Revival for Aintree GP circuit

Classics event and book bring historic circuit to life

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 16 November 2004 / Loading comments

The story of motor racing at the Aintree circuit has been expertly told in a new book published on 10 November 2004 -- which just happens to coincide with a Festival of Motorsport to be held at the circuit next weekend, on 19-21 November 2004.

The event

The weekend event will see F3 and dozens of classic racing cars -- including Coopers, Brabhams, Jaguar C Types, Ferraris, Maseratis and Lotuses -- making demonstration laps round this historic circuit, where so many GPs of the 50s and 60s were held. Famnous ex-GP driver Sir Stirling Moss will attend on the Sunday. You can bring a car and join one of the circiuit convoys too.

The book

Written by local boy Tony Bagnall, the book tells the full story of the circuit that hosted the British Grand Prix in the 1950s and 1960s.

In its heyday, drivers like Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Juan Manuel Fangio and Jack Brabham raced at the Liverpool track and the story of those famous races is retold in detail, supported by nearly 200 rare and largely unpublished photographs from John Holroyd.

The British Grand Prix was held there five times, along with many other major events at the venue that shared its ground with the famous horse-racing track.

But in April 1964, the final Aintree 200 was run and the sights and sounds of Grand Prix racing were never to be experienced at Aintree again. Club and national level racing continued until July 1982, when it ceased altogether.

So what's the story behind the dramatic rise and fall of Aintree as a premier motor sport venue in Britain? How and why did motor racing come to be staged there? What caused its eventual demise as a circuit?

Tony Bagnall's book explores the fascinating history of Aintree, before during and after its all-too-brief reign as Britain's Grand Prix venue. This book fills a significant gap in the history of post-war motor racing in Britain.

Book information

Size: 260x200mm, hardback, 200 pages. ISBN 1 903378 17 6

Price: £20 (plus £3.50 P&P UK). the book is available on-line at www.tfmpublishing.com or by calling 01952 510382.

More about the event here: www.afms.info/