Silverstone (again) set to terminate British GP contract.
Discussion
covboy said:
Evangelion said:
Why would it be such a disaster if Silverstone lost the BGP?
Wouldn't Donington then step in?
(I shouldn't have to remind anyone what a brilliant race the last GP to be held there was ...)
Been there Wouldn't Donington then step in?
(I shouldn't have to remind anyone what a brilliant race the last GP to be held there was ...)
Done that
Nearly killed the Circuit
Doesn't have the infrastructure for modern Grand Prix
Here is what will likely happen
- Silverstone will activate break clause and cancel current contract (set up with rubbish terms from Bernie)
- Silverstone will then negotiate a multi-year contract with Liberty Media for 2020 onwards
- Will have some kind of loyalty deal or historical payment (similar to Ferrari) that will reduce their fees as they are a "historic track"
but whatever became of the circuit of Wales, is that still happening? Supersam83 said:
... some kind of loyalty deal or historical payment (similar to Ferrari) that will reduce their fees as they are a "historic track" ...
Don't see what's so 'historic' about Silverstone. Like most other circuits it's been butchered so extensively over the years that not a scrap of the original remains. A total Trigger's Broom.'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
Evangelion said:
Wouldn't Donington then step in?
(I shouldn't have to remind anyone what a brilliant race the last GP to be held there was ...)
What was brilliant after lap 1? It was a 1 lap race, Senna overtook 4 people and then apart from Prost taking 7 pitstops (an F1 record) and Senna taking a short cut through the pits to record fastest lap (with no pit speed restrictions) nothing else happened during a wet & dry race. Senna won by 1m23s.(I shouldn't have to remind anyone what a brilliant race the last GP to be held there was ...)
I can't see why they wouldn't break the contract. They can then get a new one at a fraction of the price.
I haven't been to Silverstone for a GP in years. Wouldn't go now either - I'm not a fan of the new track layout, although the wing seems nice enough. But the price of the tickets! It is absolutely f
king ridiculous.
I haven't been to Silverstone for a GP in years. Wouldn't go now either - I'm not a fan of the new track layout, although the wing seems nice enough. But the price of the tickets! It is absolutely f
king ridiculous.Putting aside the silly money circuits and concentrating on the median/typical hosting fee's, how much is silverstone short? £10-15M?
Given the current British TV rights money alone paid is supposed to be in the order of £70M it seems naive to push this too far. The "casual" fans liberty are keenest to attract are more fickle than the die hards, and need more interest - one person I know makes a point of watching "only the british. monaco and final GP " (if a title decider) (as a high likelyhood, he may of course watch others) and it's these fans whose support isn't a given that both broadcasters and liberty alike want the most, yet they are they are more likely to drift than anyone when you remove familiarising things like a home race that removes the sport from the general public conscious.
Given the current British TV rights money alone paid is supposed to be in the order of £70M it seems naive to push this too far. The "casual" fans liberty are keenest to attract are more fickle than the die hards, and need more interest - one person I know makes a point of watching "only the british. monaco and final GP " (if a title decider) (as a high likelyhood, he may of course watch others) and it's these fans whose support isn't a given that both broadcasters and liberty alike want the most, yet they are they are more likely to drift than anyone when you remove familiarising things like a home race that removes the sport from the general public conscious.
suffolk009 said:
I can't see why they wouldn't break the contract. They can then get a new one at a fraction of the price.
I haven't been to Silverstone for a GP in years. Wouldn't go now either - I'm not a fan of the new track layout, although the wing seems nice enough. But the price of the tickets! It is absolutely fking ridiculous.
Can they get a much cheaper deal ? LM are not budging an inch so far. They are intent on more races in the USA and a July date would be just right for one in New York/New Jersey.I haven't been to Silverstone for a GP in years. Wouldn't go now either - I'm not a fan of the new track layout, although the wing seems nice enough. But the price of the tickets! It is absolutely f
king ridiculous.Many rejoiced because that horrid Bernie man was out of the picture - I said at the time, be careful what you wish for! These guys could be worse from a money standpoint. They've already let Malaysia walk rather than do a deal.
The cost to renovate another track (Donington, Brands Hatch etc) is so high that I can't see it being a viable plan.
I think a London street race is unlikely too - imagine the tree huggers having to endure all those nasty cars...
The thing with Silverstone is that the BRDC haven't always played it straight. Years ago they spent over a million on their clubhouse/stand for the exclusive use of their members. Bernie was having a bit of a whinge about the facilities - to some extent he was right. BRDC said they didn't have the money and Bernie rightly told them they were taking the piss - eventually "the wing" was built.
