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The Historic Sports Car Club - Silverstone

11^th October 2003
by Esmond Tearle

The trouble with October is that you never know what the weather will do. I had already been told that if it was wet, then maybe we shouldn't bother to go to Silverstone. In truth, this world famous venue is so open that when it's cold, it's very cold, and when it rains, you get absolutely drenched.

After more years than I care to remember, I had met up with an old school friend and we had decided to go racing motor racing together.

The weather forecast for Saturday 11th October was dry and cloudy. I looked outside and it was rather a lovely day. Bright sunshine, blue skies, and quite warm for the time of the year.

We arrived at Silverstone Circuits at about midday. The place has changed so much over recent years. Silverstone now has a by-pass and there are roundabouts and proper roads to get you into the track. Gone is the little lane were you would queue for ages to get out.

The track itself has also changed a good deal. These days, everything seems to revolve around the Grand Prix, which is of course a major money spinner, but I sometimes think that the character of the track has suffered as a result.

We timed our arrival to coincide with the lunch break between practice sessions and the actual racing. It was purely coincidental as it happens, but gave us the perfect opportunity to have a wander around the paddock, and to grab a cheeseburger and a pint.

The paddock itself is a wonderful place. You are able to have a good look around the machinery and see at first hand all the preparation that goes into the fettling of a race engine. To say there was a great diversity of cars is an understatement. All manner of collectors cars from the fifties, sixties and seventies. This is what the Historic Sports Car Club is all about.

I was taken aback by the absolutely fantastic collection of Jaguar XK's, all turned out it superb order. I wondered how anyone could own such a beautiful example of Coventry's finest, and then subject it to such gruelling treatment on the racetrack. In truth, there is some very serious money competing in some of the races, so I suppose that any damage or breakage's can be rectified, at a price.

At the other end of the scale, there are little gems like Ford Anglia's, Imps, Mini's and similar. So you see, this was an event with something for every taste.

I had to be dragged away from the Jaguar Mk2's, a personal favourite. I don't think that I have ever before seen such a collection of wonderful Lotus Cortinas, all waiting patiently to scrap with each other when their time came in race six, the HSCC/HRSR Julius Thurgood Historic Racing saloon Championships. They did however have a few problems to encounter, one being in the shape of none other than Gerry Marshall at the helm of 4.7 litre ford Mustang.

Enough about the line-ups, on to some of the action. Thrills and spills were plentiful. We choose to stand on the Luffield complex. From our raised vantage point we could see the cars coming down the straight from under the bridge, braking hard before swinging left and powering towards the two right hand bends that make up Luffield. They then accelerate hard before disappearing towards the start/finish line.

Scattered around the paddock and the car parks are so many pieces of delightful machinery that a good wander is essential. The types of enthusiasts that attend these events are the true hardcore members of the classic car movement. Men, and ladies, who have the lust for all things classically mechanical coursing through their veins. True petrol heads.

I just love the atmosphere at these events. You can virtually guarantee to meet the same people you chatted with the previous year, but none of you know really knows the other. It's this love of classic cars that we all share.

I am not going to give you race results. If I had bothered to write them down, I would probably have missed some of the action whilst my eyes were diverted from the track. I was there to watch the racing, and drool over the cars.

The first race saw eight Jaguar XK's line up to do battle with an AC Cobra, an E-type, MGB, BMW2 2002, Lotus Se7en and a Capri 3 litre. A mixed bunch, but what a line up to start the day.

The second race was a contrast with a selection of 1600 cc single seat racing cars. All fairly evenly matched in terms of power, but experience and ability sorted the men from the boys.

Third on the card was the type of race I personal enjoy the most. The 70's Roadsports Championships. This is a good mix of 60's and 70's sports cars. The type of thing that I would drool over as a child. These ranged from a little Turner 1200; up through the realms of small sports cars; Midget, Elans, Europas, TR6, TVR's Porsche, Morgan Plus 8 to a 5.8 litre Ford Mustang.

This race included no less than six different classes of cars. The Mustang would obviously show a clean pair of heels on the straight, but the more nimble smaller cars would gain on the corners with their better grip.

The fourth race saw us with an exclusively Jaguar XK grid. Believe me when I tell you that some of these gorgeous cats would not have been out of place competing for cups in the at the owners club days, let alone on the race track.

Picture this, a race where 1600cc engines line up along with 5 litre monsters from the Formula 5000 cars of the seventies. Different classes of cars, but all in the same race and some wonderful stuff to watch. The big powerful cars thundered past and literally made the ground shake with their brute power. The smaller cars scream past. The more powerful ones have the job of carving their way through the pact. Blue flags yielding that impending overtake are waved in abundance.

The afternoon was drawing on by now and the temperature was beginning to fall. Race number six was a very varied assortment of saloon cars from the sixties. That is, with the exception of one 1958 Ford Anglia 100E. In all there were cars from eight classes in this the HSCC/HRSR Julius Thurgood Historic Racing Saloon Championship. This time we had the big boys in the over 2500 cc class running in the same race as a solitary little Renault Dauphine with just 845 cc.

I can remember thinking it would be very soon after the start that the leaders went thundering past to lap him. In fact, I think it took little over two laps.

There were some rather spectacular mishaps which saw a few competitors spin off into the gravel traps to become firmly stuck fast. It took the JCB to haul them out under yellow flag conditions, which allowed the rest of the field to bunch together.

The penultimate race was for the single seater cars from 1957 to 1971, and all under 1.6 litres.

Race number eight, the last event of the day was the HSCC Classic Sports Cars Championship run over fifteen minutes, as indeed had every race of the day.

Such rarities as a Marcus Gullwing, a brace of Elva's and a pair of rather lovely and rather pricey Lotus Elites were pitched against the almighty grunt of a 7.4 litre Chevrolet Corvette. The Jaguar XK's of the 1950's were running in this one, and one of those had picked up rather a nasty battle scar during the course of the day. For good measure, we also saw MGB's TVR's, a Triumph TR4 and a big Healey.

For the race results, check out the Historic Sports Car Club website: www.hscc.org.uk

We left in time to arrive home for tea. It had been a superb day's motor sport, and when you think that it's only £12 to get in, it was really good value into the bargain.

If you haven't been to this type of event before, then you really should. This is motor sport at it's most competitive, and it makes for a grand day out.

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