Strolling around the refreshingly unrestricted paddock at the foot of the prestigious Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, the first thing you notice is the paradox of it all. Britain’s oldest motorsport venue, at 119 years strong, is an access-all-areas event. You can walk side-by-side with the amateur drivers and their machinery without a care in the world; no bombastic Formula One bouncers in these parts.
On track, not much seems to have changed since 1905. The start line is controlled by two marshals: one at the front of the car, with nothing but the human eye instructing the orange-suited supervisor at the rear to push forward or pull back. A wooden shack of a control room at the front has no fancy traffic lights system in place: red means no, green means go.
But it is an old-school setting with a modern twist, making it somewhat intriguing as a spectacle. Twenty metres from the start line in the courtyard is a big screen with a live stream of the action, with knowledgeable commentary as well as a QR code inviting 15,000 viewers from as far as New Zealand to subscribe on YouTube. On the wall is a placard remembering F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss, who first competed here in 1948.
An event steeped in prestige, desperate to stay timeless.
The picturesque setting of rural Worcestershire is a peculiar venue for what remains the oldest motorsport event in the world to have been staged continuously on its original course. That’s right: older than the likes of Le Mans, Monza and Indianapolis, which have changed from their inaugural races. But like every sporting event, it is bidding to keep itself relevant in modern-day society. Its tagline speaks to that. Speed history; future records.
この記事は The Independent の August 16, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の August 16, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
'Fight days are for fighting, not chatting to each other'
This Saturday, Joshua Buatsi will share a card with his friend Anthony Joshua for the fourth time, boxing Willy Hutchinson for an interim title at Wembley. Alex Pattle gets the lowdown
F1 title opening could prove to be Norris's only chance
Under the afternoon sun on Saturday in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, it felt like the moment the drivers’ title slipped away from Lando Norris.
The Man City hearing must answer these two questions
Amid all of the uncertainty around the Manchester City investigation, there is one view that can be stated with confidence as it finally gets under way.
Super clubs have nothing to fear from Uefa's shake-up
As a new Champions League format makes its debut today, Miguel Delaney looks at what it means for the competition
Final messages from Titan before implosion revealed
“All good here.”
New Zealand's bird of the year picked up by a penguin
A rare, smelly and yellow-eyed penguin species has been crowned New Zealand’s bird of the year for the second time in less than a decade.
Death toll rises as floods devastate central Europe
The death toll across central Europe from the worst flooding in decades has risen to at least 16 after Storm Boris brought a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.
Germany reimposes border controls to tackle migration
Germany has reintroduced checks on all nine of its land borders in a move that has angered a number of its neighbours – but brought praise from the far right.
Putin boosts troop numbers as missiles pummel Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million soldiers, the third time he has expanded its ranks since sending the military into Ukraine in February 2022.
'I figured he must be either dead or in prison by now...'
Those who know Ryan Routh talk of his previous 'escapades'