Quote:
Originally Posted by wyvern28
Hello everyone,
A friend recently made me aware of this thread so I thought I would write a post regarding the 90s GT Legends grid that has appeared at the Silverstone Classic for the past 2 years.
I organise this for the event promoters and also run the Facebook page for the group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/2243...92896/?fref=ts). I am passionate about racing GT cars from the 90s and 2000s in particular (well all racing cars really, but this period has been a more recent focus of mine). Indeed I've spent the past 2 years researching them and have located over 200 already, but I estimate there could be triple that in existence! These cars have been steadily increasing in popularity in recent years, being bought out of long-term storage or from collectors who rarely used them and restored to a correct period spec and livery in most cases. Aside from Stephane Ratel's brief GT90s Revival series, there has been nowhere owners can run these cars with other period examples until very recently. Frustrated at not being able to see these cars together on track I suggested to the Silverstone Classic team that it might be a good idea to put together a demo/race for them. They liked the idea and we trialled it for the first time last year, running again this year too. We opted for a demonstration format as it meant we had the best chance to gather a fantastic cross section of cars, including the 98 Le Mans winner from Porsche's museum. The trouble with the more iconic GT1 cars from this period is that they are worth so much money that many owners aren't prepared to risk them in a race and/or preparing them for a race requires quite a different approach to making them track ready as such, then involves spares and testing if you'd like to take it seriously. However I'm sure in time there will be enough cars in race-ready condition and with owners wishing to enjoy them in a more competitive way so that a race series can be run with healthy grids. Indeed Laurent Vallery-Masson has started to run a series in France called GT Classics for such cars which has enjoyed a healthy start, and I hope flourishes in coming years.
My main focus with the 90s GT Legends at the Classic was to gather the most mouth-watering selection of cars possible so that we could put the spotlight on this period and do whatever we could to help enthuse more people about these cars. I hope that more and more collectors will see what good value many cars are given their racing history and performance, particularly once there is somewhere to regularly run them.
I am currently evaluating plans for 2016 to see what potential there is for perhaps taking the group abroad for an event, be it race or demonstration (whichever garners the most support) at a great circuit. This could be at an existing historic event or as a stand alone track day (similar to the Modena Motorsport day at Spa).
Everyone is welcome to join our Facebook group if they wish and should anyone want any further information or to chat about these cars in general, please don't hesitate to contact me through there (I am the group administrator).
Best regards,
Jarrah Venables |
I just want to say thank you for bringing back some great memories over the last two editions of the Silverstone Classic, was wonderful to see - shame the weather had such a negative effect this year!
Are the 90s GTs likely to be returning to the Classic in 2016? I have also thought the Donington Historic Festival would be a good place to see these run, as the track was often used in period (and that festival has also taken on a 90's revival in recent times).
I'm guessing there are far more GTs from this period available than prototypes? McLarens and 911-GT1s alongside Ferrari 333SPs would bring back even more great memories!