Silverstone Festival wows bank holiday crowds

• Senna family joins special tribute to Brazilian racing legend
• Dramatic track demo by Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance
• Retro race wins for AC Cobra, Cooper, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus and Maserati icons
• Foodie Fest, displays from Formula 1 teams and live music all add to the entertainment
• Highlights to be aired on ITV next month

Olly Murs brought the curtain down on another sensational Silverstone Festival after three memorable days of fantastic family entertainment, eye-catching classic car gatherings, incredible historic motor sport, special tribute displays and live music over the fun-fuelled bank holiday weekend (23-25 August). 

Taking centre stage this summer was a very special tribute to the great Ayrton Senna whose 30 year legacy was celebrated with the biggest ever collection of Senna-related cars, bikes and karts spanning the triple world champion’s entire career on display. The outstanding showcase included all six of Senna’s title winners from Formula Ford, Formula Ford 2000, Formula 3 and, of course Formula One.

Bringing the remarkable display to life, Ayrton’s niece Lalalli Senna was present on all three days, exhibiting her extraordinary sculptures of her uncle in  Silverstone Museum (access to which was included in the price of Festival admission). Further endorsing the full support of the display by the Senna family, Lalalli’s brother Bruno Senna – himself a professional racing driver – was also at Silverstone to meet fans on Saturday. 

“Ayrton lived in the UK at the beginning of his career, so there are so many memories here at Silverstone,” Bruno acknowledged. “It’s very special that so many people can see all these beautiful machines. Huge congratulations to all those who’ve made this wonderful tribute happen ¬– I know it would have made Ayrton so proud.” 

In another of Saturday’s standout highlights, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team driver Esteban Gutiérrez wowed fans with some dramatic, high speed laps aboard Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance.

“I’m really happy to be here, especially to be sharing what Formula 1 is these days with the Festival crowd at Silverstone,” grinned the ever-enthusiastic Mexican. “It’s always amazing to see so many people attending this incredible event.”

Adding to the spectacle, Gutiérrez’s astonishing laps came on a wet Grand Prix circuit after a brief afternoon shower – the W12 dramatically sending huge amounts of spray into the air. “The W12 won nine races in 2021 and the Constructors’ Championship – it's a beast!" he confirmed.

After busy qualifying sessions on Friday, Saturday’s race action was equally spectacular… not least as several of the showdowns were staged on the kind of wet track on which Senna thrived – tricky conditions that kept the glorious RML SWB safety cars busy! 

Taking full advantage of the slippery conditions – and defying both the odds and history – John Spiers slithered his 1955 Maserati 250F to an unlikely victory, ahead of more modern rear-engined rivals, in the first of the weekend’s pair of HGPCA encounters for Pre ’66 Grand Prix Cars. 

Spiers earlier had teamed up with Nigel Greensall to win the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy in his 1958 Jaguar Lister Costin while Lukas Halusa and Alex Ames made it a Jaguar double by taking top honours in the Stirling Moss Trophy in their 1954 D-type.  

The magnificent sounds and sights of two fabulous V12-powered Ferrari 512Ms racing side-by-side into the sunset will also live long in memories. Victory in the twilight Masters Sports Car Legends showdown finally went to the scarlet 1971 Ferrari of father and son team David and Olivier Hart. 

With the second yellow 512 slipping back in the closing stages, the little 1976 Lola T296 of James Claridge and Goncalo Gomes out-played the bigger hearted 1969 Lola T70 of Alex Brundle to grab second place exiting the final corner.

Other highlights on Saturday included Stuart Hall just pipping Matthew Wrigley to the chequered flag in the first of two blue-riband Masters Racing Legends races for Formula One cars from the DFV era between 1966 and 1985 – the 1982 March 821 crossing the line just 0.356 seconds ahead of the 1982 Tyrrell 011 in one of the event’s many fantastic photo finishes. 

If anything, Sunday’s track action was even more exciting and dramatic – notably Will Nuthall’s sensational win in the second of the HGPCA showdowns. Having been forced to retire his 1960 Cooper T53 on Saturday, Nuthall restored rear-engined pride by charging from a lowly 39th place on the grid to take the lead on the penultimate lap.

Earlier in the day, the track action kicked-off in traditional fashion with a sparkling grid of more than 50 Formula Junior single-seaters jostling for position in a colourful curtain-raiser to a day full of memorable moments. Michael O’Brien won that in his 1963 Lotus 27. 

