'Aussie Grit' to be guest of honour at Friday VIP eveningWebber to drive Porsche power laps on IGNITION’s specially constructed street circuit
Multiple GP winner to join David Coulthard, Jimmy McRae, Gordon Shedden and The Stig at Scottish motoring Festival
Mark Webber, the 2015 World Endurance Champion and winner of nine Grands Prix, is the latest special guest to join the line-up at Scotland’s brand new Festival of Motoring IGNITION. The three-day Festival runs from 5-7 August at Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Former Williams and Red Bull Racing driver and current Porsche factory WEC driver, Webber will be at the Festival on the opening day (Friday 5 August) where he will be meeting the crowds, signing autographs, and undertaking power laps around the specially constructed IGNITION street circuit, on roads snaking between the SECC and the nearby SSE Hydro Arena.
He will also be a guest of honour at the show’s VIP opening evening, a star-studded occasion open to all those purchasing premium plus and IGNITE Club tickets for Friday’s high octane action. Webber will be joining other motor sport personalities including two-time BTCC champion Gordon Shedden and pro-drifter and Boyzone member Shane Lynch for exclusive on-stage interviews in the SECC’s Loch Suite plus what is certain to be a lively Q&A session with the audience.
Known by his Twitter handle @AussieGrit, Webber said: “I’m really looking forward to meeting the fans in Scotland. With the street circuit and other live action, IGNITION promises to be a fantastic new motoring event and it’ll be great to be a part of it.”
And with Le Mans taking place this weekend (18/19 June), Webber added: “We finished second there in the Porsche 919 Hybrid last year. If we can go one better this year, I will really be celebrating when I get to Glasgow.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “We are delighted to support IGNITION through EventScotland’s International Programme on its first appearance in Scotland and are equally excited about the prospect of what’s shaping up to be a very entertaining festival programme.
“Over three days, IGNITION will provide an array of displays, performances and activities to electrify the crowds and the addition of fans-favourite Mark Webber to the already exciting line-up will prove to be very popular among motor sports lovers across the board.”
Joe Aitken, Head of Major Events at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, added: “Today’s announcement that Mark Webber – one of the biggest names in world motorsport – will be joining an already stellar line-up of drivers and powering his way around the Glasgow street circuit as part of IGNITION will definitely excite fans and ticket-holders. With David Coulthard, Jimmy McRae, The Stig, Shane Lynch, Gordon Shedden the Top Gear Live Stunt Team – and now Mark – all confirmed, IGNITION is really revving up to be one of the standout highlights of Glasgow, and Scotland’s, major events calendar this year.
“Glasgow’s emergence as one of the world’s leading major events cities is thanks to our enviable portfolio and multi-million pound investment in new infrastructure – our award-winning SSE Hydro arena at the heart of our state-of-the-art SECC campus was built with events like IGNITION in mind.”
IGNITION Festival of Motoring promises three days of all action entertainment as well as hall after hall of new cars, classic cars, supercars and super bikes. Among the attractions will be a unique collection of iconic Grand Prix cars from Maserati, Lotus, Williams, Red Bull Racing, Benetton and BAR which, as well as being on static display, will be fired up at regular intervals for some power laps around the street circuit. Among those driving will be Mark Webber’s former team-mate, GP ace David Coulthard.
There will also be special displays paying tribute to Scotland’s world-beating motorsport heritage with Scottish motoring superstars to the fore. Alongside Coulthard, Jimmy McRae will be driving son Colin’s World Rally Championship winning Subaru.
And there’ll be more live action at the arena where displays will include regular performances by the Top Gear Live Stunt Team and a spectacular, tyre-burning drifting extravaganza from Lynch and other members of the crack Team Japspeed outfit.
As well as entry to Friday’s VIP evening entertainment, IGNITE Club ticket holders also benefit from all day access to the Festival, access to the IGNITE Grandstand, exclusive Paddock access, event showguide and light refreshments throughout the day.
For more information and to book advance tickets visit the show’s website: www.ignitionfestival.co.uk. The site has full details on all ticket types, as well as all the latest news and the show newsletter.
IGNITION Festival of Motoring is staged by the team behind the globally successful Top Gear Live events, the London Classic Car Show, Top Gear Festivals and the Chris Evans-inspired CarFest North and South family shows.-ENDS-
