An eclectic grid of 41 sports cars from the 1950s lined up for the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy as racing for the Silverstone Festival got underway, with outright victory going the way of Andrew Smith’s Cooper Monaco.

Under bright blue skies, Bonamy Grimes held the lead from pole for the 50-minute contest aboard his 1959 Lotus 15, but was passed before the end of the opening lap by Maxwell Lynn’s Lister Costin Chevrolet, which had started third. Grimes fought back on the following tour through Aintree, before Lynn asserted himself at the front again down the Wellington Straight as Nigel Greensall’s Lister Knobbly moved up to second at Becketts, demoting Grimes to third.

The leading trio engaged in a thrilling tussle over the following laps, running three-wide at one point through Aintree and onto the Wellington Straight while pulling clear of the chasing pack, which was led by the Cooper T38 of Frederic Wakeman/Patrick Blakeney-Edwards, Smith and the Lister Jaguar Knobbly of Tim Crighton.

Greensall was the first of the leading runners to visit the National pitlane on lap seven for the mandatory pitstops, where co-driver John Spiers already waited having pitted the Lister Costin both were also sharing. But with the Costin hobbled by damage, Greensall remained aboard the Knobbly for the rest of proceedings.

At the same time out on track, Grimes found himself back in the lead as Lynn suffered a spin into Vale before rejoining second, six seconds in arrears with both heading to the pits on the following lap. The early pitstop action moved Smith into the lead and when the Cooper Monaco driver made his own visit to the pits just after the halfway point, he rejoined 17s ahead of Greensall and Johnny Mowlem, now in for Grimes.

Mowlem soon moved into second and took the lead along the Hangar Straight four laps from the end, but just moments later through Club a mechanical problem brought the Lotus to crawl, allowing Smith to retake a lead he would never lose as he claimed victory overall, and in the Stirling Moss Trophy. “I hit some oil and that slowed me down. I very nearly spun a couple of times so I had to take some different lines,” said Smith.

With Mowlem pitting, Greensall claimed second, and first in class for disc brake cars over 2000cc, from the Lotus 15 of Richard Wilson/William Nuthall, the duo having quietly gone about their business and rising from seventh on the grid. Lynn and co-driver Andy Wolfe finished just off the overall rostrum but second in class, ahead of Crighton and Andrew Kirkaldy, sixth overall and victorious in class for disc brake cars under 1500cc with his Lotus 11.

He was followed by Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards, Richard Hudson/Stuart Morley’s Lister Knobbly and the Jaguar D-type Long Nose Continuation, driven by Alex Brundle. Stirling Moss Trophy class winners for drum brake cars included John Burton’s Jaguar Alton in 16th and Avery Baker’s Cooper T39 Bobtail in 19th.

Completing the top 10 and victory in the concurrent Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy went the way of brothers John and Gary Pearson in their D-type, having battled with the similar car of James Hanson and Paul Pochciol, which led before the pitstop phase and eventually finished fourth.

Ahead were Rick and Joseph Willmott (Jaguar XK140 Gomm Special), who claimed second overall and victory in class WT2, with Tim Childs third and top WT2 runner in his Cooper T24/25.

Three Jowett Jupiters were in action celebrating the 75th anniversary of the car’s introduction, with Edward and Julian Crossley claiming WT1 honours, while Nick Matthews came out on top for disc brake runners under 3000cc with his Austin-Healey 100/4.

GT3 Legends made its bow at the Silverstone Festival with 35 cars taking to the world-famous circuit, as Danny Winstanley came out on top in his maiden race in the category despite finishing second on-the-road.

Fellow debutant Graham Davidson saw the chequered flag first in his Aston Martin V12 Vantage after the 50-minute contest, the 2019 British GT champion shadowing leader and Motor Racing Legends touring car ambassador Rob Huff in the opening half. With the BMW Z4 driver required to remain stationary for longer at the mandatory pitstop due to his elite status, victory was always unlikely, and Davidson inherited the lead after the stops. However, a short pitstop meant he was given a time penalty that dropped him to second in the final classification.

Winstanley’s Audi R8 LMS started third and kept the leading duo in sight for much of the race, before inheriting the win.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever raced GT3 before and I’ve only driven the car four times since we’ve had it, so I’m made up with a win,” said multiple Caterham champion Winstanley.

Completing the podium was the Z4 of Olly Bryant who, like Davidson, was competing in a car he’d raced in period. The Audi R8 LMS of Julian Thomas was fourth overall, but victorious in class GT3B. He finished ahead of Nick Maton’s Gallardo and the recovering Huff, while Andrew Jamieson (Lamborghini), Massimo Vignali (Audi), Fred Shepherd’s Ford GT GT3 Evo and Marcus Oeynhausen (Audi) completed the top 10.

Robert Oldershaw Jr’s Aston Martin DBRS9 claimed GT3C honours, having never been headed, with two Ferrari F430s, of the Pearson brothers and Christopher Compton Goddard, rounding out the class podium.

A double victor when GT3 Legends visited the Donington Historic Festival back in May, Jonathan Mitchell’s Vantage was forced to start at the back after suffering a fuel pressure problem in qualifying but climbed as high as fifth in the race before returning to the pits in the closing stages with a vibration at high speeds.

Other front runners to suffer issues included Rob Hall, who pitted his Z$ early on with a front-right problem, while Max Lynn and Alex Brundle’s Nissan GT-R Nismo started from the pitlane due to gearbox issues, eventually retiring after 13 laps.

