Every year, Lord March invites motorsport enthusiasts to his castle and celebrates the Festival of Speed with them. From July 11 to 14, 2013, it was that time again and the announced rarities and gems had already generated interest long beforehand.
185,000 spectators
In 1993, when it was first held, a modest crowd of 20,000 people gathered on Castle Hill; for the 20th anniversary it was 185,000 and all tickets were sold.
For Lord March, the Festival of Speed is all about bringing people closer to their dream cars of the past. And he obviously does this quite well.
Not just a classic car event
Of course, the old cars make up the majority of the vehicle fleet. But the latest racing and sports cars (e.g. Jaguar C-X75, McLaren P1) can also be admired and a bridge is always built between old and new, in the spirit that today's vehicles are the classic cars of tomorrow.
Also a race
They wouldn't be English if they didn't let it rip. Every year, some of the invited gentlemen also set the fastest time on the 1.8 km long course through the castle park.
In 2013, the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak, a Jaguar XJR8/9 and a Lola-Toyota prototype of the Rebellion Racing Team were considered the favorites, but in the end Justin Law in the almost twenty-year-old Group C Jaguar came out on top and won by 45.95 seconds, not least because Nick Heidfeld was unable to intervene in the final stint and his teammate was not fast enough.
Also a commercial event
For the major vehicle manufacturers, the Festival of Speed is of course not least a marketing event where they can draw attention to new vehicles and celebrate their own tradition. In 2013, Porsche was the main attraction, and the Porsche 911, now 50 years old, was also the subject of the centrally positioned sculpture, as is already a tradition at the Festival of Speed.
BMW brought a whole armada of vehicles - motorcycles and cars - to England, including the freshly restored Brabham BT52, with which Nelson Piquet once won the first world championship title for the Bavarians in Formula 1. Marc Surer and Steve Soper were called in to demonstrate the Le Mans-winning BMW V12 LMR, while Ricardo Patrese was put in the BMW M1 Procar .
Various anniversaries were celebrated, such as the 50th birthday of McLaren
Also a special rally stage
Not only is the road to the castle hill used for performance demonstrations, but a short special rally stage is also set up each time. And the rally drivers let it fly - in the truest sense of the word.
Many rally cars could almost be admired from below as they set off on long jumps. On display were rally cars from the past as well as the present.
Seeing and being seen
Of course, the Festival of Speed is not just about horsepower and car bodies. It is also a celebration of racing celebrities. Stirling Moss was of course there, as were Nelson Piquet, René Arnoux, Marc Surer and Hannu Mikkola, to name just a few examples.
Special exhibition with world record vehicles
The record-breaking vehicles on display in a special exhibition were certainly of interest to fans of fast locomotion. Among others, the Bluebird V world record car, with which Sir Malcolm Campbell once reached 276.82 miles per hour on Daytona beach in 1935, could be admired here. The Bluebird CN7 LSR and the Sunbeam V12 LSR were also on display alongside other record-breaking vehicles.
Concept cars of the past
The concept cars of the past were certainly also a highlight. Whether OSI Silver Fox from 1967, Phantom Corsair from 1938 (on a Cord 810 chassis), Vauxhall SRV from 1970, the Mercedes-Benz C111 from 1970 with four-disc Wankel engine, the (drivable) Bertone Lancia Sibilio from 1978, they all showed how the future was imagined back then.
Rarities show at the Concours d'Elegance
It is not only driven, but also presented, for example at the Concours d'Elegance, where the almost legendary Jaguar E-Type press car with the license plate "9600 HP" was one of the cars competing. It was once on display in Geneva for the premiere of the new sports car.
Also on display were, among others, a Ferrari 250 LM, a very early Lamborghini Countach and a Maserati Mistral Spider, not forgetting the Bugatti Type 41 Royale with the elephant on the radiator.
Auction with a world record
On Friday, July 12, 2013, Bonhams held an auction as part of the Festival of Speed. All eyes were on the Mercedes-Benz W196R, in which Fangio once won the German and Swiss Grand Prix. Expectations were exceeded as the monoposto sold for £19.6 million (see separate report ) .
