24 hour race

The 3 people that attend might just need somewhere to sleep / shelter other than in the grandstand. It would be nice if they sold car passes for those that plan to stay the whole 24 hours.

You never know, it might just double the crowd.

We had this whole discussion / argument with another PHer last year who seemed to think that we were demanding some sort of God-given right to take our cars in. In reality, anyone who actually attended last year's 24 Hours and stayed for the entire duration, like me, would have really welcomed being able to park up within the centre of the circuit. It would have afforded us a damn sight more comfort and given us a much more accessible 'base' in which to leave stuff we didn't want to lug around the whole time, especially as it was pi55ing down for the whole race.

As has been mentioned before, there were, I believe, a grand total of 93 paying spectators last year. Hardly going to overcrowd the joint with cars, are we?

But public don't take their cars into the circuit at a major event, never have done. This doesn't mean they don't want spectators, you just have to walk in. I have to at other tracks around Europe, so why should Silverstone be different?[/quote]


From memory there aint many other 24h races in the uk so nothing to really compair it with....

At Le Mans you can get your car inside the cicuit if you buy the right ticket, and lm also has good facilities outside the circuit. Silversone has fields.

Im sure silverstone are missing out on revenue by not selling car park passes for spectators and also putting people off going, as the chances of some bad weather are very high. Its also not as if they dont have plenty of events with camping all over the circuit. some of the car parks even have electrical hookups !!!


Still I'll be tucked up on the pit wall/ pit garage unless someones got a few k they want to give me and ill be driving but it would be nice to see some spectators..

I emailed Silverstone circuits yesterday asking about the spectator car parking arrangements for the race.

The response :-
Hi

I have checked with our Event Manager and you will be able to drive in although not into the centre areas.

Many thanks and I hope you enjoy the event.

Sheila

I presume this means we can at least get behind the grandstands and be able to drive to Stowe/Club etc. Glad they have seen sense and hopefully this should bolster the crowd a bit.

I notice on the writeup of yesterday's launch events upon the DailySportscar site, there is mention of needing a voucher to gain entry to the 24hr meeting at a discounted price.

Any one got any ideas where you'd get one?

I've a feeling Simon might go anyway, especially as he's entered two cars in the race...

I think he's entered both his Prosport 3000 and Lotus Elise and both are a combination of yellow and black.

Might ask Ted if we can have a PH sticker for our Mosler, though it should be pretty easy to spot as one of only two in the race - and it's not the green one.

With all due....

I think you are missing the point *massively*

if you want people to watch motorsport, you need to make it easy and accesable to them. this is NOT the F1 GP we are talking about, if we get 10,000 it would be a major result.

Silverstone has enough in-field car parking for at least 2-3,000 cars (assuming it's organised) and god knows how much space around the outside of the stands before you get to the mail off-site car parks.

we NEED the people to come and watch, people in the gate means MONEY in the gate, means reduced costs for *all* of us (if you know how much it costs to run a car you might just get the point, having paid Mr Tucker some £6,700 so far just in entry fees and this is just the tip of a LARGE iceburg of costs).


PS. if somebody (Ted??) would like to funnish me with some pistonhead stickers I am sure I can find a space for them.....

I don`t see the problem in allowing cars into the circuit. A club meetings every other circuit allows cars in. Snetterton people park up and watch, Oulton, Donnington allows access to the inside of the circuit (there isn`t any space by the paddock), Brands allows parking between Graham Hill and Surtees on the outside of the track.

There is a load of available space both inside the circuit and outside. We are not going to get a hundred thousand people a-la F1, it should be a doddle. If necessary charge a premium "camping" rate for entry into the circuit. There are excellent toilet facilities dotted all round the track. The reason Le Mans works is because you can park up, set your camp then walk up a bank or a few yards and watch some racing. You can hear what`s going on via the radio and when ever necessary pop back to your base for 40 winks.

The fact that Silverstone caters for hundreds of thousands of spectators means, by definition, that the car parking is a long way from the track / paddock. What about using the club straight for instance. A great bit stip of black stuff going spare to park on.

There is even the BRDC ghost town. Grandstands, parking.... Oh no , sorry I forgot who they were for a minute there. They even try to charge drivers 5 quid to use the empty grandstand for 10 minutes during a club meeting!

I`m not sure why the circuit is averse to allowing decent access, there must be a reason, just not sure what. It really could be a great event with all the car clubs having their own campsites and driving to the event in convoy just like Le Mans. The locals even speak English and you don`t need a passport.

Henry

I get it, but I'm just saying that car parking isn't a consideration of mine when deciding whether to attend an event. Any weekend events that I've been to have always involved camping and the cars always stayed on the site, A1GP, F1, LM. The last time we were at Silverstone we parked outside and with the new car parks I'd assume you could park just by the main entrance.

If allowing infield parking brings in a few more folk and helps you out cost wise then I'm all for it. I'd much rather have a nice secure spot to park the car and drive round at night, but I'm also content wandering round and taking things as they come.

I'm booked in for all 3 days so will keep an eye out for your motors. All the best!!!