Le Mans winner Richard Attwood claims Silverstone podium at 77

The 77-year-old finished third on Saturday as Porsche Cars GB celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 5-litre front-engined model.

Attwood, winner at Le Mans in a Porsche 917 in 1970, is contesting the HSCC 70s Road Sports Championship in the near-standard car.

He was surprised to finish third overall in the rain-soaked race and will continue in the car for the next round at Cadwell Park, which will be his first race at the Lincolnshire venue in a career that spans 56 years.

"It wasn't ideal in the wet with the springs we had on it," he said of the car he saw for the first time the day before the race.

"We ran it far enough to find out that it still needs a lot of sorting.

"We wanted some other springs, but we couldn't get them in time, so I really didn't expect to be on the podium.

"We're going to improve the car and I think we'll go forward from here.

"I hope to do most of the 70s Road Sports races and I'm back to being a professional driver again!"

Although Attwood is inextricably linked to Porsche following his 1970 Le Mans victory with Hans Herrmann in a 917, this was only the second time he had raced a 928.

"I raced one once in the Daytona 24 Hours in 1984," he said. "I think it was a Brumos car and I shared it with Vic Elford and two American drivers.

"The car wasn't very quick compared to everything around us but we finished and I think we did quite well [fourth in the GTO class and 15th overall].

"It was too big and heavy to make a good race car and I think the brakes would have been the ultimate problem.

"But we hammered the car quite hard at Daytona and it was fine."