Ace Cafe to celebrate 80th birthday at Silverstone Classic

Near-legendary bike haunt, the Ace Cafe will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in spectacular style with a huge presence at this summer’s spectacular Silverstone Classic (20-22 July).

 

Saluting its legendary status among motorcyclists, the Ace Cafe will recreate a special homage to its remarkable heritage at the home of British motor sport and be the iconic hub at the heart of the huge paddock display of classic bikes. Fittingly, 80 of these will be selected for an evocative track parade.

First opened in 1938 as a wayside traffic café on London’s new North Circular Road, the Ace Cafe quickly became a Mecca for bike riders, notably with the speedy ‘Ton Up Boys’ in the fifties and then the Rockers in the sixties.

 

With changing cultures and the opening of the M1, the original cafe closed its doors in 1969… but the story did not end there. Following the huge success of an Ace Cafe reunion organised by Mark Wilsmore in the mid-nineties, the original building was refurbished and reopened in 1997, and ever since has been attracting biker pilgrimages from all over the globe.

 

Bringing that magic to Silverstone, the Ace Cafe will ‘take over’ the Pit Stop Café in the circuit’s National Paddock with menus, displays, dressings and music all embracing the unique appeal and character of the original diner in north west London.

 

Adding to the festivities, the setting will also be home to a massive gathering of classic motorbikes – 80 of which will take to the hallowed Silverstone Grand Prix circuit for an astounding 80th birthday track parade at lunchtime on Saturday.

 

To encourage all classic bike owners to join the celebrations, a special Ace Cafe Motorcycle Display package is being offered in keeping with the historic values of the event. The package includes two general admission tickets and in-field parking in the dedicated Ace Cafe display area plus free parking for support vehicles and trailers if bikes are transported to Silverstone. 

 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for all bike lovers to share in our 80th birthday celebrations and, of course, our ageless passion for motorcycles,” enthused Wilsmore, Managing Director of the Ace Cafe. 

“The Silverstone Classic is an absolutely incredible event and we are expecting a huge turn-out of both bikes and fans. It’s going to be a daunting ­– yet exciting – task for us to hand-pick just the 80 standout bikes that best represent 80 years of Ace Cafe history for the commemorative track parade.”