There was a treat for fans of GT3 racing with the debut in the series of the Reiter/SaReNi Chevrolet Camaro. The car was rarely seen in period but Nigel Mustill, sharing with Craig Dolby, gained valuable miles in a car that has the potential to be one of the highlights of the grid. The car turned its first laps in the hands of its new team at the end of Wednesday’s test day, and despite that need for more mileage showed plenty of promise on race day.

A heavy crash for Freddie Lillingston-Price led to a red-flagged race finish, with the driver emerging safely from his Lamborghini Gallardo after the incident at Woodcote.

A grid of 42 cars competed in the Adrian Flux for MRL Historic Touring Car Challenge, consisting of the very best touring car machinery from the late 1960s through to the 1980s. Julian Thomas claimed victory, as well as the Andy Rouse Trophy for the highest-placed Ford Sierra. The trophy was presented by the man himself, commemorating 40 years since the iconic machine claimed the title in 1985, with Rouse at the wheel.

Thomas started second but slipped to third on the opening lap behind Wim Kuijl’s Ford Capri RS3100, who along with race leader David Hart (BMW CSL), began to gap the rest of the field in the early stages of the 50-minute race.

The crucial moment came on lap five as Hart was tipped into a spin at Copse after light contact from behind by Kuijl, with the Capri suffering a left-front puncture and forced to crawl back around to the pits, leaving him little chance of a top result. Hart, meanwhile, rejoined unscathed in second, more than six seconds behind Thomas, who fittingly was at the wheel of a former Rouse machine.

Once the pitstop sequence had finished, Thomas remained in the lead having extended his advantage to around 10 seconds, and was able to cruise to victory as the Hart BMW, now driven by son Olivier, pitted in the closing stages due to high water temperatures but rejoined for second overall and first in class.

“Really hard work,” said Thomas, bathed in sweat but beaming as he accepted the trophy from Rouse. “With about eight laps to go I was like, ‘you’re kidding, there has got to be less’. It’s just a handful. Heavy, fast, hot. Gear changes are difficult, steering is difficult, braking is difficult, you name it.”

Completing the podium was David Tomlin’s Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, having stayed out of trouble and risen from 13th on the grid, ahead of Francisco Freitas and Luis Liberal. The Portuguese duo’s BMW E30 M3 was victorious in class HT4B, followed by the similar machines of Lewis Fox, whose ex-Schnitzer car was making its debut after restoration, and Ashley Muldoon.

Harry Whale’s Ford Escort Mk2 finished seventh overall and as leading HT2B runner, while the top 10 was completed by Frank Guest (Ford Escort RS1800), Simon Watts/Alex Buncombe (Chevrolet Camaro) and Bonamy Grimes/Johnny Mowlem’s Escort RS1800.

The New Zealand contingent of Scott O’Donnell and Allan Dippie were next up, the former’s Sierra Cosworth RS500 leading for a portion of the race but penalised for stopping outside the pit window, while Dippie’s Rover 3500 SD1 was the leading HT3C runner. The Kiwi pair, in Europe to take in a few historic races over the summer, were presented with the Spirit of Kingfisher Award for their enthusiastic paddock presence across the weekend.

Other class winners included Julian Wood (Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R), Andy and Chris Middlehurst (Toyota Corolla AE86), as well as Henry Mann and Steve Soper (Escort Mk1).

In the concurrent Tony Dron Trophy contest, James Thorpe and Phil Quaife’s Chevrolet Camaro was never headed and despite a time penalty for a short pitstop post-race, still claimed victory in 17th overall. Mike Whitaker’s Rover 3500 SD1 took class honours in second, with Can Bitirim and David Gardner third.

It was a special occasion in the 50-minute HMRN Pre ‘63 GT contest, with the Royal Automobile Club Historic Tourist Trophy, marking the 120th anniversary of the ‘TT’, awarded to Gary and John Pearson in their Jaguar E-type.

Victory, though, went to invitational entry Micheal Gans in his Lotus Elite, having battled his way into the lead with a pass on Gary Pearson along the Hangar Straight just prior to the halfway point. Gans remained ahead of Gary’s brother John after the mandatory stops, but stretched his margin to more than 13 seconds by the chequered flag.

As well as Historic Tourist Trophy honours, the Pearsons also claimed victory in class D, with the podium completed by class C victor David Hart in his Ferrari 250 GT SWB. The Dutchman had a thrilling early tussle with the E-type of Jason Minshaw and Nikolaj Mortensen’s Turner GT. Hart briefly managed to move ahead of the Pearsons through The Loop on the penultimate lap but was unable to hold the position, eventually finishing just about a second behind.

Mortensen started on pole in the car he shared with Jan Magnussen but ended fifth, and with the ex-Formula 1 driver required to serve a longer pitstop, he was only able to recover to fourth by the chequered flag. “I was having fun,” said Magnussen. “The car has been fun to drive. Last year was kind of a trial but already a pretty good success, and we were faster this year. The car is good, we’re very pleased with where the car is at. I love the atmosphere and camaraderie [of racing with Motor Racing Legends] and these are great cars.”

Alex Hewitson (Austin-Healey 3000 Mk2) and Minshaw/Mark Burton’s E-type FHC completed the top six, with the Lotus Elite of John Davison seventh and the top class A runner, with class B honours going the way of Gareth and Simon Evans’ Sunbeam Alpine in 15th.

TV presenter Richard Hammond was classified 13th in the Austin-Healey 3000 Mk3 he was shared with Patrick Blakeney-Edwards, having suffered a small spin at The Loop and reporting of a small misfire. “The car likes to move,” said the former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter. “The start of qualifying the track was damp and this thing, anything above 30mph it was just skating which was great and taught me a lot about how it breaks away.”