MOTORSPORT
8 APRIL 2 020 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 59
Racing cars and
bikes help to tell
the circuit’s story
`
Your exit from the museum
is the most awe-inspiring
interactive feature of all
a
of the 11th-century monks who lived there. There’s
even a priest’s hole to crawl into. The area was
later comprehensively farmed and, by the 18th
century, Silverstone had become a large holding
(St ow e e s t at e) b e for e c h a n g i n g c omple t e l y i n 19 42
to an airfield designed to train Wellington bomber
pilots. The MoD still controlled the base in 1948
when racing began but allowed a one-year lease.
The glorious 70-year racing history of
Silverstone is covered from start to finish once you
walk down the stairs to the expansive ground f loor.
There are magnificent, historic cars and bikes, but
this is not a car museum. Space is needed for too
much other fascinating stuff and it surrounds you.
There’s a large video screen featuring Sir Jackie
Stewart explaining how racing safety became a big
issue and how it progressed. There’s much detail
about how a race meeting runs – how marshals do
their jobs, and a bank of screens showing real-time
action on every corner. If inclined, you can even
have a go at being a race commentator and there
are hints from those who do it for a living.
One especially fascinating area is the Tech
Lab, where experts from Suzuki and McLaren
explain how suspension works, where you get
to look inside engines and gearboxes, where an
interactive display lets you feel the braking effort
ne e de d i n a n F 1 c a r (v e r s u s a n ord i n a r y r oa dcar) and much more in the same vein. There’s a
racing eras exhibition, which shows how much
(a nd w hy) t h i ngs h ave c h a nge d. A nd a mong
the contemporary race gear is the crash helmet
Hamilton wore to win his sixth world F1 title.
What with walking and talking, there was much
I missed. I was there for only a couple of hours,
du r i n g w h ic h it b e c a me ob v iou s t h at a t hor ou g h
visit would take twice that time, especially if you
stopped and chatted to the knowledgeable and
helpful museum volunteers, who really make the
place percolate. It’s a magnificent facility, well
judged for visitors of all ages and knowledge levels;
the sort of place you’ll want to visit regularly.
You r e x it f r om t he mu s e u m i s it s mo s t
awe-inspiring interactive feature of all, a
spectacular theatre experience during which
you’re enveloped by a huge video wall that curves
aw ay t o y ou r side s a nd up ov e r y ou r he a d. You
sit in a notional racing car and circulate – with
appr opr i at e noi s e s – at r a c i n g s p e e d s , w h i le g r e at
Silverstone moments happen all around you. In
one he lpi n g, t h i s i s a hu ge sl ic e of Si l v e r s t one ’saugust racing history.
Truth to tell, I was so busy gripping the arms
of my buc k e t s e at t h at t he on l y m ajor i nc ide nt I
truly took in was the collision between Damon
Hill and Michael Schumacher during the British
Grand Prix of 1995, which allowed Johnny Herbert
through to win. There were many more incidents
and I feel rather foolish not to have seen more of
them: as I say, an early return is a must. L
Hands-on technical demonstrations appeal to all ages
Silverstone’s racing archive is rich and dates from 1948
Silverstone Experience’s imposing building was a hangar
Aviation’s role in Silverstone’s WW2 history is covered
» DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, THE SILVERSTONE
EXPERIENCE IS CLOSED UNTIL 1 MAY 2020 AT THE EARLIEST