A well-attended press day for the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power was treated to a tantalising taste of the delights – on land, water in the air – planned for the now-three-day event in Cheshire from 15-17 July. The weather also hinted that this might be the first properly "dry" event in the festival's four-year history, rewarding booming ticket sales that are so far up 40% on the same time last year when 50,000 people attended CPOP.
The Friday is to be a "preview day" focusing on the 1.2-mile track through the Cholmondeley estate and offering the high-profile sponsors a chance to exercise their more modern wares.
Star cars over the weekend will include the ex-Moss Lotus 18 that snatched possibly the greatest GP win of all time – Button's recent heroics aside – at Monaco in 1961.
As ever, via Hall & Hall and Kevin Wheatcroft, the Donington Collection will be a major supporter of the event, including running for the first time all three of the museum's Vanwalls – Thinwall, Streamliner and Teardrop – together. Auto Union, Jackie Stewart's 1971 Tyrrell, hopefully with JYS accompanying it, and Sinsheim's 47-litre Brutus will also stand-out from a superb array of historically important cars. C&SC will be represented by Simon Taylor in his rapid Stovebolt Special.
There will be plenty of 'bikes and rally cars, too, the latter being run for the first time on a specially created rally stage.
A big part of the event is the military presence with combat demos, tanks and much more, all complemented by power boats on the mere and wing-walkers and helicopters in the air.
CPOP director James Hall said: "Every vehicle here is of significance and it is difficult to mention just a few, however; the Pre-War class would not be complete without the fire-breathing aero-engined monsters that literally burn our ears and the adjacent flooring. Chris Williams is bringing his famous Napier Bentley and 42-litre torpedo boat engined “Mavis”. They are joined by the enormous 47-litre “Brutus” coming over from the Sinsheim Museum in Germany.