Silverstone Experience which cost £20m to construct finally opens
The home of the British Grand Prix has now opened its new ‘Silverstone Experience’ Exhibition; It includes new and Classic MotoGP motorcycles
Member for
54 years 6 months
The Silverstone Experience was due to open before the British Grand Prix in July. However, due to the building contractors going into administration in June it has been delayed until Friday the 25 October.
Museum CEO Sally Reynolds told the BBC: "I'm incredibly proud. It's been a seven-year project and to finally see it opening is just fantastic."
She stated: "We want to inspire the next generation of engineers and people to work in motorsport. What better way than to show them a world-beating car or motorbike."
Upstairs the exhibition features a Cooper from the first race meeting ever held at Silverstone. And downstairs the vehicles - both cars and motorcycles - reflect three different racing eras.
The 1940s- 60s include an ERA that raced in the first Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1948 and an MG that competed in the first ever touring car race.
The 1970s-80s have an iconic Jaguar sports car as well Barry Sheene’s Suzuki from his legendary race with Kenny Roberts in 1979.
The 1990s- present day have Nigel Mansell’s 1992 British Grand Prix-winning Williams along with Maverick Viñales’ race-winning Suzuki from the 2016 British round of Moto GP.
Much of the cars and motorcycles are on loan to the museum and will change over time.
The exhibitions will also look at Silverstone's involvement in WWII and the site's history right the way back to medieval times!
The Heritage Lottery Fund provided roughly half the cash for the attraction in 2016, while South Northamptonshire Council chipped in another £3m.
The museum is expected to attract around 500,000 visitors per year. This will help Silverstone raise funds outside of the Formula 1 and MotoGP events.
