hosts FIA GT Championship and Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy
- 2/3 ROARY THE RACING CAR TO MEET AND GREET YOUNG FANS
Silverstone is proud to host the opening round of the FIA GT Championship, a series which features some of the world’s finest supercars, at the Northamptonshire circuit on 2-3 May.
The GT1 and GT2 teams will go head to head on the iconic Grand Prix circuit, with drivers also challenging for the historic and coveted Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. While the Silverstone Supercar weekend kick-starts another action-packed season of world- class motor sport at Silverstone, it also marks the only UK appearance for the world’s premier sports car series in 2009.
Sports car fans will be treated to a feast of GT action, featuring spectacular cars from some of the most iconic sports car marques of all time. Lining up on this year’s multi-million pound start grid will be the latest racing models from Aston Martin, Corvette, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche and Saleen.
The prestigious Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy is traditionally held at Silverstone’s round of the FIA GT Championship, with the Trophy having a long and illustrious history. Previous winners include a host of legendary drivers: Sir Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Derek Bell to name a few. 2008 Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy (RAC Tourist Trophy) winners Karl Wendlinger and British driver Ryan Sharp will be back at Silverstone for this year’s event, in a Saleen S7 and with a new team, KplusK Motorsport. British interest also includes CRS Racing (formerly known as CR Scuderia) coming back to fight for the 2009 GT2 title with Rob Bell and Andrew Kirkaldy at the helm.
The RAC Tourist Trophy will be the headline event in a packed weekend of racing, which also includes the FIA GT3 European Championship, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series and the GT4 European Cup. Away from the track, younger racing fans will get the chance to meet ‘Roary the Racing Car’ and ‘Big Chris’ from the popular children’s television series which appears daily on Five’s Milkshake and Nick Jr.
Roary and Big Chris will be wandering around the Silverstone paddock and signing autographs from a Roary the Racing Car display area where arts and craft activities, goodie bag give-aways, and the opportunity to watch Roary the Racing Car on television will keep young families entertained. For slightly older fans, driver autograph sessions and an ‘open-to-all’ race paddock will provide exceptional access to the FIA GT teams, stars and the stunning line-up of competition supercars.
For supercar fans that enjoy driving as well as spectating, one of the weekend’s major attractions is the London to Silverstone Supercar Tour - the official opening ceremony for the Silverstone Supercar weekend. This year’s Supercar Tour, running for the fourth consecutive year, will take place on Friday 1 May. Advance tickets for the Silverstone Supercar weekend are available from as little as £20 for race day and £25 for the weekend (Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May).
Entry is FREE for children aged 15 and under, accompanied by an adult. There is plenty on offer at Silverstone for all the family, including supercar displays and a fairground, featuring dodgems, where all rides are FREE of charge. Parking and grandstand seating is also included in the price of a general admission ticket.
