The historic racing world waited months to see what the impact of Coy’s departure from its usual spot as the major sponsor for the Silverstone Festival would be – and whether Rockingham’s appearance on the scene would steal Silverstone’s thunder. Unfortunately, the answer is hardly any clearer after the August 25-27 event, with the track claiming a total success, while the crowds were certainly down, and there were complaints about no track action in the mornings.
In spite of some of the big teams and well-known drivers staying away, however, Silverstone worked hard to present an exciting program with some close and hard-fought racing. A number of categories had two races, while the addition of motorbikes and more modern endurance cars helped to vary the program. Indeed, the two races for Group C Endurance cars were extremely well received, with a two-hour thrash starting at 6 pm on Saturday. Thousands stayed in balmy weather to watch a hard-fought Jaguar-Porsche-Spice battle over 60 laps. With the Goodwood Revival within two weeks, the question as to whether there was now too much historic racing was a common one in the paddock, though clearly the competitors who raced had a great time over the three days.
Submitted by Ed McDonough
