Former 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner, triple GP World Champion ‘Fast Freddie’ Spencer and seven-time GP World Champion Phil Read will all ride at this year’s Silverstone Classic in the UK.
The Silverstone Classic is considered the premier event on the global historic motor racing calendar, and for the first time this year’s event will feature top class bike action on track.
In total, around ten top bikes from the golden era of GP motorcycle racing will lap the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on the Saturday and Sunday.
Wayne Gardner won the 1987 500cc World Championship for Honda and has been very active in keeping the spectacle of the 500cc two-stroke era of Grand Prix alive.
He is now the Rider Ambassador for World GP Bike Legends, an organisation set up last year to provide both new and old fans with the experience of watching former Grand Prix stars on the original two-strokes machines from the eighties and nineties.
Gardner says, “It’s an honour for the bikes to be invited to such an unbelievably successful car event.”
“We’re putting together a field of 500cc and GP bikes, and Freddie Spencer, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Didier de Radigues, Jose Cardoso have already signed up to be at Silverstone.
The Silverstone Classic has an open paddock policy which will also allow visitors to meet and greet the riders and see the bikes up close, including the original Honda NS500’s and Suzuki RG500 GP machines.
The event combines spectacular classic motor racing and track parades with infield displays that feature more than 10,000 classic cars, live music, a vintage fun fair and a shopping village.
Nick Wigley, CEO of Goose Live Events which is organising the event said, “We are thrilled to be broadening the Classic’s appeal still further via the addition of these amazing bikes plus their legendary riders.”
“It’s the first time the Classic has ever served up high-quality two- and four-wheeled racers and to have heroes such as Wayne, Freddie and Phil at Silverstone is going to be just fantastic.”
This year’s event will be held at the world famous circuit from the 29th to the 31st July.