British Grand Prix Origins

International Motorsport was put on hold during World War Two but when the fighting was over everyone was keen for racing to return. Unfortunately Britain came out of the break worse than other countries on the continent because the two main racetracks in England were inoperative. Both Brooklands and Donnington had been used as sites to help the war effort, so when the British Grand Prix was organised for 1948 the RAC took the event to an abandoned airfield at Silverstone. The race was held on the runways and incorporated a little bit of the access roads at each end. The circuit was actually longer than the one used today but it only lasted one year. When the race returned the following season organisers used the perimeter roads around the outside of the runways instead. This basic layout has been maintained to this day although every corner has since been reprofiled. The biggest change came in 1991 when the luffield complex was added onto the end of the circuit in addition to new section of track at Becketts and Vale.

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More Silverstone Info

• Silverstone's Location
• Silverstone's Origin
• Silverstone Circuit
• Silverstone's History
• Silverstone's Driving Challenge
• What happened last year?
• Why watch the British Grand Prix?
• Memorable Silverstone Moments

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