Silverstone Grandstands and the FIA Hypercar race

[Gad-Westy]

bergclimber34 said:

This was my reasoning for going on Friday, crazy money for a practice day, but you will likely get more track time and less downtime.

They have decided it is a premium event so parking charges every day and much higher ticket prices than most WEC events anywhere else, this is a Silverstone decision.

Would say Saturday is not so good as you only get one practice session and then 2 very brief qualifying sessions that they call Hyperpole. So, less track time.

I don't know yet about support series. Might not have any, but if there are, highly likely to be old pit area,as the WEC stuff will be in the Wing,

Its a bloody big place, and you can walk it,even to the Wing, but you might have to pay extra for that access as is typical with this place.

Its going to be busy so book accom as soon as you and or they will ramp up prices

Cheers. Perhaps the ideal would be Friday and Sunday but cheaper to buy a 3 day pass for that than buy those two days separately. I can stay with relatives about an hour away so I don't need to worry about accomodation as such. More just work and logistics but maybe that is what I'll do.

[bergclimber34]

Silverstone 3 day deals are usually pretty goid, that's what they want really as maybe they also make a bit from campsites etc too.

I would miss Saturday yes, but if you are already there...

[FredericRobinson]

Gad-Westy said:

This seems as a good a place as any to ask this but what are people's thoughts in the value of attending other days, rather than just the race? I'd be travelling from the North East so if I did just sunday, I probably don't need to plan too hard. If I do other days, I'd need to put a bit more thought into it. Slightly appealing seeing some of the other sessions as I assume they'll be quieter and I enjoy my photography so maybe those days would work better for that but is there likely to be much to do or any support races etc?

There will be support races on the Saturday and the Sunday morning

[marcosgt]

coppice said:

If you want to sit at home and celebrate the fact that you've saved £20 on parking, I wouldn't dream of spoiling your fun. I'm too old to summon enough righteous outrage about prices - I'd rather just enjoy the rare sight of WEC cars than see a few more quid in my bank account.

That's why I've traveled to Italy and Belgium over the last few years...

And, of course, I'll save £90, plus petrol and maybe awful food, not just the £20, by skipping the pleasure of Silverstone.

M

[coppice]

Except you won't save on the overall cost of attending at all when time , travel and accommodation are factored in . I don't especially enjoy the place , but I will happily attend Silverstone for stuff which interests me -most years it's the Pomeroy and Classic , plus the GP some years. 'I:m certainly not missing the chance to see WEC a mere three three hour drive away .

Edited by coppice on Tuesday 14th July 16:51

[LayZ]

I was thinking staying Saturday night in MK or Northampton and park and ride in and out. Will this just take ages and not be worth the bother?

[bergclimber34]

There is not really any data yet as to what the details are, pretty much local airfield, no idea on prices

[n3il123]

Silverstone have updated their FAQ for WEC detailing what grandstands will be open:

Which Grandstands Will Be Open Across the WEC Weekend?
A selection of grandstands will be open throughout the WEC weekend, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

🏁 Friday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
✅ Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

🏁 Saturday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
✅ Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

🏁 Sunday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
✅ Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

⚠️ Important to Know
No seat reservations are required.
Popular grandstands may fill up during headline sessions and races.
Arriving early is recommended if you have a preferred viewing location.







Seems a bit odd if they are going to use the wing that there will be none open at that end of the circuit. SO if you want to use the paddock tickets you'll have to get the bus down to the wing and then back again to use a grandstand.... unless they're going to use the old pits which would seem a bit odd...

[Truckosaurus]

Is there something fundamental that we are missing as to why they are reluctant to open the stands (I see there were plenty of comments from last weekend's 'classic' about lack of stands as well)?

I know they are obliged to have security staff on duty, but surely a few extra bodies on the payroll could be overcome by selling a couple of extra weekend tickets to those of us who only reluctantly attend.

[bergclimber34]

It is just money saving, every person you see attending has to be paid, that comes out if their take from the event.

They seem to base it on ore event ticket sales, so if the tickets start to really sell it might change.

[n3il123]

Truckosaurus said:

Is there something fundamental that we are missing as to why they are reluctant to open the stands (I see there were plenty of comments from last weekend's 'classic' about lack of stands as well)?

I know they are obliged to have security staff on duty, but surely a few extra bodies on the payroll could be overcome by selling a couple of extra weekend tickets to those of us who only reluctantly attend.

I do vaguely remember there being something about a covered grandstand attracting business rates hence why a lot of the MSV ones are uncovered (?) I wonder if there is something along those lines with the Silverstone ones, if they are used more than x days per year they are taxed?

Just a thought.

[btcc1721]

n3il123 said:

Silverstone have updated their FAQ for WEC detailing what grandstands will be open:

Which Grandstands Will Be Open Across the WEC Weekend?
A selection of grandstands will be open throughout the WEC weekend, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Friday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Saturday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Sunday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

?? Important to Know
No seat reservations are required.
Popular grandstands may fill up during headline sessions and races.
Arriving early is recommended if you have a preferred viewing location.







Seems a bit odd if they are going to use the wing that there will be none open at that end of the circuit. SO if you want to use the paddock tickets you'll have to get the bus down to the wing and then back again to use a grandstand.... unless they're going to use the old pits which would seem a bit odd...

Where have you seen that? The FAQs on Silverstone website say the list of grandstands are still to be confirmed.

