CAN-AM CELEBRATION TARGETS 50 RACERS

Ground-shaking monsters set to headline Silverstone’s showpiece

As many as 50 Can-am cars will line up at the Silverstone Classic in July to celebrate the 50th birthday of the category.

Nick Wigley, promoter of the event, has confirmed high competitor interest in the pair of races for some of the most powerful sports-racing cars ever produced.

“It’s been fantastic and there is huge excitement about it and my ambition is to see 50 cars on the grid,” said Wigley. “We’ve called it Can-am 50 and we’re aiming to get 50 cars.”

The Silverstone races, first revealed in MN last July, will feature a total of more than 300,000 horsepower and the leading cars will be approaching 200mph on the run down Hangar Straight.

The Can-am series started in 1966, running to Group 7 regulations with little or no restriction on power and aerodynamics. By the late 1960s, seven-litre Chevrolet engines were common and Porsche later ran the 1000bhp open-cockpit turbocharged 917.

In Europe, the class evolved into Interserie, but the heartland of Can-am racing was in North America, where the series ended after the 1986 season.

On the grid will be John Grant, chairman of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, in his Mclaren M8C/D. Grant suffered a huge accident in the car at Brands Hatch in 2010 and has only raced it once since it was rebuilt. But he says the chance to race at Silverstone will tempt him back into the 1970 car. “I can’t wait to be part of it,” said Grant.