F2 and F3 Classic InterSeries were also on the morning’s bill (both extended in length after Saturday's weather issues) either side of the BRDC 500 For MRL Pre-War Sports Cars, which starred the oldest machines on the packed programme. Rolling back the years, Patrick Blakeney-Edwards and Chris Ward led from pillar to post in their nearly century old, chain-driven 1927 Fraser Nash Super Sports. 

Ward then teamed up with Gregor Fisken in a 1962 AC Cobra to win the coveted Royal Automobile Club Historic Tourist Trophy, but only after a fierce duel with the similar Shelby Cobra of on-form pairing Spiers and Greensall.

Roles were then reversed in the second of the two Masters Racing Legends races with Wrigley’s Tyrrell this time beating Hall’s March by little more than a single second – the opposite of Saturday’s result.

There was an even closer finish in the second of the Masters Endurance Legends encounters which saw the 2011 Pescarolo LMP1 prototype shared by Christophe and Werner D’Ansembourg win again after their first success 24 hours earlier. Stuart Wiltshire crossed the line hot on the pacey Pescarolo’s heels in his fast finishing 2011 Peugeot 90X but was subsequently dropped to third for a driving infringement.

The day ended in truly spectacular fashion with two more massive 50+ car grids. The Pure Michigan Mustang Celebration Trophy (Pre ’66 Touring Cars) is always a crowd-pleaser as big American muscle cars renew old rivalries. The Ford Falcons of BTCC race winner Sam Tordoff and Julian Thomas took the top two places on the podium with gamer turned racer Jann Mardenborough teaming up with YouTuber and racing driver, Jimmy Broadbent, to uphold Mustang honour in third in the Brundle Motorsport car.

With no time to rest, Thomas then played his part in an unforgettable finale to what will be long remembered as one of the best weekend’s racing in the event’s history. 

Behind the wheel of two identical 1965 Shelby American Daytona Coupes, he and Olivier Hart bought the curtain down in the International Trophy for pre-1966 GT cars with a thrilling duel. Lap after lap the pair went wheel-to-wheel, Hart finally taking the chequered flag with Thomas less than a car’s length behind. It was an astonishing finish to an incredible weekend of superb entertainment which can all be relived on the event’s You Tube channel.

Famous names were also out in force. Andy Priaulx, the three time World Touring Car Champion was one of those racing a Mustang, former Force India F1 team owner Vijay Mallya was behind the wheel of a Fraser Nash 328 in the BRDC 500, ex-F1 driver Jan Magnussen contested both Historic TT and International Trophy races while Red Bull Racing’s outgoing Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, was another of those in the fully-subscribed International Trophy field – he shared an E-type with son Harrison.  

Turning the clocks right back to the event's origins, the Stuart Graham ‘Scarf and Goggles’ Trophy – presented annually to what is judged to be the most admired racing car on track at the Festival – was presented to Andy Middlehurst for his recently restored Toyota Corolla GT, a BTCC title winner from 1984. 

Away from the track, there was more for petrolheads to savour at the wheel-spinning Shift and Drift Zone with hot rod cruises, dragster fire-ups, rally demos and stunt man Terry Grant delighting the crowds. However, it was the dragsters which were awarded the Mervyn Garton ‘Scarf and Googles’ Trophy for the best off-track visitor attraction. 

The Adrian Flux Car Club of the Show went to the MX-5 Owners Club which was celebrating its 30th anniversary with a huge turn-out at the Festival.

Foodie Fest was again a big draw with masterclasses from celebrity chefs including last year’s MasterChef Champion, Chariya Khattiyot, and Great British Bake Off winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno.

In fact, from the moment the gates opened at 7:30am on Friday morning, there was so much on offer to keep all ages fully entertained with interactive activities and must-see crowd-pullers including a Fan Zone with displays of current F1 cars and live music on all three evenings on The eBay Stage with chart-toppers Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Busted topping the bill on the opening nights before Olly Murs sent the crowds home happy on Sunday evening.

“It has been another absolutely epic Silverstone Festival,” confirmed a very happy Nick Wigley, Event Director. “This year’s incredible display of cars honouring Ayrton Senna was clearly very special and we were deeply honoured that both Lalalli and Bruno joined us to share in this tribute to their uncle.     

“The family entertainment has grown incredibly again this year, and the amazing track action, even by our own sky-high standards, was right up there with the best ever. I’m already looking forward to next year – make an August Bank Holiday date for your diary.” 

In addition to the coverage of all the race action on YouTube, two highlights programmes hosted by Ant Anstead and Jodie Kidd will also be aired on ITV next month.

A full record of race results from the 2024 Silverstone Festival is available here.