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Bentley Drivers Club Meeting @ Silverstone
The Bentley Drivers Club celebrates its 75
th anniversary in style with an action-packedth- and 14th. The Club’s 62nd
consecutive annual Silverstone meeting will feature a superb line-up to delight fans of all
ages and types of Bentley
spectacle in honour of the Club founder, Keston Pelmore
As well as truly exhilarating racing, the weekend will feature demonstration laps by four
very special cars. Bentley Motors
– plus many other marques besides. And this year sees a new– a race with a twist!’ Continental Supersports world ice record-breaking ‘Ice’
car will make its first public appearance, and the Le Mans-winning EXP Speed 8 and two
magnificent aero-engined speed record-breaking cars
Napier- Railton and Graham Moss
considerable paces to thrill the crowds.
– John Cobb’s legendary 1933’s 2003 Thunderbolt - will also be put through their
Racing on the track
– and between the pit crewsPacked grids should ensure plenty of entertainment, and the mix of shapes, sizes and
ages of Bentleys will echo the early days of motor racing. The Bentley Scratch and
Handicap races will see Bentleys spanning nearly 90 years out together, with
contemporary machines squaring up against their vintage counterparts. Many of the cars
would make fantastic museum pieces, but, true to the spirit of the marque, they will take
to the track.
One of the highlights is sure to be Sunday
the young enthusiast who founded the Club in 1936, when he left notes on the
windscreens of all the Bentleys at a Brooklands meeting, inviting their owners to the
inaugural Club meeting at his Chelsea flat. The Club will pay tribute to its founder in a
fashion he would almost certainly have approved of
a wheel-changing pit stop. Whilst Formula One-style 10-second changes are unlikely,
there is still guaranteed to be plenty of competition in the pits to manage the quickest
wheel-change.
’s Keston Pelmore Memorial Race, named after– with a 20-minute race that includesThe Bentley Drivers Club annual Silverstone meeting is known for its friendliness and
inclusivity, so other much-loved marques are invited to add to the fun and spectacle.
Morgan Challenge will see a range of Morgans battling it out, while the MGCC
Thoroughbred Sportscar Championship will bring a grid of British sportscars of the 50s,
60s and 70s, including Aston Martin, MG, Lotus, TVR, Jaguar, Triumph TR - and more
Morgans. And
sports-cars including MGA, MGB, Triumph TR3 and 4,
Midgets, Sabre 6, TVR Grantura, AC Ace and Alfa Romeo.
TheEquipe GTS will stage three exciting heats featuring historic production‘Special-bodied’ Sprites andDemonstration lap delight
Silverstone won
will enjoy the first public appearance of the latest record-breaking Bentley - the
Continental Supersports Convertible
rally champion Juha Kankkunen broke the world ice speed record, achieving 205.48 mph
on the frozen waters of the Baltic Sea off the coast of Finland.
’t be quiet when the racing cars are resting. On the Saturday, spectators‘Ice’ Car, in which, earlier this year, four-time worldAs well as bringing the
stunning 2003 Le Mans-winning Bentley EXP Speed 8, to further entertain the crowd with
its display of potent power.
Moreover, two magnificent aero-engined speed record-holding cars spanning seven
decades will also be out. In the hands of John Cobb, the 1933 Napier-Railton broke 47
world speed records at Brooklands, Montlhéry and Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and
Brooklands Museum is bringing this legendary machine to Silverstone to showcase it on
track. And Graham Moss will drive the 27-litre Bentley Meteor Thunderbolt, the car he
designed and constructed and which holds many UK over 8-litre speed records, including
10 taken at Millbrook in 2003.
In addition to all the on-track action there will be plenty to do and see off-track.
Concours winning cars will have their own display and the Club is hoping for a good
gathering of R Type Continentals to mark the model
Advanced tickets are available from the Silverstone website, priced at £10 for the
Saturday or Sunday or £15 for the weekend. Children aged 15 and under go for free.
‘Ice car’ to the party, Bentley Motors will also demonstrate the’s 50th anniversary.
two-day race meeting at Silverstone on August 13
Filed under: Motoring EventsPosted at 12:59
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