The stars and cars of the Silverstone Festival

A stunning collection of Formula 1 cars celebrating 75 years of the world championship provided the centrepiece for the 2025 Silverstone Festival. Cars representing 33 of the 34 title winners formed a display at the Wing but, as ever, the on-track action provided most of the highlights.
 
Twenty races over two days covered single-seaters, touring cars and sportscars, from the 500cc F3 machines of the immediate post-Second World War era to 21st century sports-prototype and GT designs barely out of contemporary competition.
 
Here, then, are some of the drivers, cars and races that stood out.

Bradshaw wins on McLaren F1 debut

Porsche Sprint Challenge championship leader Tom Bradshaw took a double victory on his F1 debut, driving Steve Hartley’s McLaren MP4/1, which also won the Stuart Graham Award for the standout car of the event.
 
Having never tested the Cosworth DFV-engined machine, Bradshaw took pole for the Masters Racing Legends contest, 0.925 seconds clear of Matthew Wrigley’s Tyrrell 011.
 
Bradshaw led race one throughout, surviving a late safety car period, to take victory by 1.3s. He then went from seventh to win the partially reversed grid on Sunday.
 
“Steve rang me a few months ago and offered me the opportunity – we used to share a garage when I drove a Chevron B19 a few years ago,” said Bradshaw. “I’m still pinching myself. It’s a childhood dream. Every lap is a gift in this.” 

“My main difficulty has been getting comfortable – I’m too tall for it,” added Bradshaw, who is 6ft2in. “It’s really well sorted and very forgiving. I’ve driven stuff with as much power and cars with high grip but not the two together. It just rewards you the harder you push.”
 
Behind Bradshaw, Stuart Hall dived by Wrigley at Village on the opening lap of race one. The March 821 driver then held off the Tyrrell for the rest of the race, with Werner d’Ansembourg’s Williams FW08 making it a three-car battle for second.
 
Poleman Mike Cantillon was second in race two, just ahead of a charging Wrigley, who was once again outfumbled by Hall in the opening corners before the March’s DFV expired.

Peugeot tops Endurance Legends as Chilton stars

Brooks won out in a competitive Masters Endurance Legends class.

Photo by: JEP

Ex-F1 driver Max Chilton started from pole and led the initial stages of the first Masters Endurance Legends encounter, but the V8-powered, second-generation Peugeot 908 of Steve Brooks soon blew by the Zytek 04S, hitting 174.7mph down Hangar Straight.
 
Despite a safety car period, during which all the cars made their mandatory stops, Brooks pulled clear of Christophe d’Ansembourg’s Lola-Aston Martin to win. Keith Frieser’s Zytek 09S held off Werner d’Ansembourg (OAK-Pescarolo), up from the back, but a five-second penalty dropped Frieser to fourth.
 
Chilton fell to the lower reaches of the top 20 after his stop but charged through the field. He set the fastest racing lap of the weekend, a 1m48.233s, on his way to fifth on the road, which became sixth when he also picked up a 5s penalty.
 
Brooks won again in race two despite a 5s penalty for being out of position at the start, with Werner d’Ansembourg and Frieser completing the podium. Chilton was disqualified for ignoring a drive-through penalty.

Magnussen gets a pole and a podium in different cars

Magnussen had a busy schedule, pictured here in the Turner GT.

Photo by: JEP

Four-time Le Mans class winner Jan Magnussen took a spectacular pole and a podium in very different machines at the Festival.
 
The 24-time grand prix starter once again shared a Turner GT with fellow Dane Nikolaj Mortensen in the RAC Historic Tourist Trophy for pre-1963 GTs. Magnussen hurled the 1650cc machine to pole by an eye-opening 1.2s, but a longer mandatory pitstop was always going to hamper the duo in the race.
 
Mortensen fell to fifth during his stint before the stops and Magnussen then recovered to fourth.
 
“I was having fun but a 35s [success] penalty made it impossible to reach the podium,” said the 52-year-old. “We were faster this year and the car is good, we’re very pleased with where the car is at. I love the atmosphere and camaraderie, and these are great cars.”
 
Magnussen then took third in the final race of the weekend, the Masters Sports Car Legends event for 1962-76 sportscars and GTs. He climbed aboard the Lola T70 Mk3B that Chris Ward had taken from fifth to second in the Sunday event contest. Magnussen couldn’t hold off the Chevron B26 of poleman Darren Burke but did defeat the McLaren M6B of Max and Andrew Banks to complete the podium.

Le Mans Lotus wins but doesn’t

The win, but no trophy for Gans in the two-litre Lotus Elite.

Photo by: JEP

The RAC Historic TT was won on the road by the one-off, two-litre Lotus Elite driven by Michael Gans but, as an Invitation class entry, he didn’t walk away with the famous trophy.
 
The uprated Coventry Climax FPF-engined Elite was entered for the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours by Lotus Engineering and funded by Jonathon Sieff, part of the Marks and Spencer dynasty, for Alan Stacey and Innes Ireland to drive. The aim was to challenge for overall honours, but Stacey was killed at the Belgian GP the week before. John Whitmore was brought in but Sieff then suffered an accident in another Elite during practice and the car was withdrawn.
 
Gans, in only his second event with the car, qualified second at Silverstone. He battled Gary Pearson’s 3.8-litre Jaguar E-type for the lead in the early stages and moved ahead shortly before the pitstops. Gans then pulled clear of John Pearson, who took over from his brother, to win by 13.8s. The Pearsons nevertheless took the historic trophy.
 
