Two new Motor Racing Legends grids made their first appearances at the Silverstone BRDC Classic 2026, where around 300 competing cars ranged from the pre-war period to the GT3 era.
At the July 24-26, 2026 event, GP Icons presented by Goodyear brought together 16 Formula 1 cars from 11 marques, covering the 3.0-litre era between 1966 and 1985. Lukas Halusa won both races in his Brabham BT49, beginning with a 1.740-second victory over Michael Lyons’ Hesketh 308E. Steve Hartley finished third in a McLaren MP4/1. Halusa again led Lyons in the second race, this time winning by 1.845 seconds. He completed the podium in a Williams FW08, giving the new category the same two leading cars across both contests.
Endurance Icons also made its debut at the Silverstone BRDC Classic, attracting 23 GT cars and prototypes from the 2000s. The entry included an Audi R8, Bentley Speed 8 and Cadillac Northstar LMP, with the Cadillac making its first appearance in Historic competition. Keith Frieser won the opening race in a Zytek 09S, finishing 17.431 seconds ahead of Niklas Halusa’s Audi R8. Mike Newton placed third in the MG-Lola EX264 he had previously raced at Silverstone during the 2005 and 2007 Le Mans Series seasons. The car remains under the supervision of its original RML race engineer Phil Barker.
Frieser completed his double in race two, beating Shaun Lynn’s Bentley Speed 8 by 5.399 seconds. Maxwell Lynn finished third in the Cadillac Northstar LMP, just 0.694 seconds behind the Bentley. Zak and Max Brown were also among the Endurance Icons competitors. Sharing what the organisers described as a ‘red McLaren’, in fact a Ferrari 458 GT2, they won the GT2B class in Sunday’s second race.
Sir Chris Hoy secured an overall podium in the 2-Litre Sportscars race, sharing a 1975 Lola T292 with Alex Brundle. The pair finished second, one minute and 53.096 seconds behind the winning Lola T292 of Jan Magnussen and Alex Ward. Julian Mitchell and Mark Stokes placed third in a Vogue SP2, one lap behind the winners. Hoy then changed both eras and machinery for the HRDC Top Hat Pre-’66 Touring Cars race, driving a Ford Falcon. The race produced an all-Mustang top three, with Sam Tordoff beating Michael Whitaker by 15.480 seconds and Jack Ruddell taking third.
Jimmy Broadbent made his Motor Racing Legends debut across two categories. He drove a Nissan GT-R in GT3 Legends before switching to a Ford Mustang for the HRDC Top Hat race. The opening GT3 Legends contest was decided by 0.474 seconds. Jonathan Mitchell won in an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 ahead of Graham Davidson in another V12 Vantage, with Danny Winstanley third in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra. Davidson won the second race by 16.090 seconds from Winstanley’s Audi. James Tilley and Alexander Albrecht completed the top three in a further Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
The largest Motor Racing Legends field of the Silverstone BRDC Classic 2026 weekend was the Pre-’66 GT Sprint, which attracted 52 cars. Andy Wolfe and Julian Thomas won in a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupé, finishing 13.774 seconds ahead of Mike Whitaker’s TVR Griffith 400. David and Oliver Hart took third in a Shelby Cobra 289 Daytona. The Historic Touring Car Challenge produced two victories for Craig and Andy Middlehurst in their Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R. They won the opening race by 20.487 seconds from Simmo Arthur in another R32 GT-R, while David Tomlin finished third in a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. Their margin was reduced to 3.024 seconds in race two, with Julian Thomas taking second in a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. Darren Fielding completed the podium in a BMW E30 M3.
Johnny Mowlem and Ben Grimes also completed a double in the combined Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy races. Their Lotus XV beat Olly Bryant’s similar car by 0.437 seconds in the opener, with David and Oliver Hart third in a Lister Costin. The second race produced a 17.548-second victory for Grimes and Mowlem over Bryant. Michael O’Brien finished third in a Lotus XI Series 2 Le Mans.
Rudi Friedrichs won both Pre-War Sports Cars races in his Alvis Firefly Special. He defeated Richard and John Beebee’s Frazer Nash TT Replica by 1.957 seconds in race one, with Alex Hewitson third in a Riley 12/4 TT Sprite Replica. Friedrichs extended his margin over the Frazer Nash to 8.795 seconds in race two. Hewitson again completed the top three in the Riley. Callum Grant took two Formula Junior victories in his Merlyn Mk5/7. His first winning margin was 1.570 seconds over Sam Wilson’s Cooper T59, with Alex Ames third in a Brabham BT6. Grant beat Wilson by 0.749 seconds in the second race, while Ames again placed third.
The HSCC Derek Bell Trophy races were divided between Martin Stretton and Alex Kapadia. Stretton’s March 742 beat Kapadia’s March 762 by 0.337 seconds in the opener, with Christian Pittard third in a Chevron B28. Kapadia reversed the order in race two, winning by 4.164 seconds from Pittard. Stretton finished third, 0.427 seconds behind the Chevron. Elsewhere, Richard Plant won the first HSCC Historic Road Sports race in a Morgan Plus 8, defeating Frazer Gibney’s Lotus Elan S1 by 2.816 seconds. Samuele Narciso took third in a Lotus Eclat. Gary Lapidus won the second race in a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 34.173 seconds ahead of Narciso’s Eclat. Niall McFadden finished third in a Jaguar E-type.
Away from the circuit, spectators had access to the tented paddock and pit garages throughout the weekend. Saturday concluded with a country-and-western evening featuring line dancing, Stetsons and cowboy boots.
More details on the Silverstone BRDC Classic 2026 can be found here.
