Silverstone Classic update 2007-07-19

£30 MILLION ASTON MARTINS REVVING UP FOR SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

A sensational field of Aston Martins - with an estimated value of nearly £30 million - will be one of the many highlights of the Silverstone Classic, in association with Bonhams, on July 27-29. A total of 48 Aston Martins, from the pre-war era and up to 1959, will battle it out for the Roy Salvadori Trophy on the Sunday afternoon. Among them is the car that Salvadori shared with Texan Carroll Shelby to a famous victory in the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours. Nick Leventis, son of car owner Harry Leventis, will bid for a second successive win in this race. He will be especially keen to win again, as it is hoped that this year Salvadori, now 85 years old, will present the trophy!

Organisers are also hoping that Tony Brooks, who took the DBR1 to its first major victory in the 1957 Nurburgring 1000 Kilometres, will be on hand. Leventis will face opposition from the DBR1 that completed an Aston one-two in the 1959 Le Mans, when driven by Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frere. Adrian Beecroft is now the owner/driver of this car. The rapid V12 Lagonda of the McWhirter family will also pose a threat.

The stunning, earlier DB3S model, formerly driven by, amongst others, Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Reg Parnell, is also well represented, with Martin McGlone and David Bennett entered in cars that were works team entries in the 1950s. With such a wide variety of Astons, the field will be split into a total of nine classes. Although they will be slower, the 1930s racers will battle just as hard - and in the thick of them will be regular Aston racer Holly Mason, daughter of Pink Floyd drummer and historic car racer and collector Nick Mason.

Race co-ordinator Mark Campbell, who will campaign his DB2/4, said: "Basically this race is a history lesson of Aston Martins in racing. A whole bunch of the cars are actually chassis and bodies that ran at Le Mans as works team entries.

"There were only ever five DBR1s built and we've got three of them in this race. Similarly, there were 30 DB3Ss made and we've got six of them. We've got a very good percentage of cars and they are genuine, historic machines - each car will have a board giving its history in the paddock. I've worked out the value of the grid as roughly £27 million!"

Tickets for the 2007 Silverstone Classic, in association with Bonhams, have been priced at an attractive £15 for the Friday and £20 for the Saturday and Sunday if booked in advance (£20 on the Friday and £25 on the Saturday and Sunday if purchased on the day), while a special Event Ticket represents fantastic value at £35 for all three days.

Children aged 15 years and under, accompanied by an adult, go free, while parking, roving grandstand seating, paddock access and centre transfer are all also included in these special prices. To purchase tickets, or for further information on the 2007 Silverstone Classic, in association with Bonhams, visit www.silverstone.co.uk, or call 08704 588 260.

-credit: silverstone