The DSC Editor-in-Chief was on TV duty over the weekend at the brand new BRDC Classic meeting with c.400 competition cars from the 1920s through to the middle of the last decade (plus historic karts on Silverstone’s brand new circuit.
There was some great racing and some interesting storylines across the weekend:
Mr and Master Brown
The very final garage in the National Pits was occupied by United Autosports as Team co-owner Zak Brown took a weekend out from F1 to race for the first time alongside his son Max.
Zak and Max Brown drove Zak’s recently acquired ex AF Corse GTE Pro 2011 Ferrari 458 to a GT2 class win in the newly launched Endurance Icons field on Sunday after a second in class finish on Saturday.
Father and Son also combined in the GT3 Legends races in a McLaren MP 4/12C GT3, the car having British GT and Macau GP heritage.
Mark Werrell caught up with Zak post race: “The first time we’ve been at a Motor Racing Legends event, and I’ve got to say it’s first class. It’s our first of many. Silverstone is an unbelievable track. The GT3 and Endurance Icons cars show me how old I’m getting because when I see these things, I’m like, ‘These aren’t historic.’ This is the first time I’ve raced with my son. He’s done one race at Brands Hatch and, unfortunately, he’s already quicker than me. So he’s either pretty good or I’m slow. There are some fantastic cars here. I’ve seen quite a few that I certainly wouldn’t mind having in my garage.”
Endurance Icons
Alongside in pitlane was another father and son effort, Shaun and Max Lynn, with a stunning pair of sports prototypes for the Endurance Icons races.
Shaun, founder of the Motor Racing Legends organisation that provided the foundations for the Festival, raced in no fewer than four of the fields across the weekend, fielded his 2003 Bentley Speed 8, the car taken to a second place overall at Sebring that year ahead of the team’s Le Mans win in June.
The Bentley scored fifth place on Saturday after a late penalty for a short pit stop but bounced back with second on Sunday.
Max Lynn, meanwhile, was also busy across the weekend, but his mount for the Endurance Icons was a showstopper. After a lengthy renovation and restoration, his 2001 Cadillac Northstar LMP literally shone; Dave Ward and Howden Haynes from Progressive Engineering were both on hand to admire their handiwork whilst Max got to grips with his new steed, this believed to be the first time that one of the ex-factory cars has seen race action since its heyday.
Some minor engine-related issues took the bite out of the attack on Saturday, where he finished fourth, but the car was on full song for the final day; a podium finish in the wheeltracks of the Bentley was a fine reward.
Both Endurance Icons races were won overall by Keith Freiser in his ex-Beechdean Mansell Zytek 09S, with Mike Newton grabbing both LMP2 wins in his 2005 MG Lola EX264, the MG Lola scoring an overall podium on Saturday after an excellent run by Newton.
From Tardis To Tarmac
Sir Chris Hoy was a late arrival on Saturday morning, but the Olympic cycling legend had a good excuse!
Friday had seen him playing a pivotal part in the opening ceremony for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, hosting/ escorting the King and Queen:
“Yeah, that was quite something,” he told DSC, but it does leave me a bit short of time on track.”
Sir Chris drove alongside Alex Brundle in a Lola T292 in the Historic 2 Litre sportscars race, finishing a distant but impressive second to a rampant Jan Magnussen and Chris Ward, Hoy putting in quite a shift in a car that he had briefly tested just once before the weekend.
He raced too in the Top Hat Historic Touring Cars race on Sunday, sharing a huge Ford Falcon with ex-British GT Champion Marco Attard.
Big Banger GT3s
A strong field of 26 GT3 cars was assembled for a 20th anniversary celebration of the class which debuted at Silverstone in 2006.
The field encompassed examples of no fewer than 11 different GT3 marques with some standout appearances.
2001 British GT Champion Marino Franchitti appeared alongside Gregor Fisken in the latter’s tartan-liveried Porsche whilst 2019 overall Champion Graham Davidson was back on track with a race win on Sunday in his Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.
Phil Keen, a serial overall race winner in GT3, appeared in a spotlessly prepped Reiter/ Sareni Chevrolet Camaro and was right on the pace all weekend, hobbled only by a hefty 60-second driver ranking-related pitstop penalty.
And yet another father and son effort, this time a more familiar racing one, Richard and Sam Neary raced in their newly acquired ex-Ram Racing Mercedes AMG SLS GT3, the car the first-ever 24H Championship winning car and, possibly, bound for a guesting return to the Series!
Shorty’s Garage!
A VERY proud Martin Short might not have been racing, but he was beaming as he watched his sons Morgan and Marcus out in a car that his Rollcentre racing concern had built, one of two based in the same garage.
The #104 Mosler saw each of the boys entered solo for a race apiece.
Also in the same pit garage was yet another Rollcentre Racing-built machine, this the 2002 TVR Cerbera Speed Six that took the first ever class win in a GT32-equivalent class by any non-Porsche, beating Ferrari and BMW to the punch!
The car, now owned and campaigned by yet another ex-British GT racer, Ian Stinton, was a popular sight, but somewhat off the pace on the day!
Selected Results BRDC Classic
