Tickets for the British GP went on sale yesterday... I am wondering where people recommend to sit? The most expensive tickets are 399GBP... not sure if they are located in a good place on the track or somewhere else is better? (they boast about being near parking, concessions, etc, but it may be a lesser priced ticket has a better view?) Definitely want to sit in a grandstand with covered seating. I don't care about the start finish line, prefer to sit where there is more action. Suggestions?
Does your ticket site already list the new grandstands with the changed track layout? Going forward the best seats will be in that new stadium complex near Maggots. I was in Luffield and Copse. Copse was very unimpressive, but Luffield is interesting as you see several different turns. Despite the $$$ I would also highly recommend you rent a helicopter to get there. They take off from the nearest train station and avoid the traffic jam. PS: My biggest question at Silverstone was very similar to yours. But with an 'h'.
I was at Farm in '07. It was the place where massa overtook a lot of people. No covered seating though, although we had great weather! If it's going to rain the last section is pretty good. I forgot what it's called.
I was in Copse in '07 and really enjoyed those seats. You can see the main straight-start/finish, the pit exit, Copse corner and the cars bombing down in to Maggots/Becketts. It's also covered, which didn't matter when I was there because there was no rain, but would certainly be a plus in a downpour. I'd also highly recommend going Friday and walking the entire circuit. It's not a bad walk at all, and you get some spectacular views of the cars especially around Maggots/Becketts and Chapel. Mark
I watched at copse on the friday and while it was entertaining for a bit it didn't leave up to the hype. Everyone always says that it's a must experience to see an F1 car accelerating towards you and 'at the last second' downshift and turn right. You really need to be about 30 meters closer to make it seem worthwhile IMO. The runoff is HUGE. What does a helo right in cost? I can imagine if you're in a hotel the traffic jam will be HUGE. I was at the campsite (I can't recommend you enough to stay away from them, not due to the fact that I hate camping but them misadvertising it being £15 per night but it costing £150 for two nights. No running water (well, unless you count icewater), no electricity...just don't).
HA! I was standing next to some American's that day at Maggots/Becketts. Good chance it could have been you!
Luffield Exactly. A few years ago it was something like $ 400 bucks. Nothing to sneeze at, but avoiding sitting for hours in a traffic jam might be worth it. Plus it is the thing to do at Silverstone. Admittedly I was too cheap to go for helo, but I made that wrong decision before I sat in the traffic jam. If I ever go back to Silverstone (which I doubt) I would only with a helicopter.
Thanks for the info. The site I am looking at is the Silverstone track site, it says "track layout may change" or something, but I don't think the latest changes have been unveiled yet, have they? As for heli in/out, I would do it depending on price... but $400 just to avoid traffic is on the extreme high end of my "how much will I pay to avoid hassle" scale I thought I read that Helis were $750 (maybe that was round trip and it's $400 per way?). But honestly, I know traffic sucks... and I was thinking about looking at one of those coach services to/from the track, so while it will still take 2-3 hours to get out of there, at least you can sit back and relax and let someone else deal with it. Suggestions on getting to/from the track, other than driving myself?
They have, but it is unclear whether they will build them in time for the 2010 GP: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139184580&postcount=10
I was still a cheap student when I was so I wouldn't have had the money for it... I lived in the UK then and I went there by train. I spend £45 each way (US$90 at the time!) for a very short taxi ride. I asked several taxi drivers and they all have the same fare. IMO, arriving by helo and spending 4x as much wouldn't bother me in the slightest if I ever went again. The traffic jam we sat in on the friday wasn't as bad, but on the way back on sunday it was madness.
I had a wonderful time at the '96 British GP when Jacques won and was in a crowd full of people at Club corner giving MS the finger when his car crapped out right in front of us. Rather than doing the whole helo thing, (I was in law school and attending classes at Oxford at the time) I rented some camping equipment and took the bus from Oxford to Silverstone. I paid 15 quid to camp out in a field with several thousand other fans who had driven in from all over, and as the weather was nice it wasn't a giant mud bog. It's a great opportunity to meet people and talk about racing, which is what I did until 2am. The mobile bathroom facilities are decent, and for me it was a great way to spend a weekend among other race fans.
Fast forward 13 years and you'll pay 10x as much, the bathrooms (both on track and on the fields) are bloody disgusting and you'll sit opposite a far to horny and far to ugly 45 year old drinking till 4am.
If you look at this plan: http://www.londonsight.com/silverstone.htm#silverstone%20circuit One thing I can tell you is that if you're in woodcote A or B or in Luffield C and a breeze gets up from either direction around the pit straight, it's gonna get cold, even if it's 90 degrees F out in the open!. Trouble with these stands is that they act like a wind scoop and accelerate the wind causing it to drop in temperature. I got caught out with that the first time I went to watch the British Touring Cars. We were sweltering outside the stand and shivering inside it. I made sure I had a sweatshirt with Me the second time I went.
I quite like the Abbey Chicane area, you get a good view of the cars as they are going slower and you often see a bit of action there.
I stewarded at the GP in 07 and 08. 07 was situated at Becketts which gave a good view of the cars coming down from Maggots and then accelerating down the start of Hangar straight, it was also undercover. The only problem is I think it is one of the more expensive area's as it is "club silverstone" seating. 08 was at the bottom of Hangar straight so had a good view of the cars coming down and cornering at Stowe. Unfortunately it wasn't under cover so thanks to last years brilliant conditions ended up getting absolutely soaked!
it appears that if you want to go to this race, you best get tickets ASAP... autosport 3 March 16:30 GMT Silverstone has announced that the general admission race-day tickets for this year's British Grand Prix have now sold out. The British track said the demand has been very high since it was confirmed that the race would stay at the Northamptonshire-based circuit. Three-day grandstand and individual day tickets for practice and qualifying on the Saturday are still available. "British Grand Prix tickets have been selling well over the last few months, but we still have a long way to go to sell-out in all areas," said Richard Phillips, Silverstone's managing director. "Fans have made the most of our early booking offers and the 'General Admission' tickets are always among the first to sell-out. Whilst they don't offer access to grandstands, fans enjoy being able to watch the action from different locations, on raised banks around the circuit. "These tickets are extremely popular, and have sold out even faster than in previous years."
Bigs thanks for that Carol, hell you are on the ball this year. And don't fear Andreas .. Silverstone Circuits has announced that it has chosen Heli Air to operate a permanent heliport at the Silverstone facility. There are plans for a new purpose built facility, to provide visitors with helicopter experiences, charter, flight training and full heliport facilities. Heli Air Silverstone has also become the exclusive user of the circuit for the weekend of the 2010 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix, although private pilots with the correct qualifications will be able to land and take-off as well. Heli Air has 20 years of operating experience, provides a full range of helicopter services around the UK and abroad. It will take over the management of the Silverstone heliport at the start of April. There are still some slots available for the British GP weekend.
If you visit the Silverstone website, and go to Tracks>Circuit Maps>The MotoGP Circuit - you will see the layout of the new GP circuit. It's under construction now, so should be ready. Looking at the ticket price section, most of the covered grand stands are already sold out for Sunday - but there is Arena B (new section) and Vale available - both are good options. Good luck with the plans!
