The Historic Sports Car Club will take three significant grids, featuring over 150 cars, to the 2023 Silverstone Festival (formerly known as Silverstone Classic) which takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (25 to 27 August).
The HSCC not only hopes to give many of its members the chance to race at this magnificent event but is also throwing open an invitation to racers from other series across the UK, and indeed Europe, to come and be part of the biggest and best historic motor racing festival of the season.
The HSCC grids will cover three distinct categories of car, ranging from powerful single seaters to production-based sports and saloon cars. The Club is opening up the chance to race at the event to a whole crop of drivers who have not previously had a suitable race to enter and can now be part of the Festival for entry fees that will be as close as possible to those for lower profile race meetings.
The new races will be the Silverstone Formula Libre Trophy for any pre-1990 single-seater and the Road Sports Trophy for pre-1980 production sports and saloons. As it has done for the last two seasons, the HSCC Thundersports category will also be racing at the event, which runs over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Two 20-minute Formula Libre races will be open to a wide range of powerful single seaters built and raced before 1990. The race will pay tribute to the incredibly popular Formula Libre races that were a staple part of Silverstone race meetings in the 1970s, notably in the Jaybrand Formula Libre Championship.
This new grid could feature Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic cars from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. Formula Ford 2000s of the 1970s and 1980s can race and there is even an opportunity for cars from period Formula 3000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus and Formula Renault to join what will be a spectacular grid.
At the heart of the Formula Libre race will be cars from the HSCC’s existing Aurora Trophy, Geoff Lees Trophy, Classic F3 Historic Formula Atlantic and Historic FF2000 grids. However, the club is eager to welcome other cars not normally seen within its race meetings, so is inviting drivers in any pre ’90 slicks and wings single seater to take part.
The second all-new grid will be a 40-minute pre-1980 road sports and touring car race for the Road Sports Trophy. At the heart of this grid will be cars from the HSCC’s Historic Road Sports and 70s Road Sports grids as well as cars from the Historic Touring Car Championship. The HSCC is keen to welcome competitors from other series, on an invitational basis, for what might be a unique opportunity to race at the Silverstone Festival. Cars from a number of categories will be eligible, particularly those running to FIA Appendix K regulations, but all cars in near standard trim from the 1970s will be welcomed.
Thundersports is the HSCC’s series for 1970s sports-racing and GT cars and for the 40-minute Silverstone Festival race the entry will be opened to other suitable cars on an invitation basis, particularly powerful GT cars. Anyone with a car that may be suitable should make contact with the HSCC office as soon as possible.
Across all three grids, entry fees will be kept as competitive as possible and will be detailed shortly.
Meanwhile, the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association will be delivering some great racing as usual at the event with two races for an over-flowing grid of Formula Juniors.
Andy Dee-Crowne, CEO of the HSCC said: “I’m delighted that once more our categories will be strongly represented at the Silverstone Festival. We have a close relationship with the event and continue to be the race organising club for this fabulous weekend on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
“I hope that many of our racing members will take the chance to be part of the 2023 Festival. I also hope that drivers from across historic and classic racing who normally compete in other series will come and join us for a one-off event. They will be made very welcome and we will make the administration process as simple as possible and keep the entry fee as close as possible to those for other race meetings!”