NEWS
Largest Ever Grid of Formula 3 500 Racing Cars at Silverstone this weekend.
Wednesday 17 April 2013
The F3 500 Association will be making history this weekend with the largest ever grid assembled in the modern era to contest the two-part Commander Yorke Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s ‘Spring Start’ Vintage and Historic Race Weekend at Silverstone.
The Commander Yorke race has been revived since its last running in 1960, and is something new for the association, in that it is an endurance race of 45 minutes total duration. 42 cars have entered, but only 36 will be eligible to race after a Saturday morning qualifying session. ‘Part 1’ is Race 2 on Saturday, and ‘Part 2’ on Sunday is Race 11 of the 22 race programme over the weekend. F3 500s do not have the best reliability in the world (although we hope that they prove us wrong this weekend!) so it is highly likely that all of the competitors will enjoy a race by the end of Sunday.
19 different marques will be represented over the weekend ranging from the less familiar machines such as the Trenberth, Flash Special and the Cousy to the more familiar Coopers with the two earliest cars built in 1950, the Cooper MK 4 of Shirley Monro and the Cooper MK 5 of John Potts.
Of special mention is Car 8, owned by Geoff Gartside since 1957; Geoff drove this car in the very last Commander Yorke race, where he finished in 2nd place. Today, Geoff’s son Martin is driving the car. In addition to the 500cc cars, the Invitation Class, which accepts entries from non-qualifying race series competitors, boasts five entries, including two DB’s from France with 850cc Panhard engines and a Cooper MK 4 with an 1100 cc J.A.P. engine.
Such is the interest in this event that entries have been attracted from Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the USA, which confirms the strength and geographic spread of the modern day 500cc Formula 3 movement.
This race marks the start of the 2013 500 Owners Association race series, which comprises seven events including a much anticipated visit to Croix en Ternois in France in September.
Tickets are available on the gate for £15 per person, under 16s go free. Action gets underway from 9am each morning, racing starts at 1pm with 11 races each afternoon. Sunday’s racing will be broadcast live on Motors TV.
For more information please click here for the VSCC Silverstone events page.
19 different marques will be represented over the weekend ranging from the less familiar machines such as the Trenberth, Flash Special and the Cousy to the more familiar Coopers with the two earliest cars built in 1950, the Cooper MK 4 of Shirley Monro and the Cooper MK 5 of John Potts.
Of special mention is Car 8, owned by Geoff Gartside since 1957; Geoff drove this car in the very last Commander Yorke race, where he finished in 2nd place. Today, Geoff’s son Martin is driving the car. In addition to the 500cc cars, the Invitation Class, which accepts entries from non-qualifying race series competitors, boasts five entries, including two DB’s from France with 850cc Panhard engines and a Cooper MK 4 with an 1100 cc J.A.P. engine.
Such is the interest in this event that entries have been attracted from Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the USA, which confirms the strength and geographic spread of the modern day 500cc Formula 3 movement.
This race marks the start of the 2013 500 Owners Association race series, which comprises seven events including a much anticipated visit to Croix en Ternois in France in September.
Tickets are available on the gate for £15 per person, under 16s go free. Action gets underway from 9am each morning, racing starts at 1pm with 11 races each afternoon. Sunday’s racing will be broadcast live on Motors TV.
For more information please click here for the VSCC Silverstone events page.
