History of the Silverstone Racing Club
The Silverstone Racing Club began life as The Silverstone Club, back in 1966, by a group of motor-racing enthusiasts and competitors who were ardent supporters of the circuit.
The Club began in a caravan close to Woodcote Corner, until the late Jimmy Brown, ‘Mr Silverstone’, soon realised the Club would benefit from a permanent base and suggested raising money to build a permanent clubhouse. The BRDC, as owners of the circuit, agreed to allow a clubhouse to be built and one hundred ‘life memberships’ were offered for sale. Today, a number of these Founding Life Members are still active in the Club and enjoying the special privileges that came with being a benefactor.
The income from the sale of the Life Memberships provided the funds to build and equip the original clubhouse which was situated between the Luffield and Woodcote grandstands and was officially opened by Graham Hill at the British Grand Prix in July 1967; a facility that sadly had to be demolished in 2020, although the aspiration is for the Club to have a new ‘home’ in the future.
Brian Lambert, one of the Founding Members recounts his memories of the birth of the Club: “My Dad used to race in the late fifties and early sixties (until 1964) and Jimmy Brown, then the track manager at Silverstone, decided he wanted a place for people to meet up for a beer at the end of the day. So, to fund the building of the clubhouse he offered life memberships to 100 people. My father bought two premium life memberships for he and my Mum, entitling them to bring two guests, and two ordinary life memberships for myself and my brother, with one guest each. As we were regular spectators and pit timekeepers when not at school or university that seemed fair enough!”
“In the early days, initially the clubhouse was fairly bare, with just a food and drink counter at one end, manned by volunteers, including my Mum, dishing out the tea, sandwiches and cakes! Soon after a bar was set up at the other end, which when I started racing in1968 was manned by someone with the nickname of Plum. It was well supported after racing, including by F1 drivers after the Grand Prix. They were a lot less precious in those days (and less well paid!). There was no stand outside the club, viewing was on top of a bank outside, or the grandstands next door.”
Since this time the Club, rebranded as Silverstone Racing Club, has been a community of like-minded fans who have enjoyed the camaraderie and shared the passion for their sport at Silverstone.
