Bentley Boys set for Silverstone return

Pre-war sports cars will return to this month’s Silverstone Classic, taking visitors back to the era of the famous Bentley Boys of the 1920s.

One of the ‘boys’, adventurer and aviator Glen Kidston, be honoured at this year’s event (24-26 July) with the Kidston Trophy race for cars from the golden age.

Nine Bentleys are already on the grid, including the 4½-litre Le Mans of vintage Bentley guru Stanley Mann plus a pair of 3-litre machines dating back to 1924 – currently the oldest on the near-capacity entry.

At the front of the pack are likely to be the big Invicta S-type of Chris and Nick Ball, the Alta Sports of Gareth Burnett and Richard Evans, and Rudi Friedrichs in the Alvis Speed 20 SA in which he has clocked up more than 150,000 miles, including no fewer than three Peking-Paris rallies.

The aluminium Frazer Nash Supersports of Fred Wakeman and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards is another potential front-runner – it’s one of at least seven Frazer Nashes on the grid.

What makes the Kidston Trophy special, though, is the wildly diverse sizes and power of the competing machines, the mighty Bentleys dwarfing cars such as the Austin Seven, as the seatbelt-less drivers saw away at the wooden steering wheels and negotiate the modern Grand Prix track on narrow tyres.

Also on the grid will be nine early Aston Martins, plus the three Talbot 105 ‘works’ Fox & Nicholl team cars complete with their famous GO 52, GO 53 and GO 54 registrations.

Paul Grist’s Alfa Romeo 8C 2.9, Richard Pilkington’s Talbot T26, Richard Wilson’s 1935 Squire Short Chassis and Martin Halusa’s Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spyder are other certain crowd-pullers. Halusa is also fielding his iconic Bugatti 35C.

Tickets for the 25^th anniversary Silverstone Classic must be purchased in advance. Adult admission starts from £40 and ticket prices include booking fees, parking, infield, grandstands, paddock access, live music. Full details – together with hospitality packages and weekend festival camping – can be found on the official website: www.SilverstoneClassic.com.