Silverstone Classic ready to rock

The event, second only to the Formula 1 British Grand Prix in terms of scale, is so vast it needs almost all of the 800-acre Silverstone site to spread out. Indeed, the original pits and paddock and the new Wing complex are needed to house the many hundreds of cars, with the former airfield venue’s expansive open spaces also required for the off-track entertainment – car club displays, family attractions, shops and live concert arena.

Racing purists among you will be gagging to know what’s coming out to play and when, so here’s a taster of what to expect. Friday is given over entirely to qualifying, with 11 races on Saturday and nine on Sunday. Among the 13 categories, six of them have two races – one on Saturday, the other on Sunday. It’s going to be full-on, non-stop action so make sure those cameras are primed or those smartphones have endless back-up batteries!

Race 1/12: Commander Yorke Trophy for Historic Formula Junior

What: Hordes of 1,000cc- and 1,100cc-engined single-seaters from the late-1950s/early-’60s that offered a springboard to the big time for aspiring racers. Split into classes catering for front- and rear-engined machines and those with drum or disc brakes, it’s action all the way down the packed grid of British- and Italian-built chassis.

When: Saturday – 0900-0920; Sunday – 0900-0920

Base: National paddock

Race 2: Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre-1961 Sports Cars

What: Iconic sportscars that bridged the 1950s/’60s gap battle it out in one of the Classic’s true David-and-Goliath contests. Grunty Chevrolet- and Jaguar-engined Listers use their prodigious power on the straights, while small-capacity, lightweight Lotus and Cooper chassis snap at their heels in the twisty bits. And the winner gets the trophy that was awarded to Stirling Moss after his maiden Grand Prix win for Mercedes – at Aintree in 1955.

When: Saturday – 0940-10.30

Base: National paddock

Race 3: Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars (Pre-1963 GT)

What: Traditional 1960s GT cars, just like those that found fame in the period RAC TT races. With a 1963 cut-off, cars such as the AC Cobra, Aston Martin DB4 GT, Ferrari 250 SWB and Jaguar E-type will be drifted around Silverstone’s fast sweeps in formation by some of historic racing’s top names – just as nature intended.

When: Saturday – 10.50-11.40

Base: National paddock

Race 4: Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for Pre-1956 Sports Cars

What: Another bulging grid of beauties – this time from the mid-1950s and put together by the Motor Racing Legends stable. Think Aston Martin DB3S, Cooper T38, Ferrari Testa Rossa, Jaguar D-type, Maserati 300S and you’ll be excused for getting over-excited about this magnificent front-engined horde doing battle for more prestigious silverware. 

When: Saturday – 1200-1250

Base: National paddock

Race 5/15: FIA Masters Historic Formula One

What: Dozens of 3-litre Cosworth DFV-powered, fat-tyred, period-branded Grand Prix cars from the 1970s and ’80s, split into classes depending on age, have often caused utter havoc among F1 fans of a certain age. With your eyes on stalks and your chin on the deck, you’ll stumble across Arrows, Brabham, Ensign, Hesketh, Ligier, Lotus, Maki, March, Penske, Shadow, Surtees, Theodore, Tyrrell and Williams machinery for a visual and aural treat quite unlike any other.

When: Saturday – 1410-1435; Sunday – 1305-1330

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 6/18: JET Super Touring Car Trophy

What: The halcyon days of hi-tech, big-budget touring-car racing in the 1990s are recreated with a superb assortment of kit from many of the leading manufacturers, most still in period livery. Racing’s finest win-on-Sunday-sell-on-Monday movement brings back great memories and some of the era’s star drivers still come out for a thrash about.

When: Saturday – 1455-1515; Sunday – 1625-1545

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 7/20: Can-Am 50 Interserie Challenge Trophy

What: Big, bold, bright and brutish. That just about encapsulates the Canadian-American Challenge Cup for Group 7 sports-prototypes of the late-1960s and early-’70s. Fifty years on from the inaugural series, in which the only technical stipulation was that cars should have massive V8 engines, the Classic celebrates everything that was great about it. Stand back and hold on to something as Lola T70s, McLaren M8s and the Shadow Mk1 thunder past. My money says Andy Newall in the Bamford family-owned M8F, all 8.8-litres of it, will be the man to beat… 

When: Saturday – 1615-1635; Sunday – 1740-1800

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 8/19: Maserati Trophy for HGPCA Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars

What: The Historic Grand Prix Cars Association always gathers together a mouth-watering selection of F1 machinery. Sharing the same grid but racing for class honours, the set comprises everything from pre-war voiturettes, to 2.5-litre front-engined racers and 1.5-litre monocoque classics that take the story up to the cut-off of 1965 – the year before the 3-litre formula arrived. Famous machines from Aston Martin, Brabham, BRM, Cooper, Era, Lotus and Maserati will lead the way.

When:Saturday – 1655-1715; Sunday – 1705-1725

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 9: FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars

What: Like the Historic Formula One set, these 1960s-’70s sports-racers come under the Masters banner and have full FIA entitlement. And that means serious business for a fully subscribed grid comprising nimble Chevrons, in B8, B16 and B19 guise, and 2-litre Lolas, all chasing the V8-powered Lola T70 and Ford GT40 beasts. Split into several classes, the field races for 50 minutes late on Saturday afternoon, with pitstops for driver-changes adding to the fun.  