That seems like a copy/paste of the ELMS grandstands from last year though. It would make zero sense to open National Pits if they're not using that pit lane (especially as the only Friday grandstand).

Also worth adding the BRDC grandstand has been renamed to Jim Clark grandstand this year, further adding to the theory this is last year's ELMS list

[n3il123]

It was om the desktop version (rather than mobile) yesterday.

It's definitely wec as it says it at the top! Whether some one has put it up in error I don't know

[FredericRobinson]

n3il123 said:

Silverstone have updated their FAQ for WEC detailing what grandstands will be open:

Which Grandstands Will Be Open Across the WEC Weekend?
A selection of grandstands will be open throughout the WEC weekend, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Friday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Saturday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

? Sunday
The following grandstands will be open:

BRDC
National Pit Straight
Woodcote B
Copse A
Luffield
? Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

?? Important to Know
No seat reservations are required.
Popular grandstands may fill up during headline sessions and races.
Arriving early is recommended if you have a preferred viewing location.







Seems a bit odd if they are going to use the wing that there will be none open at that end of the circuit. SO if you want to use the paddock tickets you'll have to get the bus down to the wing and then back again to use a grandstand.... unless they're going to use the old pits which would seem a bit odd...

Of course they'll open Woodcote B, never Woodcote A which has the better view, the classic example of the total indifference (at best) to ordinary paying spectators at Silverstone. It's never occurred to them to wonder why people are crammed down one end of the stand trying to see down the Wellington Straight, last time I was there they proceeded to send security in to close that end of the stand and move everyone to the other end. That was when I decided I was done with the place, that and the removal of the viewing at Maggotts in case we polluted the view from the concrete boxes.

[marcosgt]

coppice said:

Except you won't save on the overall cost of attending at all when time , travel and accommodation are factored in . I don't especially enjoy the place , but I will happily attend Silverstone for stuff which interests me -most years it's the Pomeroy and Classic , plus the GP some years. 'I:m certainly not missing the chance to see WEC a mere three three hour drive away .

Edited by coppice on Tuesday 14th July 16:51

Good for you - I'm off to Barcelona in October and working towards returning to Le Mans in 2027.

I'll happily watch the Silverstone race on TV - Of course, both my trips will cost more, but the cost of a visit to Silverstone will be more than half of my weekend in Barcelona (a city I've never visted before) or a good part of my trip to Le Mans.

In an ideal world, I'd go to all the races, but I have other things, like food, council tax, services and other interests, to cover as well, so if something is going, it's 100% the greedy Silverstone operators.

Barcelona race day ticket is £35, Monza (in November) a little more... Not sure if they also charge for parking, but I bet it's not £20 (for a location with no public transport links) if they do...

While I'm not a fan of Silverstone and never have been, in any of its formats, my gripe is the greed of the owners. £20 to park in a (quite likely) muddy field, when you have no options is nothing more than exploitation, especially when you're already charging twice (or more) what every other event in Europe is...

Price it more reasonably and provide free (or even fairly) priced parking (let's face it, there is no other practical way to get to Silverstone) and I'll be there.

Clearly, though, Silverstone don't care, because the WEC hype is strong at the moment and there will be plenty of people prepared to pay £90 to be there, same as people will pay £350 to see Formula One...

FredericRobinson said:

Of course they'll open Woodcote B, never Woodcote A which has the better view, the classic example of the total indifference (at best) to ordinary paying spectators at Silverstone. It's never occurred to them to wonder why people are crammed down one end of the stand trying to see down the Wellington Straight, last time I was there they proceeded to send security in to close that end of the stand and move everyone to the other end. That was when I decided I was done with the place, that and the removal of the viewing at Maggotts in case we polluted the view from the concrete boxes.

No Stowe, either? Probably the best stand to watch from, seeing the car come down the Hangar Straight, through the Vale all the way to club...

M

Edited by marcosgt on Thursday 30th July 09:58

[bergclimber34]

Pringle does every event on a minimal budget to maximise profit and expenditure, apart from F1 ciz he can pretty much charge whatever he wants and hundreds of thousands if morons hand it over without question.

Every other event is run on the smallest expenditure possible.

Which is why this place since he started running it is now very unpopular with most fans.

Some don't care, and will happily pay for stuff they should really not have to, but I feel the tide is turning, the bike crowd have clearly said no, and I think in time car fqns will drift away too.

He is very lucky F1s boom came when it did, as that is papering over the fact this place really is almost anti race fan at times, compared to ANY other venue in the UK

[boxedin]

In another timeline MSV would own Silverstone.

Silverstone isn't run for peasant spectators - they're only allowed in to help justify it's existence.

[Accidentalhero]

We’ve decided to give the Goodwood Members meeting a miss in 2027 and do this instead so it’s working out that a day in Northamptonshire is considerably cheaper than a day in Hampshire!

…however looked at race day tickets and wanted to add a pit walk (for my old man who is now nearly 80!) and couldn’t work out how to add the pit walk as I could only select admission tickets, hope it’s just my ineptitude but they don’t help themselves!

[ExoPunk]

Accidentalhero said:

however looked at race day tickets and wanted to add a pit walk (for my old man who is now nearly 80!) and couldn t work out how to add the pit walk as I could only select admission tickets, hope it s just my ineptitude but they don t help themselves!

Had the same issue when I tried to add camping - not intuitive at all! Add your general admission, then continue to what you'd believe to be the payment page. Only then will you be offered to add extras such as the pit walk or camping.