Silverstone Grandstands and the FIA Hypercar race
Discussion
Unbelievably, I haven't been to Silverstone for anything since 2009 and with the news that FIA Hypercar will be there next year, myself and some friends are organising a trip.
Because we are old and grey and I'm pretty sure there will be a very good chance of a wet race, I was wondering where would be the best reasonably affordable grandstand? Not talking start/finish but somewhere with a good view and a roof.
Hopefully I'm thinking that £150.00 each is going to be a workable budget but it needs to be reasonable walking distance of the pits as we will be buying pit lane walkabout and paddock passes as well. (plus there is a chance we might get some Mclaren hospitality
)
Any recommendation's gratefully received.
Because we are old and grey and I'm pretty sure there will be a very good chance of a wet race, I was wondering where would be the best reasonably affordable grandstand? Not talking start/finish but somewhere with a good view and a roof.
Hopefully I'm thinking that £150.00 each is going to be a workable budget but it needs to be reasonable walking distance of the pits as we will be buying pit lane walkabout and paddock passes as well. (plus there is a chance we might get some Mclaren hospitality
) Any recommendation's gratefully received.
Robbo is correct, the stands will be 'free' but at other recent events they are shy about opening things up, so those stands that are open get pretty full.
Hopefully they will be expecting a bumper crowd for the WEC event so will put the effort into removing a couple of extra padlocks.
(See also, toilet blocks at the far end of the circuit).
Hopefully they will be expecting a bumper crowd for the WEC event so will put the effort into removing a couple of extra padlocks.
(See also, toilet blocks at the far end of the circuit).
I'm in. I've never been to a WEC race before and I've never been to Silverstone - it should be fun. The 12 year old is very excited.
General access tickets don't seem ridiculously priced, but it starts to add up once you have paddock and pit passes, and camping for two. I ended up going with a different campsite (Woodlands) and just doing paddock and pit passes on Saturday only to keep the price sensible. Hopefully those turn out to be sensible decisions.
Has anyone seen anything resembling a rough timetable? I see that 6hr of Spa was 2-8pm, which wouldn't be ideal for those of us with a 400mi drive home!
General access tickets don't seem ridiculously priced, but it starts to add up once you have paddock and pit passes, and camping for two. I ended up going with a different campsite (Woodlands) and just doing paddock and pit passes on Saturday only to keep the price sensible. Hopefully those turn out to be sensible decisions.
Has anyone seen anything resembling a rough timetable? I see that 6hr of Spa was 2-8pm, which wouldn't be ideal for those of us with a 400mi drive home!
Excited to see this coming to Silverstone.
The last time I weas there for anything of this magnitude was when the diesel Audis and Peugeots were up against the Toyotas and Porsches.
I didn't bother with the grandstands, and won't again next year. Just keep moving: it's a long race, so you can view from several different locations. Silverstone is flatter than a deflated flat thing so quite easy to get about.
I'm lucky living only 20 miles away so only have to contend with exit traffic on the day.
The last time I weas there for anything of this magnitude was when the diesel Audis and Peugeots were up against the Toyotas and Porsches.
I didn't bother with the grandstands, and won't again next year. Just keep moving: it's a long race, so you can view from several different locations. Silverstone is flatter than a deflated flat thing so quite easy to get about.
I'm lucky living only 20 miles away so only have to contend with exit traffic on the day.
pixelmix said:
Has anyone seen anything resembling a rough timetable? I see that 6hr of Spa was 2-8pm, which wouldn't be ideal for those of us with a 400mi drive home!
In the past it's always been 12 - 6pm and I don't see that changing mostly because it'll be on a Sunday and likely a noise curfew will also be in place.pixelmix said:
I'm in. I've never been to a WEC race before and I've never been to Silverstone - it should be fun. The 12 year old is very excited.
General access tickets don't seem ridiculously priced, but it starts to add up once you have paddock and pit passes, and camping for two. I ended up going with a different campsite (Woodlands) and just doing paddock and pit passes on Saturday only to keep the price sensible. Hopefully those turn out to be sensible decisions.
Has anyone seen anything resembling a rough timetable? I see that 6hr of Spa was 2-8pm, which wouldn't be ideal for those of us with a 400mi drive home!
Great cars , and a terrible track. I've been a regular since the 70s , if only because I can see stuff there I can't elsewhere. General access tickets don't seem ridiculously priced, but it starts to add up once you have paddock and pit passes, and camping for two. I ended up going with a different campsite (Woodlands) and just doing paddock and pit passes on Saturday only to keep the price sensible. Hopefully those turn out to be sensible decisions.
Has anyone seen anything resembling a rough timetable? I see that 6hr of Spa was 2-8pm, which wouldn't be ideal for those of us with a 400mi drive home!
You are either a long way from the track or a very long way but hypercars will still be sensational . I'd take in Village for the close up stuff(where the track is in the same postcode ), the entry to Copse for sheer speed and a wander round to Vale for the view up to Stowe and down to pit lane .The much vaunted Becketts is actually not that great from trackside as the cars are going away from you .
.
You'll walk bloody miles and do prepare - Silverstone is at nearly 600ft ASL at its highest and gets very cold and windy in April. I've seen show there in a Spring F1 race. See you there!
