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A 160mph average laptime!
Keke Rosberg took full advantage of his turbo-equipped monster to set a qualifying laptime in 1985, with an average speed which would stand unbeaten(on any track) till another beast, namely the F2002, would run in anger 17 years later.
The British lion at his British best
The 1987 edition- the first race after Silverstone became a permanent host of the British Grand Prix- involved a memorable performance from the ‘British lion’. Nigel Mansell, with 28 laps to go, made a precautionary pitstop to solve a vibration problem. That put him well behind leader Nelson Piquet and left him with a daunting job of having to catch the Brazilian at the rate of more than a second a lap to overtake him before the chequered flag.
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Spurred on by the tremendous support of the adoring British fans, he broke the lap record 11 times during the next few laps, caught Piquet with two laps to go, passed him and took a spectacular win. Mansell could totally enjoy his slow-down lap thanks to him running out of fuel. The fans crowded around his car and gave him a salute befitting their hero.
I am retiring!
After retiring from the lead of the 1990 British Grand Prix due to a gearbox problem, Mansell threw this gloves into the crowd out of sheer frustration and announced that he was retiring from the sport altogether after the end of the season. How did he win the title in 1992 then? Of course, he later reversed his decision!
Read the Bible: says the Grand Prix Priest
In one of the funniest, and equally dangerous, invasions during sporting events Cornelius Horan, a priest, ran onto the Hangar Straight, during the 2003 race, not caring for his life with cars coming towards him at well over 250 kmph. He held a banner saying “Read the Bible, the Bible is always right”. To prevent a major accident, the Safety Car was deployed and the priest was later arrested. This may not be the only invasion in the history of the sport but the most memorable nevertheless.
Next time we shall take a look at the more controversial events during the British Grand Prix weekends some of which no doubt made a serious dent into the credibility of the sport.
