1948 grid re-creation for Silverstone Classic

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first RAC Grand Prix at Silverstone, July’s Silverstone Classic will feature a re-creation of the 1948 grid. Organisers are working to locate the original cars, or examples of the same model, as a showcase for the July 25-27 event.

The 1948 race was the first major event held at Silverstone, after the wartime airfield was hurriedly made ready for racing at short notice when other possible venues proved unsuitable.

“The HGPCA and the VSCC are helping with this project, as some of the cars are still active within their membership,” said Roger Etcell of event promoter Motion Works. “Our plan is to get as many cars as possible that were on the 1948 grid, and re-stage that line-up.”

The hunt is on to find examples of the 15 models of car that made up the 25-car grid for the famous race. From the Italian manufacturers the field included the winning Maserati 4CLT/48 as well as 4CLs and 6CMs, while Ferrari was represented by its first F1 design, the 125, and Alfa Romeo by the Alfa-Aitken Special. Five Talbot Lago T26Cs were there, along with a lone example of the 1948 Alta GP and the Emeryson Special.

All the ERAs which competed that day are well known, mostly still in active competition, so locating R1A, R2A, R4D, R5B, R8B/C, R9B, R10B and R14B is the easier part of the project.