's biggest draw, the astounding spectacle of the
screaming, flame-spitting, 1980s Group C creations, which raced on both
Saturday and Sunday. |
| Standing about halfway down the Hangar Straight on the Saturday |
afternoon, watching the tobacco-branded ex-works Jaguars sweep through
Chapel and listening to the intoxicating wail of their engines as they flew up
the straight towards Stowe, I had my own 'Clarkson moment.' These days, no
manufacturer can go motor racing without a raft of qualifications and spin
about how relevant to sustainable road-car technologies their effort is and
how they've bent over backwards to minimise the programme's environmental
impact in every area. Currently there is even talk of introducing a standard
1.6-litre turbocharged engine specification across nearly all forms of
motorsport. As the Jaguars, Nissans, Porsches and others swept past, I
found myself thinking 'Where did it all go wrong?' What happened to what I
was seeing on the track in front of me? What happened to saying, 'let's build
a fast, loud and spectacular racing car and run it against a grid of other fast,
loud and spectacular racing cars to satisfy nothing but our own competitive
instincts, and entertain the public at the same time?' These days, everything
needs to be justified and explained to the outside world and that wonderful
concept of 'why not?' seems to have been forgotten. Yes, Group C ran to a
fuel-efficiency formula, but that was merely a way of stopping development of
the cars' turbocharged engines from spiralling out of control. Fortunately such
thoughts did not affect my enjoyment of what I was seeing too much. But the
point stands. Let's just hope the organisers' stated mission of 'investing in the
future by enjoying the past' is a success, and enough of the thousands of
under-16s that attended for free with their families left sufficiently fired up to
carry on these traditions in later life. |
| Back on track with the Group Cs, meanwhile, a couple of spins and |
near misses attested to the fact that no quarter was being given or allowed;
the drivers clearly not holding back despite the fact that they had been
entrusted with museum pieces for the weekend – as it should be, really.
Saturday's 55-minute race produced a Jaguar 1-2, with Chris Buncombe's
XJR9 leading home Gary Pearson's XJR11. Andy Purdie rounded out the
podium in the FromA/STP Nissan R90C, and would go on to win Sunday's
35-minute sprint ahead of Buncombe, after an overnight turbo rebuild and
ECU replacement for the car. Justin Law finished third in that encounter
behind the wheel of the Bud Light XJR12D, which he had driven to fourth
place with Andy Wallace in Saturday's race. A first-corner crash meant I
barely got a glimpse of the Rob Sherrard-driven Sauber-Mercedes C9 on
track last year, so it was gratifying to see this Silver Arrow flame-spit its way
around Silverstone for the full duration of both races this time around, even
though it was kept from the sharp end by a puncture on Saturday. Stuttgart
was represented by the Kenwood 962 driven by Simon Wright and the
FromA/STP 962 shared by Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Hart on
Saturday and piloted solo by Hart on Sunday, when JC-W switched to the
Courage C22. Neil Cunningham's Ford C100 was a rare treat; one of the
lesser-spotted of the Group C species, it raced as a works car for the 1982
season only. |
Later on Saturday, the World Sportscar Masters race was prefaced
with a grid walk, which afforded the opportunity for a good nose around the
competing machinery, all resplendent in the setting sun. As with the WSM
race at last year's event, Lola T70s were in plentiful supply (14 of them in
total, and they would fill out the podium), but Ford's racing heritage was also
present in the form of the distinctive F3L and a brace of GT40s. Multiple Indy
500 winner Bobby Rahal single-handedly drove his Chevron B16 to fifth (he
also made appearances in the U2TC races). Rahal was one of several drivers
to do the full distance alone; Andrew Newall, driving the Alfa Romeo T33 that
finished second at the 1971 Targa Florio, was another. Other cars of interest
included the stunning Ferrari 512S driven by Sean Lynn and the
unmistakeable Ligier JS2, piloted by Jamie Campbell-Walter and Paul
Knapfield. The racing-at-dusk concept really is an effective way of injecting a
bit more atmosphere into proceedings, although this year's running was
unfortunately marred by a lengthy safety-car period. |
| While the Group C and Sportscar Masters races represented a |
successful return for events that had featured on 2008's card, one of
Sunday's races was a new creation for 2009: the Pre-1963 GT cars. Without
taking anything away from the historic importance of the Group C and Grand
Prix Masters machines, it has to be said that the drivers in this new class
had perhaps the most on their minds as they danced through Maggots and
Becketts on the ragged edge; some of them were driving cars valued in
excess of $10 million. The race winner was also the most eye-catching entry
out there: a SWB 'Breadvan' Ferrari 250GTO handled capably by Max Werner
throughout the one-hour race to win by over a minute from the more
conventional (and, let's be honest, more attractive) 250GTO SWB Berlinetta
of Marc Devis and former BTCC bad boy Anthony Reid. Perhaps the most
notable of the four 250s was the Peter Newmark's alloy-bodied competition
version, which he co-drove with David Franklin to fifth place. Jostling with the
Ferraris for both track position and historical prestige was a clutch of Aston
Martin DB4s, including the impossibly gorgeous Zagato-bodied version, driven
by Adrian Beecroft to 16th place. |
| I probably should sign off at this point, even though I didn't get around |
to discussing the BRDC Historic Sportscars race (a Lotus, Lister and Cooper
affair) and the RAC Woodcote Trophy for pre-'56 machines (Jaguar D-Types
aplenty, but Chris Rea was there, too, in a Lotus 6). But if the above hasn't
already convinced you to break out the red marker and circle July 23-25 2010
in your diary, then I guess there really is no hope... |
