4th September 2005 - Event Report: Trax Show, Silverstone Racetrack (for Fast & Modified Magazine)

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Event: Trax Show, Silverstone Racetrack, Northampton, England

Dates: Sunday 4th September 2005

No matter who you are or where you’re from, you will no doubt know what Silverstone is – it’s the home of F1 in the UK, as well as almost every other form of track motorsport during the year.  This weekend it was time to bring the modified car scene to Silverstone for Trax 2005.  In 2004 Trax pulled in over 4000 show cars and was one of the biggest events in the UK, if not the biggest single day event.  This year the organizers set out to make it even bigger and better than 2004, which was always going to be a hard task to follow, but with around a week to go until the event work got out of there being over 5000 pre-registered cars on show which had everyone buzzing with anticipation and excitement.

As with almost any major event taking place at the huge Silverstone racetrack the crowds heading in meant tailbacks galore on the approaching motorways and sideroads.  Inside the true spectacle of what 5000 or so show cars looked like became all too evident – the huge fields and tarmac area’s which can be found inside the confines of the track and around the paddock and pits was crammed full of modified cars.  This year saw a great many of these cars being from various clubs and websites, all of which displayed some of their member’s cars.  Some stands had 5 to 10 cars, ranging all the way up to several which had around 100 cars on display.

The fact that Trax is run over the space of one day means that there is a great deal to see, and to be honest there’s probably no chance of being able to catch everything going on, but that’s not a bad thing as it keeps the crowds attention from the outset of the day until everyone’s making for the exits as late afternoon comes goes.  Anyone bringing their car along to the show had the opportunity to register themselves and their car onto the famous Silverstone F1 track for a 20 minute session, or to put their car to the test in the 0 to 60 sprint.  Many had booked their track time in advance and it left many rushing to get booked in as the show opened first thing in the morning as the spaces were now heavily limited.

Out on track as well as being able to take your own car round there were also runs around in one of two Lotus Elise’s, both being driven by professional drivers who are competing in the likes of the Porsche Carerra cup this year.  Whether you wanted to simply cruise around the famous racetrack or see exactly what your car can do then this was the day to do it.  Around mid afternoon some of the D1 UK drivers were out alongside their fellow members of the SXOC (200SX Owners Club) and decided that it would be much more fun to take the corners sideways, which as you can imagine had the crowd cheering them on at every corner where smoke and burning rubber became the order of the day.

As with many of the big shows, trade stands were found all around the paddock area with many a bargain to be had if you looked in the right place, with some happy shoppers even taking the time to fit new lights etc to their cars as they sat on club stands.

With the D1 UK Exhibition match coming to Silverstone on the 2^nd October there were 4 of the competing Japanese cars in attendance as well to promote the event, which is bound to be one of the biggest drifting events yet in the UK.  Stay tuned next month for pics and report…

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PREVIOUS JOURNALISM ENTRIES

2005-09-03 - Edition 38 VW Event Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-08-21 - Halfords/Ripspeed Event Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-08-14 - Fire & Ice Event Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-08-05 to 2005-08-07 - Ultimate Street Car Event Report (Fast & Modified Magazine)

2005-06-26 - Overdrive Event Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-06-12 - Quickshift Drag Racing Event Report (Fast & Modified Magazine)

2005-06-11 - Club GTI Trackday Event Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-05-22 - Modified Mayhem Show Report (Flat 2 The Mat Magazine)

2005-03-26 - D1 Drifting Dates & Drifting Background Info (Fast & Modified Magazine)

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