It’s May, and we all know what that means. But 4,000 miles away at Silverstone, it also means the opening of a new exhibit celebrating IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500. Throughout the Month of May and onwards until the end of September, Silverstone Museum is hosting “The Indy 500: A British Success Story,” telling the story of the UK’s strong relationship with the Brickyard and American open-wheel racing.
The world’s first permanent racetrack was, of course, an oval in Britain. Brooklands opened in 1907, two years before Indianapolis. Brooklands was shuttered in 1939 as the Second World War loomed, and Silverstone — an airbase during the conflict — took over the mantle as the home of British motorsport.
Nowadays it’s best known as the home of the British Grand Prix, but Silverstone did host an IndyCar race 46 years ago — and in typical British fashion, the weather had the last laugh. Sixteen of American open-wheel racing’s biggest stars crossed the pond in October 1978 for a brace of races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. The Silverstone race, the Daily Express Indy Silverstone, was set to take place on Saturday, Sept.
30, but heavy rain delayed it until Sunday. Oct. 1.
Prior to that, the cars impressed, with polesitter Danny Ongais clocking 203mph down Hangar straight. That was a record not matched by Formula 1 cars at the track until Fernando Alonso also hit 203mph in qualifying for last year’s British Grand Prix. Once Silverstone’s Indy race did get.
