Opinion: Marcus Pye

There’s a bumper entry as the HSCC’S Silverstone International Trophy is back and the return of fans to circuits is another reason to be cheerful

“Socialising in fresh air at a race track, with a beer at lunchtime, became a habit”

Time was when the BRDC’S International Trophy event at Silverstone was a non-championship Formula 1 race. Rooted in 1949, when Alberto Ascari won for Ferrari, it was second only in importance to the British Grand Prix – whether staged there, at Aintree or Brands Hatch – on the domestic calendar. Thus it attracted large crowds to Northamptonshire, and long-term title sponsorship from the Daily Express that promoted and covered the meeting, over which household name drivers often competed in supporting races too. I first attended in the mid-1960s, where watching great champions Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme and

Jackie Stewart helped sow my love of the sport.

This weekend’s International Trophy retrospective, under the auspices of the Historic Sports Car Club, founded in 1966, has been a staple of the Silverstone-based organisation’s programme for many years. Together with its Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix in July and Oulton Park Gold Cup in August, it enjoys joint top billing over the domestic season, showcasing the current iteration of the Grand Prix circuit, a world away from the flat wartime airfield course on which superstars played in 1949, itself very different to Silverstone’s original 1948 layout. Intriguingly, in that second year, there was even a chicane at Club!

I’m excited to be back on commentating and reporting duty from Saturday morning, for several reasons. Not least is the return of spectators, for which national motorsport has been yearning since the season belatedly began last month. It’s not like the great Silverstone International of yore when we set off at dawn, arrived two hours before the first race and were entertained by hardened fans constructing personal grandstands from scaffolding and planks to see over the crowds at their favourite vantage points. Ours was Stowe, where – in those pre-wing days – the sightline stretched impressively from Chapel Curve and extended via the Hangar Straight, past us, through the subsequent right-hander at Club and up through the flat-out left kink at Abbey, which was towards half of the 2.9-mile track.

Attendance at most club events now tends to be the families and friends of competitors, locals who pitch up if the weather looks pleasant and some diehard enthusiasts. Yet, a more reliable barometer of a meeting’s quality is the number of marshals who sign-on. The HSCC is supported by a particularly strong‘orange army’, largely because those on-post enjoy being close to a fantastic diversity of cars, which transports them back to their youth. Marshalling a circuit of Silverstone’s full 3.66-mile length effectively is dependent upon them, and a wave from drivers on cooling-down laps goes a long way to making their vital hobby more enjoyable. A friendly paddock, scrutineering and race office experience are other differentiators for competitors and officials working behind the scenes.

Back in the 1970s, when I was first able to travel to events independently and thus started marshalling, the spectator throng for certain club meetings was greater than at others. Certain drivers, notably Gerry Marshall, even boasted a fan following! Sure, there were fewer clubbies than there are now – almost all one-day affairs with six to eight races – and far fewer leisure activities to distract punters. No Sunday shopping meant many were kicking their heels unless they went to a sporting event, fishing, or to the pub. Thus corralling like-minded friends and socialising in fresh air at a race track, with a beer at lunchtime, became a habit for many.

Now, incentives for promoters who hire circuits to bring spectators through the gates are rare. The costs of putting an event on are passed directly to competitors, amortised by entry fees across daunting full-on programmes featuring double or triple-headers for some race groups. Conversely, the benefits of welcoming visitors in number are still evident at the Oulton

Park Gold Cup, which Motorsport Vision advertises widely and an historically receptive North West community responds. With hundreds of classic cars packing the bank outside the Fogarty Moss Centre, with a panoramic vista over Cascades, the descent from Hill Top to Knickerbrook and the climb up Clay Hill, buzzing paddock atmosphere and an active rally stage, it’s a great day out!

There is fine racing to be enjoyed elsewhere, though. Returning to Silverstone, there is something for everybody. From the HSCC’S traditional Road Sports miscellanies through frenetic Formula Ford to exceptional Guards Trophy and Thundersports fields, the club’s in-house portfolio is swelled by a twin-pronged Historic F2 flashback giving a flavour of the International Trophy’s 1970s epoch. The return of the visiting GT & Sports Car Cup may provide the spectacle of the weekend, however, with a magnificent multimarque pack headed by snarling Jaguar E-types (these cars will be competing for a special trophy to mark the model’s 60th anniversary), AC Cobras and Austin-healeys shaping Sunday afternoon’s one-hour contest. If the past 13 months’covid-19 lockdowns have whetted your appetite, or you’ve not been racing for a long time, it’ll be worth the trip. Make it this year.