WEC Silverstone
Discussion
Not going to Le Mans this year but off to Silverstone for the WEC instead. I haven't been to Silverstone for years and years any advice on good corners to spectate from? Any other advice?
I'm guessing the atmosphere won't be anything like the Le Mans experience but it's the closest I can get this year!
I'm guessing the atmosphere won't be anything like the Le Mans experience but it's the closest I can get this year!
We go every year, and frankly it's the bargain of the year when it comes to motorsport. 6 hours of racing for £30ish is frankly astounding, given the talent on show.
A few pointers:
- There's a free pit walk, but queue very early. It seems as if every year we get down there, you enter the area and they start to kick everyone out! Well worth it though, as you can get super close to what are essentially F1 drivers that you would never normally have at an F1 race.
- Wrap up warm. Extended periods of time spent in the grandstands is very uncomfortable.
- Photography is best done on the Saturday during the qualifiers, so you can get all the good spots. It tends to be very quiet on that day.
- The only TV is on the pit straight, so if you're into that, hang around there (Again, it gets busy so plan ahead).
- If you're not so bothered about big screen TV, you can watch live on the Dailymotion app on your phone as long as you have a good data plan.
- A radio is a must have, with good headphones.
- You can sit in any grandstand for free, as long as it's open.
We usually start off at the pit straight for the "off". There's something crazy like 40,000 horse-power all together for the rolling start!!
The best place (In our opinion) is the becketts/maggots grandstand. It's a bit more relevant than for other races because when the "battles" start to kick off in each class; you can literally see B&M, the Hangar straight, the start and end of the pit straight (Including the rather fun to watch turn 1), and then also the run up to the loop chicane. The view is brilliant because you can easily pick up two cars that are fighting in the distance and will be round to you in a minute or so.
Can't wait. Will get to see the new Porches up close well before Le Mans.
A few pointers:
- There's a free pit walk, but queue very early. It seems as if every year we get down there, you enter the area and they start to kick everyone out! Well worth it though, as you can get super close to what are essentially F1 drivers that you would never normally have at an F1 race.
- Wrap up warm. Extended periods of time spent in the grandstands is very uncomfortable.
- Photography is best done on the Saturday during the qualifiers, so you can get all the good spots. It tends to be very quiet on that day.
- The only TV is on the pit straight, so if you're into that, hang around there (Again, it gets busy so plan ahead).
- If you're not so bothered about big screen TV, you can watch live on the Dailymotion app on your phone as long as you have a good data plan.
- A radio is a must have, with good headphones.
- You can sit in any grandstand for free, as long as it's open.
We usually start off at the pit straight for the "off". There's something crazy like 40,000 horse-power all together for the rolling start!!
The best place (In our opinion) is the becketts/maggots grandstand. It's a bit more relevant than for other races because when the "battles" start to kick off in each class; you can literally see B&M, the Hangar straight, the start and end of the pit straight (Including the rather fun to watch turn 1), and then also the run up to the loop chicane. The view is brilliant because you can easily pick up two cars that are fighting in the distance and will be round to you in a minute or so.
Can't wait. Will get to see the new Porches up close well before Le Mans.
Polariz said:
We go every year, and frankly it's the bargain of the year when it comes to motorsport. 6 hours of racing for £30ish is frankly astounding, given the talent on show.
A few pointers:
- There's a free pit walk, but queue very early. It seems as if every year we get down there, you enter the area and they start to kick everyone out! Well worth it though, as you can get super close to what are essentially F1 drivers that you would never normally have at an F1 race.
- Wrap up warm. Extended periods of time spent in the grandstands is very uncomfortable.
- Photography is best done on the Saturday during the qualifiers, so you can get all the good spots. It tends to be very quiet on that day.
- The only TV is on the pit straight, so if you're into that, hang around there (Again, it gets busy so plan ahead).
- If you're not so bothered about big screen TV, you can watch live on the Dailymotion app on your phone as long as you have a good data plan.
- A radio is a must have, with good headphones.
- You can sit in any grandstand for free, as long as it's open.
We usually start off at the pit straight for the "off". There's something crazy like 40,000 horse-power all together for the rolling start!!
The best place (In our opinion) is the becketts/maggots grandstand. It's a bit more relevant than for other races because when the "battles" start to kick off in each class; you can literally see B&M, the Hangar straight, the start and end of the pit straight (Including the rather fun to watch turn 1), and then also the run up to the loop chicane. The view is brilliant because you can easily pick up two cars that are fighting in the distance and will be round to you in a minute or so.
Can't wait. Will get to see the new Porches up close well before Le Mans.
Sounds fantastic. I'll have to add that to the calendar.A few pointers:
- There's a free pit walk, but queue very early. It seems as if every year we get down there, you enter the area and they start to kick everyone out! Well worth it though, as you can get super close to what are essentially F1 drivers that you would never normally have at an F1 race.
- Wrap up warm. Extended periods of time spent in the grandstands is very uncomfortable.
- Photography is best done on the Saturday during the qualifiers, so you can get all the good spots. It tends to be very quiet on that day.
- The only TV is on the pit straight, so if you're into that, hang around there (Again, it gets busy so plan ahead).
- If you're not so bothered about big screen TV, you can watch live on the Dailymotion app on your phone as long as you have a good data plan.
- A radio is a must have, with good headphones.
- You can sit in any grandstand for free, as long as it's open.
We usually start off at the pit straight for the "off". There's something crazy like 40,000 horse-power all together for the rolling start!!
The best place (In our opinion) is the becketts/maggots grandstand. It's a bit more relevant than for other races because when the "battles" start to kick off in each class; you can literally see B&M, the Hangar straight, the start and end of the pit straight (Including the rather fun to watch turn 1), and then also the run up to the loop chicane. The view is brilliant because you can easily pick up two cars that are fighting in the distance and will be round to you in a minute or so.
Can't wait. Will get to see the new Porches up close well before Le Mans.
Polariz said:
Support races - er good question! I can't remember, in which case no, none are interesting. 
We usually just rock up at 9:30-10am, get our usual spot on the Sunday, and enjoy the main race.
Last year was Euro F3 on Sunday so would imagine the same this year, but worth going Saturday as well as there is the ELMS race.We usually just rock up at 9:30-10am, get our usual spot on the Sunday, and enjoy the main race.
fatboy18 said:
Davwlk said:
£40 for Sunday PAYG. Has that gone up from £30 last year? Or is my memory playing tricks?
The place is a rip off always has been!However, this event is FAR from a rip off.
Compare it to an F1 race at Silverstone:
- It's a 6 hour race, so cars-on-track value for money is massive
- You can sit in any grandstand (It's what, £200 to sit in a good grandstand on F1 day?)
- Most of the top teams have at least one former F1 driver, so the race isn't exactly full of nobodies
- The technology on show is just as high-end as F1
- FREE pit walk
- FAR more interesting (To me anyway! No push to pass bulls
t, fuel and pit stop strategies, no stupid tyre rules)Edited by Polariz on Friday 7th February 10:14
Red Firecracker said:
Polariz said:
Support races - er good question! I can't remember, in which case no, none are interesting.
We usually just rock up at 9:30-10am, get our usual spot on the Sunday, and enjoy the main race.
Last year was Euro F3 on Sunday so would imagine the same this year, but worth going Saturday as well as there is the ELMS race.We usually just rock up at 9:30-10am, get our usual spot on the Sunday, and enjoy the main race.
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