F1-delayed Bentley Silverstone race meeting gets new date

The coronavirus-delayed start to the 2020 F1 campaign has forced a calendar rethink, with Silverstone to host two races - the British Grand Prix and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix - on consecutive weekends at the start of August.

The Bentley Drivers' Club only organises one race meeting each year and has run a summer event at Silverstone every year since 1948, the first year of racing at the Northamptonshire venue.

This year's event will be the 72nd consecutive Bentley Drivers' Club race meeting at Silverstone.

However, when the changes to the F1 calendar put the second Silverstone race onto the date planned for the Bentley event, circuit bosses were quick to offer a revised date for the historic event.

It will now run two weeks later on Saturday 22 August.

BDC President and Bentley racer Duncan Wiltshire said: "We are delighted to have agreed with Silverstone an alternative date on which to hold our annual race meeting, which is always one of the highlights of the British historic club racing calendar."

He added: "Being able to hold our race meeting is a huge positive - and, with the COVID-19 pandemic having brought all activities to a virtual standstill, we are keen to keep flying the flag on behalf of the club.

"All our regular competitors are keen for the event to happen and it's possible, with other historic race meetings having unfortunately been cancelled, that we may enjoy a healthy surge of entries - which we would certainly welcome."

The day will feature nine races, several dedicated to Bentleys as well as races for Morgans, Aston Martins and 1950s sports cars. However, the event is destined to run behind closed doors with no admission for spectators.