It is a premium event for the 0lace, so tickets on phone only, you might have to pay for parking on Sat and Sun, a joke really, it is a bloody long way round aa you are walking round half the perimeter of an airfield, some of it is still grotty, some of it is ok.
They need to be more friendly, more stand open, n9t just the standard wing, woodcote stuff, but that will depend on ticket sales and pre event demand, even if loads turn up and book a few days before that will not change as stewards will be booked weeks in advance to cover stands.
April is an odd choice, used to be September, we're it would be warmer maybe, still, no different than Spa, where Wec has been fairly lucky weather wise for current era, only one cold weekend.
I will go Friday, cheapest and still see everything
They need to be more friendly, more stand open, n9t just the standard wing, woodcote stuff, but that will depend on ticket sales and pre event demand, even if loads turn up and book a few days before that will not change as stewards will be booked weeks in advance to cover stands.
April is an odd choice, used to be September, we're it would be warmer maybe, still, no different than Spa, where Wec has been fairly lucky weather wise for current era, only one cold weekend.
I will go Friday, cheapest and still see everything
Was in August 2018 and 2019 I thought and still cold and windy on at least one of those race weekends- 2017 was April. 2027 time makes sense with all the transport logistics.
Sunset 8.15pm or so next April - so not going to finish late and have crowds leaving in dark and noise restrictions too as mentioned above.
Spa race probably colder (600m or so up) but more sheltered so camping at Silverstone in windy conditions and dark earlier could be fun!
Does Woodlands still have a bar in old cow shed? and z a pizza van?
Sunset 8.15pm or so next April - so not going to finish late and have crowds leaving in dark and noise restrictions too as mentioned above.
Spa race probably colder (600m or so up) but more sheltered so camping at Silverstone in windy conditions and dark earlier could be fun!
Does Woodlands still have a bar in old cow shed? and z a pizza van?
jurbie said:
In the past it's always been 12 - 6pm and I don't see that changing mostly because it'll be on a Sunday and likely a noise curfew will also be in place.
Spa has been started late the last couple of years because of massive redevelopment of the roads in Francorchamps leading to delays getting in.I would expect the Silverstone race to be 12-6 as it's historically been.
Traditionally, Silverstone was the pre-Le Mans event and used to attract bigger entries than most other WEC/WSC/WSPC races (not relevant these days), but I imagine putting a European race in the midst of all the flyaway races wouldn't have been popular with many of the teams.
pixelmix said:
I'm in. I've never been to a WEC race before and I've never been to Silverstone - it should be fun.
Interesting concept of fun, going to Silverstone... Still, WEC is the only reason I can imagine for going.M
Edited by marcosgt on Wednesday 17th June 09:11
bergclimber34 said:
It is a premium event for the 0lace, so tickets on phone only, you might have to pay for parking on Sat and Sun, a joke really, it is a bloody long way round aa you are walking round half the perimeter of an airfield, some of it is still grotty, some of it is ok.
They need to be more friendly, more stand open, n9t just the standard wing, woodcote stuff, but that will depend on ticket sales and pre event demand, even if loads turn up and book a few days before that will not change as stewards will be booked weeks in advance to cover stands.
April is an odd choice, used to be September, we're it would be warmer maybe, still, no different than Spa, where Wec has been fairly lucky weather wise for current era, only one cold weekend.
I will go Friday, cheapest and still see everything
Silverstone has traditionally had the WEC and it's predecessor the WSC in April/May. I can remember as a 16year old in 1986 freezing my tits off watching the WSC in the pissing rain for 6hrs sat in the Woodcote grandstand. Cracking race, one of the first with the Silk Cut Jaguars...They need to be more friendly, more stand open, n9t just the standard wing, woodcote stuff, but that will depend on ticket sales and pre event demand, even if loads turn up and book a few days before that will not change as stewards will be booked weeks in advance to cover stands.
April is an odd choice, used to be September, we're it would be warmer maybe, still, no different than Spa, where Wec has been fairly lucky weather wise for current era, only one cold weekend.
I will go Friday, cheapest and still see everything
Anyway.... remember as well that last year, the ELMS returned to Silverstone, basically LMP2 which is not part of the WEC. The attendance over the weekend was 110,000!!!! Silverstone is not a s
t circuit either... nothing wrong with the place!!If LMP2 draws 110,000 then WEC is going to pull in quite a few more thousands.
Should be a cracking weekend and the WEC cars around Silverstone will be well worth watching....
Dear God you even have to pay to park your sodding car on Friday, what a joke, meaning the ticket for a practice day only is 45 quid.
These are hidden costs every day folks so be very aware this place is pretty ruthless with crappy little extra fees like this but only showing the ticket price before ANYTHING is added.
So a Friday ticket if you have a car (as I expect 99% of visitors will do) is not 35 it is 45. And what exactly are you paying for? Some bloke on minimum wage to stand in the car park and point, then sit in a booth for 8 hours. Really? No other race track in the UK does this, why does this place.
They dont help themselves they really dont.
These are hidden costs every day folks so be very aware this place is pretty ruthless with crappy little extra fees like this but only showing the ticket price before ANYTHING is added.
So a Friday ticket if you have a car (as I expect 99% of visitors will do) is not 35 it is 45. And what exactly are you paying for? Some bloke on minimum wage to stand in the car park and point, then sit in a booth for 8 hours. Really? No other race track in the UK does this, why does this place.
They dont help themselves they really dont.
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