A few statistics: 558 entries; 4 organisers; and, 20 races to entertain the enthusiasts, added to which there were club stands; food experiences; a funfair; three evenings of live entertainment and one day of rain.

I started going to “The Classic” as it was then known, back in 1990; I’ve raced at it, displayed cars at it and I have fond memories of when the racing took centre stage. This year, the second of being a “festival”, the philosophy was far more about family fun.

On Saturday it rained and rained, and just to make certain, it rained again!

Comments from enthusiasts before the event went along the lines of “I also object to paying high ticket prices for the Musicians that I would draw the curtains on if they were playing in my Garden!” or referring to the circuit “worst spectator circuit I’ve ever been to, unfit for purpose describes it well.” and then again “I’ll be there all 3 days as normal. Got my tickets when they first went on sale so works out around £36 per day, I don’t think any one can complain about that!“

Before going further, none of the track action could have happened without the British Motorsports Marshals Club and the Silverstone Marshals Club; and of course the off track entertainment provided by Santa Pod Raceway among others.

Friday dawned sunny and dry so after a 40min drive through the Bucks countryside I arrived at the Media Centre in the Wing to sign on and grab my tabard. All the photographers have to wear these when trackside. They have a number front and rear so you can be identified when blundering into red zones (where photography is prohibited) and of course to ensure your safety.

I obtained media accreditation from Silverstone Press Office, who were extremely helpful. Although I have photographed events at Silverstone previously, I had never ventured to the Wing end of the circuit. That proved to be a learning experience because I struggled to find the angles that the regulars seem to find. Nonetheless I did catch a few pics such as this one from the Formula 2 practice on Friday:

Also on Friday evening there was a fun run in aid of SNVB Larders, a charity providing social supermarkets in Roade and Towcester. The principle being that rather than the social stigma attached to food banks, these “supermarkets” provide a more dignified experience.

And on Saturday it rained and rained, and just to make certain, it rained again! The first race of the day was the Formula Juniors but that was cancelled because it was just too wet. I went to the Pit Stop Cafe to enjoy a bacon bun and a coffee where I shared a table with a couple from the New Forest who had driven up for the day. They seemed quite happy because they were anticipating seeing Busted on the stage that evening. They did ask me for recommendations for the day, so I suggested they try to stay dry by visiting the food halls and shopping areas.

Thus, the Adrian Flux Trophy for the MRL Historic Touring Car Challenge became the first race of the day. Having qualified in the dry on Friday the drivers had to relearn the circuit for the wet weather. Nonetheless they managed to entertain the few enthusiasts who braved the elements.

The next race was the HSCC F2 Classic InterSeries but as with the Formula Juniors, that race was cancelled. Then, another cancelled race for the HSCC F3 Classic InterSeries, leaving MRL’s Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy & Stirling Moss Trophy to keep us entertained. The rain took the opportunity to subside for the warm up laps only to return with a vengence soon afterwards.

Despite the rain, spectators and display cars were arriving to populate the club areas and take advantage of the various food and entertainment outlets:

The rain continued for Race 6, the Masters Racing Legends (Formula One ’66 – ’85) although this was only the third track action of the day.

In keeping with what was a generally festival atmosphere, Teifion Salisbury appeared to be having a whale of a time in his Lotus 18 912 during sunny Friday qualifying;

So, although Saturday was reminiscent of the 1986 Birmingham Superprix, the weekend was well and truly underway. Meanwhile there was the small matter of race 7 the first of two HGPCA races.

Due to the wet start to the race there was a surprising victor in the shape of John Spiers in his Maserati 250F beating all the mid/rear engined cars. The second race on Sunday would see an equally exciting result when Will Nuthall in his Cooper T53 came through from 39th and last to win.

Whilst the racing was playing out, there were demonstrations and autotests taking place on the old unused section of track from Abbey to Bridge, which was my favourite configuration of the circuit. For this weekend this stretch was known as “The Shift and Drift Zone”.

The Masters GT Trophy was followed by a modern F1 demonstration and an Ayrton Senna Tribute demonstration, both of which gave me the opportunity to walk to other parts of the circuit.

Masters Endurance Legends and Masters Sports Car Legends brought Saturday’s racing action to a close.

Sunday dawned bright and breezy with very few “clouds to spoil the view” to paraphrase Buddy Holly. That meant we would get to see the Formula Juniors, Historic Formula 3 and Historic Formula 2 races, all three were entertaining although the Formula 3 race was fairly typical of its time, being somewhat processional. The Formula Juniors however, were slipping and sliding all over the place!

I spent my day walking from Luffield to Farm and Village corners, snapping the action. The BRDC 500 for pre war sports cars had Bentleys, Alvis’ and other marques thrashing around spilling a bit of oil and in some cases bodywork. Good fun though.

Now the sun was shining, the club areas became more populous lots of Jaguars on both the Drivers Club and Enthusiasts Club areas. And there were even more Morgans!

And, have you ever seen a Healey Speedboat?

There was the parade for cars entered in the Adrian Flux Retro Run giving those entered the chance to “Bond” with the circuit (sorry).

So, the racing continued with the Masters Formula 1 cars and the already mentioned HGPCA grids; the second races for Masters Endurance Legends and Sportscars. The penultimate race was the Pure Michigan Mustang Celebration Trophy (Pre ’66 Touring Cars). If oversteer is your thing, then this was a treat.

The International Trophy for Classic GT Cars (Pre ’66) completed the Festival racing programme. The race was won by Olivier Hart in a Shelby American Cobra Daytona.

That left the Festival to be closed by Ollie Murs on the EBAY Live stage.

Was it enjoyable? Surprisingly I was entertained throughout and mixing with people who were there for things other than racing, possibly made it a bit more interesting. So thank you Silverstone and the other organisers.

And finally: “We had a great time“, said the smiling couple and their two small children, almost in unison, as we left the Hilton Hotel, having crossed the bridge from the Wing for the final time on Sunday evening.

I took lots of pictures which can be found here: https://peter-mallett.smugmug.com/Silverstone-Festival-2024 feel free to view, comment or even buy some if you like them. Also if you have a particular car or driver in mind and you can’t find it there, just ask there’s a chance I have something in my files.