Silverstone F1 - First Timer
Discussion
The outside of copse is stunning and with the relocation of the pits to the bottom of the circuit I suspect there will be more general admission space in the area than there has been in the past. The new Abbey turn was also pretty good last year but that will need to be on a day when the stands are open to everyone (not sure what tickets allow you where this year) because I doubt you'll be able to get close otherwise. Its a nice fast turn and had a rather tasty bump in the middle of it last year which really unsettled the cars. In terms of being able to see a lot of circuit a postion 1/2 way around club is the best. You can see from Stowe all the way up to Abbey if you get the right spot. Really just try everywhere because even the slow stuff in the Village and complex sections are interesting because you can really see them manhandling the cars in the slow stuff.
There is also a rather nice spot on the infield where if you look one way you can see the Becketts complex and then if turn around you can see the Village section. Sadly though on GP weekend you're not going to be allowed anywhere near the area.
There is also a rather nice spot on the infield where if you look one way you can see the Becketts complex and then if turn around you can see the Village section. Sadly though on GP weekend you're not going to be allowed anywhere near the area.
PSBuckshot said:
On the Saturday and Sunday wake up very early if you don't want to be sitting 6 miles back from the circuit.
On the Friday however just stroll in about half 9 10ish, a lot more relaxed then.
I've got to say that for the last few years I've tended to go for Quali on Saturday and getting into and out of the circuit has been staggeringly good. I always approach from the south on the Dadford Road and then park in one of the campsites / fields on the outside of Stowe. just drove in with no trouble. Getting out at the end is a little slower but steady with no real hold ups. The key for me is ignoring the sign posted routes to the M40 and going cross country via Tinglewick and joining the motorway at Bicester.On the Friday however just stroll in about half 9 10ish, a lot more relaxed then.
burns863 said:
Been told I should take ear plugs. Good advice? Haha
I would take in-ear headphones for the radio and wear ear protectors over the top. Otherwise you won't be able to hear the commentary and these days it's pretty hard to follow the race without it. Not sure if Silverstone has Kangaroo TV/FanVision, but I thoroughly recommend it if they do.Just a 'heads up', I telephoned Whittlebury to check this years prices and asked if i could just turn up and pay, as i normally do.
They advised pre booking because of demand, in previous years I've always been told they can't run out of space.
Did'nt want to risk it so have just booked on line.
They advised pre booking because of demand, in previous years I've always been told they can't run out of space.
Did'nt want to risk it so have just booked on line.
burns863 said:
Bit weird. Each to their own though! One thing I love about F1 (and motorsport in general) is how fans of different drivers/teams can generally sit together in the same grandstand or on the same corner. Not like football where fans have to be separated!
this is true, and applies to the camping too, houses likely to be pitched next to "rival" fans, but sit & enjoy a beer or 3 with them.
I cannot stress enough how essential baby wipes are at a race weekend 
A baby wipe shower at Le Mans is not to be sniffed at (no pun intended 
).
I've only been to race day before and I found that its really important to have everything you're going to need for the 3 hours or so with you. You don't want to miss anything!
A baby wipe shower at Le Mans is not to be sniffed at (no pun intended ).I've only been to race day before and I found that its really important to have everything you're going to need for the 3 hours or so with you. You don't want to miss anything!
burns863 said:
Thinking about it, what is the battery life like on the fanvision? It says it comes with a spare battery and a charger, but unless it is an in car charger I'm not sure where I could get mains access, as my pitch doesn't come with a hook-up.
The 2 batteries that came with it were plenty for the 3 days. Just switch it off when you're not using it. It came with a plug in charger, can't remember if a car charger was in there too. IAIK they will give you a fresh battery at the stall if you run out.1. Take earplugs
2. Get a Kangaroo.TV to understand the race
3. Don't worry too much about taking pictures of the cars going round. Get a few for flavour, and make sure you get some shots of the off track stuff, but don't spend the entire race watching it through a view-finder.
4. Take earplugs.
The first time you hear them fire up and come round with some throttle on, you WILL grin from ear to ear.
Also for Fri/Sat try and find somewhere where they do a big high speed change of direction. Maggots/Beckets ideal. You will be astonished at how they do it.
Edited to add, I put contradictory ideas in your head.
Take good in-ear headphones for your kanga (and a splitter if you want to share). They will act as good earplugs when watching the race.
2. Get a Kangaroo.TV to understand the race
3. Don't worry too much about taking pictures of the cars going round. Get a few for flavour, and make sure you get some shots of the off track stuff, but don't spend the entire race watching it through a view-finder.
4. Take earplugs.
The first time you hear them fire up and come round with some throttle on, you WILL grin from ear to ear.
Also for Fri/Sat try and find somewhere where they do a big high speed change of direction. Maggots/Beckets ideal. You will be astonished at how they do it.
Edited to add, I put contradictory ideas in your head.
Take good in-ear headphones for your kanga (and a splitter if you want to share). They will act as good earplugs when watching the race.
kangaroo tv? ear plugs? really?...
you may as well stay at home.
just find a nice spot, sit there and watch it all unfold. its not that hard to work out whats happening during the race. at a guess, the red and blue cars will lead, the red ones and the silver ones will be following behind in some order as yet to be determined. a yellow one or a white one may appear too.
for me the noise is part of the epxerience and you pay good money to have your eardrums rattled.. i wouldnt wear them to a rock concert and neither would i ever wear them to an f1 race... the cars arent that loud, the first time maybe but not for 90 minutes.
at the circuit you only need suncream, a light rain coat, food and drink... if you take loads of crap with you then you are loaded down and moving around becomes a chore. you wont make many friends takinga bicycle and its only 3 miles round so you can easily do two laps on the firday and saturday when its not so busy.
my favourite general admission spot is on hangar straight just before the braking to stowe, big screen nearby, away from the chaos of the trade stalls behind the pit straight and you can usually get a good spot until about 11am.
from memory the grandstands have unreserved seating on friday and possibly staruday too so thats worth taking advantage of, go for the uncovered one opposite the pits on friday and just wander round on saturday.
cameras are pointless unless you have a massive lens, you cant get close enough to take any worrthwhile pictures and as others have said, spending the weekend looking through a view finder is not the point...
