FOUR DECADES OF TOURING CARS AT THE SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

The Silverstone Classic’s David Leslie Trophy now celebrates touring cars from the ‘70s and ‘80s as well as the ‘90s.

Cars including RS Capris and BMW’s red, violet and blue striped ‘Batmobiles’, originally driven by legends such as Niki Lauda and Henri Pescarolo on tracks across Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, will join touring cars of the ‘90s. Spectators will see them racing side by side with Vauxhall Vectras, Ford Mondeos, Honda Accords and the famous Leslie-Aiello duo’s Nissan Primeras at Silverstone next month.

The under two-litre touring car race (U2TC) features cars from the 1960s. Director of Racing at Silverstone Ken Prichard Jones says: “We are delighted to add such variety to the touring car grid; due to demand, we now welcome contenders from four decades of touring cars, all running in their respective classes: forty years of touring car racing and technological development are faithfully represented in two thrilling races.”

The Silverstone Classic takes place from 24 to 26 July 2009, featuring the world’s iconic racing cars and marques. Grids celebrating over ninety years of racing include pre-war sports cars, Grand Prix race cars, Group C Le Mans racers, pre-’63 GT and sports cars, alongside other crowd favourites such as Mini racing, touring cars and Formula Junior. Both young and seasoned racers, as well as celebrities and racing heroes will take to the track for three days of atmospheric and thrilling on-track action. Silverstone Classic will host over 20 races, more than 80 car clubs, 4000 cars on display, 700 cars and 900 drivers, automobilia sales and Bonhams’ classic car auction, with further entertainment provided by Harley-Davidson® stunt bikes and drag racing. Alongside the racing, free live entertainment throughout the day and into the evening will add an additional soundtrack to that of historic engines. History also features in the aerobatic display and Victorian fun fair, making the Silverstone Classic both an extraordinary event for classic car and racing enthusiasts, and a unique outing for the family.

Racing at Silverstone Ltd is the licence holder until 2017 of the Silverstone Classic.

Source: www.silverstoneclassic.com

Coming soon! British Touring Car Racing – The crowd’s favourite – late 1960s to 1990 By Peter Collins.



An affectionate, mainly pictorial panorama of twenty-odd years of the British Touring Car Championship, from the anarchical 1960s and early 1970s of flared wheelarches, lifting wheels and smoking tyres, through the Group 1 years when the rule-makers tried to make the cars look standard and, as a result, slowed them down. This had the predictable effect of galvanising race car builders into trying to get round the restrictions, eventually resulting in cars that were faster, and evolved into the tarmac-melting fire-breathing, turbo-powered frontrunners of the late 1980s. The story takes us up to the point where the rule-makers attempted another clampdown as the final decade of the 20th century dawned ...
Click here for more info about the book.

LOOKING SLICK – LEWIS HAMILTON’S LATEST PORTRAIT

Unique portrait of the 2008 FIA Formula One™ World Drivers Champion commissioned for National Oil Check Week



Reigning 2008 FIA Formula One™ World Drivers’ Champion, Lewis Hamilton, became one of the most pictured British sportsmen in the world when he became the youngest driver to win the title.

But none of the portraits of the 24-year old links him so completely to his sport as this stunning portrait in oil, commissioned to kick off National Oil Check Week….Because the twist is that the oil used is Mobil 1 race oil taken directly from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car in which Lewis won last year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Mobil 1, technology partner to Hamilton’s Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, charged US artist David Macaluso with the creation of the picture of Lewis in typically triumphant pose to celebrate his title success and highlight Mobil’s role in the UK-wide car maintenance initiative (www.CheckYourOil.co.uk), which kicks off next Monday, June 15.

A limited run of 50 prints of the painting has also been made and one of these special pieces of memorabilia can be won in a competition at www.mobil-1.co.uk in the run-up to the British GP.

The painting will have its first public outing at the ExxonMobil VIP customer event, on the eve of Hamilton’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Source:Mobil 1

GRAHAM ROBSON @ MINI UNITED 2009 SILVERSTONE

Coming soon! Mini Cooper/Mini Cooper S (Rally Giants Series) by Graham Robson.

This is a comprehensive study of the career of one type of rally car – the BMC Mini-Cooper/Mini-Cooper S. In the 1960s the Mini became famous as Britain’s most successful rally car. It combined superb handling, a tiny body shell, high-performance engines and the excellence of front-wheel-drive in an irresistible package. Not only this, but the works team included famous drivers like Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen.

The works Minis not only won the Monte Carlo three times – 1964, 1965 and 1967 – along with the European Rally Championship in 1965, but also won events all over the world. Because Minis were British, and well-promoted, they became seen as giant-killers, and were the people’s favourite for many years. The car outpaced many of its rivals, and this book examines exactly who they were, and how they came to be defeated by the ‘mighty Mini.’



Even today, works Minis appear at every gathering of classic cars – and in 2009, Mini celebrates its 50th birthday. Packed with over 100 photographs, this book is a fitting and timely tribute to a much-loved Rally Giant.

Click here for more info about the book.

JEROEN BOOIJ AUTHOR OF MAXIMUM MINI AT MINI UNITED 2009 SILVERSTONE

Maximum Mini – The essential book of cars based on the original Mini

By Jeroen Booij.

This book focuses solely on the cars derived from the classic Mini. Small GTs, sports cars, roadsters and fun cars: Mini derivatives that changed the specialist motoring market completely in the early sixties, and new designs kept it busy for nearly four decades. From the well known Mini Marcos and Unipower GT that raced at Le Mans, to the very obscure but as exciting Coldwell GT or Sarcon Scarab, almost 60 cars are thoroughly researched, described and photographed in this book.

Click here for more info.

VELOCE AT MINI UNITED 2009

Pleased to announce that Veloce have been offered a trade stand at Mini United 2009 and we will be attending the whole weekend. The event takes place at Silverstone from 22-24th May and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic Mini. A star attraction performing at Mini United will be the iconic music legend Paul Weller!
Visit www.miniunited.com for more details about the event.



We will be selling all of our Mini related books at the event. Whether you are into classic Mini's or weird and wonderful Mini derivatives, Veloce will surely have something for you. Here's a small selection! More details to follow ...



Click covers for more info.

PORSCHE DRIVING EXPERIENCE CENTRE SILVERSTONE

Last week Porsche officially opened its Driving Experience Centre adjacent to the famous Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire. The world-class centre allows every customer of a new Porsche in the UK and Ireland to receive expert tuition in their driving skills as well as the performance capabilities of their car as part of their purchase experience.

The Porsche Driving Experience Centre aims to build on these principles of driving safety and driving enjoyment by providing a formal, yet fun, environment for both Porsche owners and enthusiasts to have the opportunity to understand the engine performance and chassis dynamics attributes which differentiate a Porsche from its rivals.

The centre offers a variety of track configurations and surface conditions on which the potential of all Porsche road cars can be studied, together with, uniquely, the human performance level of drivers themselves. The Porsche Driving Experience Centre houses reception and display areas, a restaurant, cinema and the innovative Human Performance department. This leading edge sports laboratory is run by proven specialists and is accessible to both Porsche customers and racing drivers. Ordinarily, this type of facility would only be accessible to elite athletes. One-to-one instruction spans fitness assessments and guidance in techniques aimed at improving stamina, co-ordination and reaction times for drivers of all levels.

The building features distinctive Porsche architectural cues on the outside but, like the Porsche road cars themselves, employs the latest technology to significantly lower its energy demands, and hence its environmental impact. Visitors can see the entire Porsche facility from a roof top platform offering panoramic views.



New Porsche books from Veloce!



Porsche Racing Cars – 1953 to 1975 by Brian Long.

Today, one cannot escape the fact that the words 'Porsche' and 'racing' go hand in hand. This book follows Porsche's year-by-year progress in top flight racing, and looks in detail at the pure competition cars that brought the German marque such immense success on the tracks and worldwide acclaim. This particular volume starts with story of the giant killing 550 Spyders of 1953 vintage, and takes the reader through a series of racing models, including the glorious 917, up to 1975 via contemporary photography and words from an acknowledged Porsche authority. A second volume covers the years 1976 onwards. The book includes detailed year by year coverage of Porsche's top class racing exploits in words and 300 excellent photos.



Porsche 964, 993 & 996 Data Plate Code Breaker by Adrian Streather.

This book provides a comprehensive list of all the build specification codes used by Porsche AG for the Porsche 911 series, from model years 1989 to 2005. VIN, model type, country, exterior paint colour, interior colour combinations, material codes, and standard, special and Porsche Exclusiv options for the 964, 993 and 996 series are provided in detail. Option codes for other Porsche models built between 1978 and 2005 are also included, if known to the author.

NISSAN GT-R OWNERS GET A TASTE OF WHAT'S ROUND THE CORNER

Instructors from Silverstone International have entered the final stages of a Pan-European driving programme to introduce the Nissan GT-R to more than 1,300 pre-sold customers.

The 19-date run at Germany's Nurburgring follows the successful debut of the experience at the home of the British Grand Prix in August, where more than 500 owners got to grips with the super saloon car for the first time.

Under the logistical arm of Silverstone International, the initial two stages of the ground-breaking ‘Best in Class' Nissan Academy allowed customers to experience the phenomenal performance of the GT-R as well as learn important advanced driving techniques.

Further sessions, including the opportunity to take a full race licence test, will be held during 2009. Nissan and Silverstone are working on an even bigger offering of driving experiences for Passionate Sports car driver's that will be rolled out in 2009.

European deliveries of the GT-R supercar will start in April 2009. Currently the waiting list is 18 months in the UK.

EXCLUSIVE NEWS! Nissan GT-R Supercar: Born to Race by Alex Gorodji is forthcoming from Veloce in 2009. so watch this space!