Along with ‘the Goodwoods’, Silverstone Classic is a jewel in the crown of British historic racing. The opportunity to drive legends around the home of British motorsport is a popular one unsurprisingly, with grids getting bigger and the race times slightly trimmed to accommodate increased demand.

The climax of the Jaguar E-type 60-year celebrations

The toughest race of the three in which I will compete will surely be the 60th Anniversary E-type Challenge. It’ll really be a focal point of my year as we are building a piece of film celebrating the Jaguar model in its 60th year from a racing perspective. It seems like a few people may have had the same idea though! 

Everyone who is anyone in the world of classic racing will want to show they can do the job in the closest historic racing ever gets to one-make racing. There will be 50 cars on the grid for a frantic 45 minutes where I will take the mandatory pitstop to hand over to my teammate. And it’s great to be sharing with my dad again!

We’ve had several goes over the years but never in a historic car. In testing, he was impressed with the handling and incredibly quick considering he is a man who is almost older than the car is!

It will be another great experience between the two of us and it’s brilliant to see him on track again. Given our discussions about the race so far, he seems to have lost none of his passion for being behind the wheel.

The older drivers have the muscle memory with these cars. It’s lovely to watch and great to learn from.

Alex Brundle and his expectations of sports car racing

I’ll be back in Gary Pearson’s Lola T70 MK111 also with big expectations of the event. We were able to win at Brands Hatch but just like everything else the race shrinks and the competition tightens for The Classic. 

Teams and drivers who would get their pride and joy out perhaps for testing only, rather than the smaller races, will chance their arm for the opportunity to take home honours at such a prestigious race. 

There will be a multitude of Lolas along with the best of the Chevrons and Can-Am McLarens guesting the event. A modern F1 circuit is a little strange in a classic sports car, floating in the expanse of track space and potential runoff, so it takes a fair bit of judgement to keep the car within track limits and push on. 

Certainly as a contemporary sports car driver there is the pressure to perform on that big stage with some of my modern peers tuning in for their only classic experience of the year at this event.

I’ll be taking on a new car as well, the Lister Jaguar Knobbly – an open top and more powerful car from the era of the Jaguar D-type. 

It’s going to be an interesting experience as I find 50s sports cars are right on the limit of the age of car which really makes sense to a modern driver, even in the loosest sense. Other modern drivers have described the sensation of the steering wheel being literally not connected to the car, so I’m sure it will be a challenge!

The cars were built in Cambridgeshire and fitted with the engine from the Jaguar, the race-proven straight six 3.8L. 

I should know the engine and gearbox well as the basic architecture was carried through all the way to the E-type, but getting my head around the chassis in the quick shakedown we’ll have before the event will be something of a challenge. I’ll be sharing with the inimitable Gary Pearson in that car so, I’ll be picking his brains to the maximum to get the most out of it.

Revved up for the return of fans at The Classic

So three cars over three eras and a pretty well-rounded driving challenge. The Lola from the 70s, E-type from the 60s and Lister from the 50s. We’ll certainly know by the end of the weekend if I can drive a historic car or not! 

Mainly though it’s going to be a really special event, and to race for the first time this year in front of a capacity crowd is going to be a real indicator that things are moving back to normal. I love sharing my passion for motorsport with interested and enthusiastic fans and the UK is certainly not short of them, along with those people who travel in from overseas.

It’s going to be a great event on site at one of the UK’s ultimate sporting venues and over the live stream. Join us if you can.

Can I get insurance for my classic car?

You might not be lucky enough to drive one of the cars that Alex is at Silverstone, but there’ll be plenty of other classics on show that you may own.

However old, treasured or valued your vehicle is, Adrian Flux can tailor a policy that will give you classic car insurance that your pride and joy deserves.