THE Pageant of Power won’t be Liverpool’s first dalliance with Formula One, after hosting five British Grand Prix in the 50s and 60s.

In 1953, inspired by co-existing horse and motor racing at Goodwood, Grand National supremo Mirabel Topham formed the Aintree Automobile Racing Company to improve profitability at Aintree Racecourse.

A three-mile Grand Prix circuit was laid and built in just three months, at a cost of £100,000. The first motor race took place on Saturday, May 29, 1954.

The circuit shared the British Grand Prix with Silverstone, hosting five F1 World Championship races between 1955 and 1962, and 11 other international Formula One events in its 10 year motor racing history.

It was there in 1955 that Stirling Moss won his first of 16 Grand Prix titles and also the first time a British driver had won the British GP.

Moss won again in 1957 in a Vanwall to become the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix in a British car.

When Brands Hatch extended its track to Grand Prix length, hosting it on a three-way basis looked unprofitable, and the full circuit closed in 1964.