Central London had a special preview (Thurs, 2 April) of some of motorsport’s most beautiful and powerful sports cars. Nine drivers who will compete in next week's 6 Hours of Silverstone (10-12 April) posed for pictures and signed autographs in front of London's iconic Marble Arch monument before heading to The Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall for a press conference attended by national and international media including Thomson Reuters, Sky Sports and BT Sport.
Five race cars - three LMP1 sports prototypes from Toyota, Audi and Nissan and two GTEs from Ferrari and Aston Martin - provided the public with a great opportunity to see up close some of the 35 full-season entries that compete in the ACO-promoted World Endurance Championship and the world's greatest sporting event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Britain's 2014 World Endurance Champion Anthony Davidson was amongst the nine British or Commonwealth drivers who were at Marble Arch and who posed with the 110-year-old Tourist Trophy. Davidson, along with Switzerland's Sébastien Buemi and France's Nicolas Lapierre, won the trophy at Silverstone 12 months ago on his way to the 2014 World Championship title with Toyota.
Anthony Davidson said: "2014 was a great year for everyone at Toyota Racing, beginning with the amazing feeling of lifting the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone. Now we are back to defend those Championship titles, starting once again at Silverstone next week, and the competition looks to be very close so it’s certainly going to be exciting to see who has the upper hand. I'll be starting my home race with the number one on the car which is a great feeling; we will be fighting to keep that for next year. That, and winning Le Mans, are the big targets for this season. I am looking forward to getting on track in front of my home crowd at Silverstone; it's going to be a great year."
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO, said: “The 2015 World Endurance Championship has all the hallmarks of a great season with more manufacturers and teams choosing to compete on the world stage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and some of the other iconic circuits around the world, including Silverstone. We look forward to seeing who will win the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy on the 12th April at the end of the opening race of the 2015 season.”
Gérard Neveu, CEO of the World Endurance Championship, said: "The UK has a long tradition in motorsport and Silverstone is an excellent place to start what promises to be our most exciting and intense season yet. The WEC is proud to continue this story and, with 17 British drivers on the grid, there is plenty for local fans to cheer for on track as well as many different types of entertainment for the whole family, open paddocks and the chance to meet and see our stars – the cars and their drivers. We would like to thank the fans here in London for their warm welcome, and the Royal Automobile Club for entrusting the WEC with the stewardship of the Tourist Trophy. We look forward to seeing a big crowd at Silverstone for what promises to be an exciting weekend."
Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee, said: "We are extremely pleased to welcome the World Endurance Championship to London for the third instalment of the Tourist Trophy at the 6 Hours of Silverstone. The WEC embodies everything the Tourist Trophy has stood for over the last 110 years since that 6 hour race on the Isle of Man in 1905. In 2013 Audi won with Britain's Allan McNish, who went on to win the world title. Last year Anthony Davidson won with Toyota on his way to the world title. Perhaps there is a pattern emerging and it would be nice to think that the awarding of the Tourist Trophy is a good indicator as to who will be world champions at the end of 2015. However, what can be guaranteed is that the race for victory will be very exciting on the 12th April at Silverstone."
THE 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE
As well as the opening round of the World Endurance Championship, the race schedule at Silverstone also includes the opening round of the 2015 European Le Mans Series and three races by the FIA F3 European Championship.
Tickets are now on sale for the 6 Hours of Silverstone with prices from £10 to £35 per day, while a 3-day weekend pass costs just £40. Children 15 years and under are free and all tickets include car parking, unreserved grandstand access, autograph session access, access to the entertainment area and lots more. CLICK HERE for more information on the 6 Hours of Silverstone.
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