“This just has a lot more punch than a normal Elite,” said Gans, who has also raced the ‘conventional’ 1200cc Elite. “It’s got a bunch of little tweaks, such as Lotus 18 front brakes.
 
“On corner exit, you can drive it on the throttle and get oversteer, which can be quite handy in slow corners and you can’t do in a normal Elite. It’s not yet as well-balanced because it’s got more weight at the front. It’s very much early days, but it’s pretty good as it is.”

Huff part of bumper GT3 grid

Huff leads a bumper GT3 grid into Turn 1.

Photo by: JEP

Motor Racing Legend’s new GT3 Legends initiative attracted 35 cars to Silverstone and the pack included 2012 World Touring Car champion Rob Huff and 2019 British GT title winner Graham Davidson.
 
Huff’s BMW Z4 led the Aston Martin V12 Vantage of Davidson in the early stages and could not shake off his pursuer, while Danny Winstanley’s Audi R8 LMS was never far behind.
 
As a pro going solo, Huff had to serve an extra minute in the pits on top of the standard 90s. That handed Davidson the advantage and he duly took the flag first, but his stop had been too short and his penalty dropped the Aston to second, behind Winstanley.
 
Huff eventually finished sixth, while Alex Buncombe set the fastest lap in the Nissan GTR started by Simon Watts with a time of 1m56.682s. That was 1.5s faster than the best time set during April’s British GT round, albeit with the faster version of the Club chicane.

Mowlem and Grimes denied after charge

Mowlem and Grimes looked like winners before trouble struck late on.

Photo by: JEP

Experienced GT racer Johnny Mowlem and co-driver Bonamy Grimes were denied victory in the closing stages of the RAC Woodcote and Stirling Moss trophies contest for sportscars of the 1950s.
 
Mowlem recorded a stunning 2m21.356s to take pole by 2s, beating his 2024 benchmark in the same Lotus 15 by nearly 2.5s. Grimes started the race and ran third for much of the opening stint, behind the bigger-engined Listers of Max Lynn and Nigel Greensall.
 
Greensall pitted with around 35 minutes of the 50-minute race to go and Lynn spun at Club, handing the lead to Grimes. But the two-litre Lotus had to spend an extra 30s in the pits due to Mowlem’s status; Andrew Smith’s Cooper Monaco took over at the front.
 
Mowlem sliced into the 21.9s deficit and swept past the Cooper on Hangar Straight with six minutes to go. But almost immediately, the Lotus slowed, due to points closing up in the distributor, and Smith retook the lead before the end of the lap.
 
Mowlem pitted and returned to the track in time to set the fastest lap on the final tour, finishing 17th. Smith took victory from the overheating Lister Knobbly of Greensall, while 10th-placed John and Gary Pearson won the Woodcote Trophy element in their Jaguar D-type.
 
“It’s one of the most disappointing moments I’ve had in a long time,” said Mowlem. “It was a measured drive and I was working out how hard to push. After the problem, I was livid so I decided to go for it even though there was lots of oil down.”

Titanic Transatlantic tin-top finish

Just 0.8s covered the top three at the end of the Transatlantic Touring Car Trophy.

Photo by: JEP

There was a thrilling climax to the Transatlantic Touring Car Trophy for pre-1966 tin-tops. Having switched from his usual Ford Falcon Sprint to a Ford Mustang, usual pacesetter Sam Tordoff took pole and led the early stages. But a longer m andatory pitstop for being a pro driver looked like it would scupper the former British Touring Car frontrunner’s chance of victory.
 
After the stops, Tordoff was fifth, 20s adrift, when a late safety car period closed up the pack. There was time for just two laps at the restart and Tordoff quickly climbed to third. He then overtook Greensall’s similar Mustang into Abbey on the final lap and latched onto the tail of leader Robert Ross, driving the Mustang in which Matt Johnson had chased Tordoff in the first half of the race.
 
Despite a big push from Tordoff, Ross held firm to win by 0.169s. On Tordoff’s tail was reigning BTCC champion Jake Hill, who had spectacularly charged from eighth to third in those final two tours aboard Colin Sowter’s Mustang. Just 0.8s covered the top three at the flag.

2025 Silverstone Festival winners

Historic Formula Junior – race one: Sam Wilson (Cooper T59)
Historic Formula Junior – race two: Horatio Fitz-Simon (Brabham BT6)
 
RAC Woodcote and Stirling Moss trophies: Andrew Smith (Cooper Monaco)
 
Derek Bell Trophy for F2/F5000 – races one and two: Michael Lyons (Lola T400)
 
MRL GT3 Legends: Danny Winstanley (Audi R8 LMS)
 
Masters Racing Legends (1966-85 F1) – races one and two: Tom Bradshaw (McLaren MP4/1)
 
Masters Endurance Legends – races one and two: Steve Brooks (Peugeot 908)
 
Transatlantic Touring Car Trophy (pre-1966): Matt Johnson/Robert Ross (Ford Mustang)
 
HGPCA pre-1966 grand prix cars – races one and two: Will Nuthall (Cooper T53)
 
International Trophy for pre-1966 GT cars: Julian Thomas (Shelby Cobra Daytona)
 
Masters Group C: Andy Soucek (Lancia LC2)
 
RAC Historic Tourist Trophy: Michael Gans (Lotus Elite) – Trophy winners: John Pearson/Gary Pearson (Jaguar E-type)

MRL Historic Touring Car Challenge: Julian Thomas (Ford RS500)
 
500cc F3: Tom Waterfield (Cooper-Norton Mk9)
 
Masters GT Trophy: Craig Wilkins/Aaron Scott (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3)
 
Masters Sports Car Legends: Alex Brundle (Lola T70 Mk3B)