Featuring the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy – the UK round of the FIA GT Championship 6th – 7th May 2006
A ‘must not miss’ date for all those who love supercars, the most powerful and spectacular dream cars of today, is the weekend of 6th-7th May 2006 for the Silverstone Supercar Showdown. Silverstone’s legendary Grand Prix circuit will become the battleground for the world’s motoring elite, when tens of millions of pounds worth of cars, from Aston Martin to Ferrari and Porsche to Maserati and many more, will feature in a weekend spectacular of races and special events.
Existing and aspiring supercar owners and fans will be able to see the biggest ever gathering in the UK of these super-quick, super-powerful and super-sexy pinnacles of automotive art – in the paddock and on the track.
With plenty of on-track action, the undoubted centrepiece of the weekend will be the British Round of the FIA GT Championship, featuring the world’s most powerful and fastest road-based cars. This event is particularly special to British race fans as the winner will be presented with the prestigious Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy.
Since 1905, this Trophy has been awarded to many of history’s best drivers, behind the wheel of the best cars of the day. In last year’s truly magnificent race, Aston Martin brought the Tourist Trophy back to its former glory and it is expected that 2006 will see an even more impressive field of GT teams compete for one of motorsport’s greatest prizes. But the weekend won’t just be about races.
Autograph sessions, pit-walks and an ‘open-to-all’ paddock will provide all ticket holders with exceptional access to the teams, stars and some of the most spectacular cars on the track and road today. The centre of the circuit will also feature an amazing display of modern supercars, owned by manufacturers, distributors and Clubs, alongside exhibitors of supercar products, art and photography, and catering and entertainment facilities, providing amusement for all the family.
Royal Automobile Club Chairman, Tim Keown said, “This prestigious event aims to bring supercar owners and enthusiasts a spectacular, action-packed weekend, with two solid days of competition and entertainment. We are delighted that the historic Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy will be the centrepiece of the Silverstone Supercar Showdown, further securing its position as a firm fixture in contemporary motor sport.
In its heyday, the Tourist Trophy was the event all the great racing drivers wanted to win and recent success proves that it’s still the most coveted title.” Stephane Ratel, Chairman of SRO, promoters of the FIA GT Championship, said: “We are delighted to add a race as historic and as prestigious as the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy to the FIA GT Championship once again. 2006 looks like being one of the closest and most exciting seasons ever, and the teams and drivers are delighted to be heading back to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.”
Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, commented, “The Silverstone Supercar Showdown is the perfect event to kick off another fantastic season of motorsport at Silverstone. “The power of the GT cars simply takes your breath away, and our free open paddock will give fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in the event, getting up close and personal with the cars, teams and drivers. There is also plenty to keep families and younger fans entertained away from the track, including a mixture of driver autograph sessions, air displays, trade stalls, entertainment zones, club car displays and a fun fair.”
Tickets for the Silverstone Supercar Showdown will go on sale in March 2006 and will be available from £10 for the Saturday if booked in advance (£15 on the day) and £15 for the Sunday (£20 on the day). A special advance Weekend Ticket will also be available for £20 (£30 if purchased at the event). Plus the first 500 to book a weekend ticket in advance will receive a free pit lane walkabout pass for the Sunday morning. (silverstone.co.uk)
Access for children aged 15 years and under, accompanied by an adult, will be free of charge, while parking, grandstand seating, paddock access and centre transfer will also be included with a general admission ticket.
THE FACTS BEHIND THE SILVERSTONE SUPERCAR SHOWDOWN
The FIA GT Championship The true 21st century equivalent of the Tourist Trophy events of the past, the FIA GT Championship is attracting the world’s leading manufacturers, such as Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche and Saleen. With the most professional of private teams and leading drivers taking part, it is a guarantee of close and thrilling racing. And as such, it provides the perfect setting for the award of the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy.
Now entering its tenth season, the 2006 FIA GT Championship will consist of nine three-hour races, as well as the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. Having gone global in 2004, the Championship will finish this season in the Middle East, after racing at some of the top European circuits. Cars compete in two classes: GT1, for the fastest and most powerful cars, and GT2, for cars that must remain closer to the production models.
With two or three drivers sharing each car, the races have all the excitement of pit stops, driver changes and plenty of overtaking. The Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy One of motor sports’ most prestigious competitions, the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, continues its 21st century revival as it is contested in the British Round of the 2006 FIA GT Championship.
The Tourist Trophy was the event that all the great racing drivers wanted to win. The late ‘50s and early ‘60s were probably the most significant in the Trophy’s history, with some of motor sports’ great names winning, including Stirling Moss seven times, Denny Hulme four times, Graham Hill and Stuart Graham twice, Innes Ireland, Andrea de Adamich and Derek Bell in the fastest ever race. And most of the world’s most desirable supercar marques have competed for the Trophy over the last hundred years including Rolls-Royce, driven and won by the founder, the Hon C S Rolls in 1906, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, MG, Sunbeam, Lola and BMW. By being part of the FIA GT Championship, the Royal Automobile Club is demonstrating its continued commitment to the world of modern motor sports, as the battle of the titans takes place once again.
Other Features of the Silverstone Supercar Showdown The Silverstone Supercar Showdown will also feature races from leading international series such as the brand-new FIA GT3 European Championship, making its debut with a planned grid of up to 54 sports cars, the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe, the Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Coppa Shell and the Maserati Trofeo. There will also be a series of track and air displays that will leave spectators open mouthed.