More recently, the boss Patrick Allen instigated the £99 race day tickets, weekend tickets were £120. With this, the race actually made a profit in 2015: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122553 I think thats pretty good value - £120 for 3 days entertainment isn't expensive.
They were all set to sell the track to Land Rover, but it fell through at the last moment because Porsche have some sort of contract with them, one of the terms is the track is not used by another other manufacturer for more than 45 days a year - that killed any further talks with Land Rover.
Allen was suspended and then left late last year after Silverstone deciding he was "too close" to Lawrence Tomlinson who has also made a bid to buy the circuit.
This year, with Allen gone race day tickets are £179, so nearly a 100% increase.
Yes, in the FOM contract there is an escalator (IIRC something like 5% year on year) but to nearly double ticket prices is, to say the least a bit cheeky.
If we want to complain about FOM having its nose in the trough I'm not entirely convinced we can be sure BRDC isn't there too.
Evangelion said:
Supersam83 said:
... some kind of loyalty deal or historical payment (similar to Ferrari) that will reduce their fees as they are a "historic track" ...
Don't see what's so 'historic' about Silverstone. Like most other circuits it's been butchered so extensively over the years that not a scrap of the original remains. A total Trigger's Broom.'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
IforB said:
Is this the annual "it's July so here are the stories about the British GP being lost" round of news?
Every year...
No, it's the 'in 2009, Damon Hill and Jackie Oliver agreed a break clause with Bernie Ecclestone in 2019 with the foresight that the GP might become uneconomic in the future' Every year...
p1stonhead said:
This will be fking sad if it happens.
Albeit its the biggest rip off I have ever paid for to be honest....
Been once and I think all told it cost about a grand for the weekend including grandstand seats which were IIRC £350 each? Absolutely ludicrous when you think about it.
You best not look how expensive some of the away prices are then?....king sad if it happens.Albeit its the biggest rip off I have ever paid for to be honest....
Been once and I think all told it cost about a grand for the weekend including grandstand seats which were IIRC £350 each? Absolutely ludicrous when you think about it.
Think i paid around £700 for grandstand ticket at Monaco a few years ago, and around £500 at Monza.
Silverstone and the surrounding area struggles to cope on GP weekend, and it's had a lot of work done around the area to help. If it does go anywhere else, it's going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to get the infrastructure and facilities.
Personally, I think they're chancing their arm and hoping to get a better deal, and as someone who lives in the area I hope they do, as a lot of the economy around here is because of Silverstone, not just for F1, but that's a real big boost for the local economy around that time.
Yes F1 is expensive, but a general roving ticket for the weekend is £200, that's 2/3 days of action. A ticket to Old Trafford is £60 for an hour and 30 minutes of football. It's all relative.
Personally, I think they're chancing their arm and hoping to get a better deal, and as someone who lives in the area I hope they do, as a lot of the economy around here is because of Silverstone, not just for F1, but that's a real big boost for the local economy around that time.
Yes F1 is expensive, but a general roving ticket for the weekend is £200, that's 2/3 days of action. A ticket to Old Trafford is £60 for an hour and 30 minutes of football. It's all relative.
Evangelion said:
Don't see what's so 'historic' about Silverstone. Like most other circuits it's been butchered so extensively over the years that not a scrap of the original remains. A total Trigger's Broom.
'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
I meant "Historic Track" in the sense that it was the circuit that held the 1st ever F1 Championship race back in 1950 and has had the most British GP's held there.'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
The layout may have changed (which track hasn't) but the name, circuit, event is all about the history of the race.
Supersam83 said:
Evangelion said:
Don't see what's so 'historic' about Silverstone. Like most other circuits it's been butchered so extensively over the years that not a scrap of the original remains. A total Trigger's Broom.
'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
I meant "Historic Track" in the sense that it was the circuit that held the 1st ever F1 Championship race back in 1950 and has had the most British GP's held there.'Silverstone in name only' I call it.
The layout may have changed (which track hasn't) but the name, circuit, event is all about the history of the race.
And with the exception of Becketts (the corner is still there not the join to the track) and the short straight from Bridge to Woodcote it's all still there.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Silverstone+Ci...
FourWheelDrift said:
... the quote of "not a scrap of the original remains" is wrong ...
Okay, so perhaps I should have said "a small percentage of the original" but looking at the black bits on that map, it is a bloody small percentage!And the largest part, the stretch between Woodcote and Copse, doesn't even contain the start/finish line anymore.
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