Silverstone Classic (2024) - Recap & Photo Gallery

The now customary late summer date on the calendar for the Silverstone Festival marks the largest historic racing event in the UK. A colossal 20 race program over the course of the weekend, which saw no less than 30 hours of on-track action throughout the three day program, with race cars from the pre-war era, right through the Endurance racing cars of the early 21st century.

A more diverse presentation of historic racing would be hard to imagine. While the Masters Historic Racing series make a number of stops in the UK on their annual calendar, the chance to see historic F2 and F3 are much more limited, adding to the thrill of the Silverstone weekend.

The Legendary Silverstone GP Circuit

Set on the world-renowned Silverstone circuit, host to the British Grand Prix, the fast, flowing 3.66 mile circuit is one of the dwindling number of circuits which can accommodate the ever-increasing size of contemporary Formula One cars. Contrast this with the diminutive size of historic machinery and the wide Northamptonshire track offers the perfect platform to showcase the hard-fought racing, a reputation for which is inextricably linked to the action in these series.

Senna Sempre

For 2024, the Silverstone Festival paid tribute to Ayrton Senna, to mark 30 years since his untimely demise in the San Marino Grand Prix of 1994. A display of almost 30 cars with links to the great Brazilian were present over the course of the weekend, with an on track demonstration, where the Toleman TG183B-05 and the Lotus 97T were put through their paces, to the delight of fans, able to get a rare glimpse of these cars on such a prestigious circuit.

Summer rain and showers

The three days of the Silverstone Festival had more than enough action to content the thousands of spectators who flocked to the circuit, though as has become customary, the late summer British weather had a spanner to throw in the works. In a year where weather disruption has been more common than in living memory, once again heavy rain dominated the headlines over the weekend, with torrential downpours causing considerable disruption on track. The heavy rain on Saturday caused a number of races to be canceled, as track conditions were not suitable for racing. Whilst Sunday remained mostly dry, a couple of heavy showers ensured that the summer of “Umbrella Weather” saw no let-up.

Sublime Historic Racing

The fervent racing progressed undeterred though, no more so than in the Masters Historic Gentleman Drivers, where victorious Olivier Hart enjoyed a ferocious battle with Julian Thomas, as the two contested the race lead in a pair of Shelby Daytona Coupes, in the most scintillating and thrilling races of the weekend. Matthew Wrigley and Stuart Hall both put in supreme performances in the Masters Historic Racing Legends races, where the Tyrrell 011 and March 821 respectively claimed a race win each.

The fusion of races from Masters Historic, Motor Racing Legends and the HGPCA, offers a showcase second to none in Historic Racing. While the Silverstone Festival works hard to put together a more all-encompassing event each year, with live music, colossal car club stands and various demos and presentations, the racing on track is rarely anything less than sublime, with a superb diversity and depth of grid that is rare to encounter in Europe. Though the English weather may try, there is nothing that can dampen the spirits over the course of the Silverstone Festival.