Record attendance at Silverstone Classic 2009

Record attendance figures for the biggest historic motor racing event in the UK have been confirmed: over 65,000 visitors flocked to the Silverstone Classic 2009; this, which excludes the thousands of children 16 and under who entered free, is the highest number recorded since the event’s inception five years ago, and a 15% increase over last year.

With sunny weather, the weekend of 24 to 26 July was packed with on-track action: more than 600 cars and 900 drivers took part in 21 races, in celebration of over 90 years of racing and progress in automobile technology. Bonhams’ auction was a runaway success, with 100% sell-out rate and over £750,000 raised from the Brawn GP and Jaguar Heritage collections.

Nearly a century of racing’s finest provided plenty of adrenaline-fuelled action: from rare Heskeths battling for the trophy in the Grand Prix Masters race, to the unique short-wheel-base Ferrari GT ‘Breadvan’, winner of the pre-’63 GT race, new for 2009. All podium positions were taken by XK120s in the Daily Express Production Race for Jaguar Cars, repeating Jaguar’s supremacy in the Daily Express-sponsored, first ever production car race at Silverstone sixty years ago. Gentleman Drivers’ AC Cobras chased after Jaguar E-Types, and four decades of touring cars took to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

Classic car fans Blue shared the outdoor stage with the Pussycat Dolls on the Friday night, and Saturday was another sell-out with Carlos Santana’s only UK concert following a full day’s racing, just after the Linney/Hadfield duo’s big Lola T70 left Chevron B16s and Alfa T33s behind in the evocative Masters Sports Cars ‘dusk’ race.

The provisional dates for the next Silverstone Classic weekend are 23 to 25 July 2010.