When: Saturday – 1735-1825

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 10: International Trophy for Classic GT Cars (Pre-1966)

What: Fans of production-based GT cars will be treated to another spectacle as scores of ‘badges’, some more familiar than others, fill the circuit for the penultimate Saturday race. Cars from AC, Aston Martin, Austin Healey, Bizzarrini, Chevrolet, Ginetta, Jaguar, Lister, Lotus, MG Morgan, Triumph and TVR are guaranteed to go at it, hammer and tongs.

When: Saturday – 1920-2010

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 11/17: Group C

What: For World Championship Sportscar racing fans of a certain age, the Group C movement of the 1980s and early-’90s came to define endurance racing. There’s not a great deal more evocative than V12 Jaguars XJRs and turbo Porsche 956/962s barrelling down Le Mans’ Mulsanne Straight at 240mph. The Group C Racing fraternity brings together many of the great cars from both classes – C1 and C2 – in this long-distance retrospective. Expect to see those Jags and Porsches, as well as an Aston Martin AMR1, Nissan R90CK and Peugeot 905 Evo 1B up front, with C2 cars from Spice, Argo and ALD in their own epic scrap. 

When: Saturday – 2030-2100; Sunday – 1535-1605

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

Race 13: John Fitzpatrick Trophy for Under-2-litre Touring Cars

What: Named after the British tin-top and sportscar ace who won the British Saloon Car title in a Ford Anglia in 1966, the U2TC race is a feast of oversteer and wheel-waving as these modestly powered but well set-up cars are hurled this way and that in a bid to stay ahead. The weapon of choice is the 1,600cc Lotus twin-cam-propelled Ford Cortina, but a contingent of quick Mini Coopers and BMW 1,800s, particularly the Richard Shaw TiSA, will be out to give them a hard time.  

When: Sunday – 0940-1030

Base: National paddock

Race 14: Historic Touring Car Challenge (1966-1990)

What: Spanning 25 years of touring-car drama, the Motor Racing Legends-organised HTCC event features pretty much everything with a roof that traded paint and rubbed door handles between 1966 and 1990. Alfa Romeo GTV6s, BMW M3s, Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Capris, Jaguar XJ12s, MG Metro Turbos, Rover SD1s and Triumph Dolomite Sprints – many of them with modern-day tin-top stars sharing the driving – will barge around Silverstone in this 40-minute event. 

When: Sunday ­– 1050-1130

Base: National paddock

Race 16: Big-Engine Touring Cars (Pre-1966)

What: The Masters Historic Racing team that brings us the FIA Historic F1 and Sportscars series is also behind the Big-Engine Touring Car extravaganza, which takes the tin-top story back in time. Joining the Lotus Cortinas and Mini Coopers that will have starred in the U2TC race are V8-engined Ford Falcons, Galaxies and Mustangs, which will scrap for overall honours. Also bidding for glory will be Roger Wills’ indecently rapid Mercury Comet Cyclone.

When: Sunday – 1435-1515

Base: International Paddock (Wing)

And if all that wasn’t enough, various parades and demonstrations will take place during the weekend.

Legends of Modern Formula One

An exciting pack of Grand Prix cars from the 1980s, 1990s and noughties will take to the track on three separate occasions – Friday at 13.10, Saturday at 12.55 and Sunday at 11.35. Tipped to appear are original classics from Arrows, Benetton, Dallara, Jordan, McLaren and Toleman.

90s Endurance Legends

LMP and GT-class sportscars from the 1990s make a welcome addition to the Classic programme in 2016. Check out Chrysler Viper GTS-R, Dallara-Judd, Ferrari 333SP, 575 GTC and F430, Jaguar XJR-15, McLaren F1 GTR, Mercedes CLK-GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, 964, 993 and 996 machinery on Friday at 17.40, Saturday at 15.35 and Sunday at 13.50.

World GP Bike Legends

Twice during the weekend – on Saturday at 1310 and Sunday at 1150 – Silverstone will revel in the sound and smell of 500cc Grand Prix bikes of the 1970s and ’80s. And, to top it off, they’ll be ridden by some of the greatest heroes of two-wheeled racing, including world champions Wayne Gardner, Phil Read, Jim Redman and Freddie Spencer. Fellow leather-clad legends Troy Corser, Simon Crafar, Didier de Radigues and Christian Sarron will also appear on bikes from Cagiva, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha.

HSCC 50^th anniversary parade

For 50 years the Historic Sports Car Club has officiated at thousands of British motorsport events, including the Silverstone Classic, and its milestone anniversary will be celebrated during the Sunday lunchbreak when cars from all 16 of the series it currently organises will parade on the track. There’ll be single-seaters, GTs, touring cars and sportscars doing the Club proud.

And GRR will be there on Saturday and Sunday to bring you all the best bits. Look out for galleries, vidoes and even the odd Facebook live on our social media streams!