...and the golden rule, one item of team branded clothing is quite enough.
you may as well stay at home.
just find a nice spot, sit there and watch it all unfold. its not that hard to work out whats happening during the race. at a guess, the red and blue cars will lead, the red ones and the silver ones will be following behind in some order as yet to be determined. a yellow one or a white one may appear too.
for me the noise is part of the epxerience and you pay good money to have your eardrums rattled.. i wouldnt wear them to a rock concert and neither would i ever wear them to an f1 race... the cars arent that loud, the first time maybe but not for 90 minutes.
at the circuit you only need suncream, a light rain coat, food and drink... if you take loads of crap with you then you are loaded down and moving around becomes a chore. you wont make many friends takinga bicycle and its only 3 miles round so you can easily do two laps on the firday and saturday when its not so busy.
my favourite general admission spot is on hangar straight just before the braking to stowe, big screen nearby, away from the chaos of the trade stalls behind the pit straight and you can usually get a good spot until about 11am.
from memory the grandstands have unreserved seating on friday and possibly staruday too so thats worth taking advantage of, go for the uncovered one opposite the pits on friday and just wander round on saturday.
cameras are pointless unless you have a massive lens, you cant get close enough to take any worrthwhile pictures and as others have said, spending the weekend looking through a view finder is not the point...
...and the golden rule, one item of team branded clothing is quite enough.
pablo said:
kangaroo tv? ear plugs? really?...
you may as well stay at home.
I've probably been to a dozen F1 races - many before Kangaroo was about, the last 3 or 4 I've had it. Having Kanga really enhances it, especially with the strategy driven races. It's really nice to know who's catching who and why. And understand why Alonso didn't come round this time. It also means you can chose a spot which doesn't have a big screen in front of it which alleviates the crowds a little.you may as well stay at home.
You don't watch kanagaroo 100%, same as you don't have the earplugs in 100%. You still experience the good bits and take it all in, just with some enhancement and protection.
I went last year all three days. Friday will be the best day for checking out viewpoints and getting your photos, as you can go to a lot more places that you can't get to on Sat/Sunday. Definitely as suggested, get yourself over to Maggots/Becketts on Friday during the free practise sessions, it is staggering watching the cars through there.
For qualifying I was sat in the Luffield terrace, cars got nice and close and could see them for a while. A good spot but the fence means photos aren't really doable. Consider taking a camping chair if you are going to be rooted to the spot (and Sat/Sun it's pretty hard to move around as all the best spots will be taken by 6am). I didn't regret having a chair to sit on one bit.
Sunday I was in the general admission area at Vale, probably going to be a popular spot this year. There was a great spot for getting photos to the right of the Club grandstands, but you'll be lucky to get a spot other than maybe on Friday. I don't even know if that spot is still the same (haven't made it to Silverstone this year other than for the half marathon, went 8 times last year!)
Enjoy it, be prepared for any weather, and a bit of queueing here and there, and it will be a fantastic few days.
For qualifying I was sat in the Luffield terrace, cars got nice and close and could see them for a while. A good spot but the fence means photos aren't really doable. Consider taking a camping chair if you are going to be rooted to the spot (and Sat/Sun it's pretty hard to move around as all the best spots will be taken by 6am). I didn't regret having a chair to sit on one bit.
Sunday I was in the general admission area at Vale, probably going to be a popular spot this year. There was a great spot for getting photos to the right of the Club grandstands, but you'll be lucky to get a spot other than maybe on Friday. I don't even know if that spot is still the same (haven't made it to Silverstone this year other than for the half marathon, went 8 times last year!)
Enjoy it, be prepared for any weather, and a bit of queueing here and there, and it will be a fantastic few days.
Thanks for all the advice. Too many posts to reply individually!
Good point about the camera. It frustrates me how at so many events people spend most of it trying to take pictures/record things. I'll get a few snaps but don't intend on going mad. I want to make the most of being able to see the race from the side of the track
I think I am gonna go for the Fanvision. I agree that you could probably follow the race by just watching but I do like to know everything thats going on. By the sounds of it, Fanvision will be brilliant for this!
Without bogging myself down with too much stuff, is it worth taking binoculars? I noticed that when I was at the GT1 championship a few weeks back, plenty of people had taken them and I couldn't help but wish I had bothered to take some. Depends where I'm watching from I guess?
Good point about the camera. It frustrates me how at so many events people spend most of it trying to take pictures/record things. I'll get a few snaps but don't intend on going mad. I want to make the most of being able to see the race from the side of the track
I think I am gonna go for the Fanvision. I agree that you could probably follow the race by just watching but I do like to know everything thats going on. By the sounds of it, Fanvision will be brilliant for this!
Without bogging myself down with too much stuff, is it worth taking binoculars? I noticed that when I was at the GT1 championship a few weeks back, plenty of people had taken them and I couldn't help but wish I had bothered to take some. Depends where I'm watching from I guess?
burns863 said:
Without bogging myself down with too much stuff, is it worth taking binoculars? I noticed that when I was at the GT1 championship a few weeks back, plenty of people had taken them and I couldn't help but wish I had bothered to take some. Depends where I'm watching from I guess?
Might not be a good idea for the race, but you might use them for - the red arrows, the helicopter display, the parachute display etc, etc,.Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff