Silverstone is not the first race track one would think of when you say Porsche.The UK has a strong tradition in vintage racing and vintage car events. However, usually they’re mainly focused on theBritish cars and racing scene. You can’t blame them, as some fabulous sportscars have been produced on the British continentand no true vintage sportscar lover will look surprised hearing names like Stirling Moss or David Piper.
A strong tradition in racing and true respect for the vintage sportscar, those 2 combined make the Silverstone Classic always a great event.Nothing else this year, on the contrary. It was absolutely unthinkable for the organization, the Silverstone Classic Racing Club, not to spendmuch attention at the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911. So they started thinking about doing something real great, something no one else haddone before. The idea of a world-record breaking Porsche 911 parade was born.
First idea was to bring 911 Porsche 911’s on the Silverstone race track. As soon as the news about this world-record attempt reached the public,registrations started to come in with an overwhelming 1208 Porsches on the circuit. The 
spectactle, raising funds for the Hope for Tomorrow cancer charity,was led by some famous Porsche Legends. Mark Porsche, son of 911 designer Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche and great-grandson of the marque’s original founder,Ferdinand Porsche, got proceedings underway and he was joined by a number of the sportscar manufacturer’s most successful racing drivers.Former F1 driver and five-time Le Mans Winner Derek Bell and the 1970 Le Mans winner Richard Attwood were just 2 of the famous guys drivinga Porsche 911 during the parade.
After the parade, Mark Porsche said: “Of course the 911 means a great deal to me as it’s my father’s big design and it will always have a special place in my heart. It’s a family member over all the generations of the 911 series and I’m very proud to be here today to represent the Porsche family at this great event. I think that to have these 1200 cars on track is the attention that the 911 deserves for its 50th birthday. I can’t thank the Porsche Club GB enough for making this event possible.”
Amazing to be part of an event like this, and I wonder who will take the challenge to attack this world-record.
Text : Tim Havermans
Pictures : Wilfried Geerts
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