This weekend - some advice please

[JBAFCB]

Wondered if anyone here could give me some advice?

I'll be there on Saturday for my first ever time to F1 qualiy, pretty damn excited about it as well

Anyway I was aiming to get there for 7am. Is this early enough from any previous experiences? What's the car park like for getting in and out?

And finally where's the best corner/s to watch that action?

Cheers

[Allyc85]

Watch qualy from the entrance to Becketts, it will blow your mind :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlyYdTdcuuE&playnext_from=TL&videos=9Vx6h526bJA

[Saint Devote]

Wondered if anyone here could give me some advice?

I'll be there on Saturday for my first ever time to F1 qualiy, pretty damn excited about it as well

Anyway I was aiming to get there for 7am. Is this early enough from any previous experiences? What's the car park like for getting in and out?

And finally where's the best corner/s to watch that action?

Cheers

Treasure and savour the experience because it can never be as enormous as the first time you witness the sight, sound and sensation of f1 cars :D :s mokin:

[Dave B]

Anyway I was aiming to get there for 7am. Is this early enough from any previous experiences? What's the car park like for getting in and out?
Depends if you have reserved seats or general admission. 7 will be ok if you have your seats allocated, but I guess if you're asking where to watch from you have GA.

If that's the case, you'll be ok on Saturday but for the Sunday you really want to be setting your alarm for an ungodly hour to bag a good spot - the last time I went on general admission I was in the queue at 4-ish ready to storm Club.

My advice would be not to forget the support races and sessions - you can use these to test out various vantage points. If you can get there on the Friday even better. Decide where you want to sit for race day and set up camp as early as you can.

Enjoy :D

[Rusty Spanner]

Anyway I was aiming to get there for 7am. Is this early enough from any previous experiences? What's the car park like for getting in and out?

And finally where's the best corner/s to watch that action?

Cheers

The traditional Silverstone traffic jam is much improved now with the expansion of the A43 and the main entrance road. Plus all the park and ride schemes help. I've done lots of Sundays but the last couple of years I've been on Saturday and had no trouble at all getting in. I don't know where you're coming from but the trick I find is to approach from South using the Dadford Road. As you get near the circuit you’ll find the golf club and a lot of the farmers offering camping and parking. I usually park in the field right next door to the official south Silverstone car park and then walk into the circuit between Club and Stowe.
Getting out again you head south on the Dadford Road. To start with it’s a little slow because it’s not much more than a country lane and usually there are a lot of people on foot walking back to cars and campsites but it frees up pretty quick. When you reach the A422 there will be signs directing traffic for the M40 towards Brackley. Trouble with this is you’ll rejoin all the traffic coming out of the circuit on the A43. So best thing to do is ignore the signs, cross straight over the A422 and go on to Tinglewick. You can then choose to either then take the A421 west and rejoin the A43 after Brackley – I don’t do this, so don’t know what it’s like – or keep heading south towards Bicester and join the M40 there.

A word of warning. You cannot drive past the circuit on the Dadford Road. It essentially becomes one way feeding into the circuit from both north and south. Then at the end of the day it swaps around with everything coming out. Also if you come up from the south on the Dadford Road I don’t know what official car parks you’ll be able to access. I’ve very rarely used the official car parks.

I fear I may have given away too much!




And finally where's the best corner/s to watch that action?

Cheers

Becketts is good and depending on what tickets you’ve got its worth getting on the outside of Copse looking down the pit straight. Another place worth considering – although not as spectacular - is the outside of Club looking back through the Vale. Get the right spot here and you can see the cars pretty much all the way from Stowe up to Abbey.

[SGWilko]

My experience of watching the race at the circuit in the summer is this;

Take lots of sun cream, and keep applying it.

The skin on my nose literally fell off on the Monday following the race in 1991.

Looked a right tw4t on the train on the way to work, I can tell you. :p

And it hurt like fornication too!

[I am evil Homer]

Same here a few years back when Montoya won...put sunblock on, forgot to re-apply...became a redneck. Not a good look

[Mark]

If that's the case, you'll be ok on Saturday but for the Sunday you really want to be setting your alarm for an ungodly hour to bag a good spot - the last time I went on general admission I was in the queue at 4-ish ready to storm Club.

My advice would be not to forget the support races and sessions - you can use these to test out various vantage points. If you can get there on the Friday even better. Decide where you want to sit for race day and set up camp as early as you can.

Enjoy :D

Always a pity when it's like that. I know at Touring Car races I like to spend some time watching and some time wandering. Having to sit on the same spot all day would be rubbish!

[steveaki13]

Treasure and savour the experience because it can never be as enormous as the first time you witness the sight, sound and sensation of f1 cars :D :s mokin:


Couldn't agree more, the first time you go, you just can't believe it, you feel like you can't take it all in.

I remember watching the support events and thinking wow how can it get loader and faster than this.

But I soon learned it could. Fantastic.

Enjoy every minute of it JBAFCB

[steveaki13]

Another thing I found was I kept on taking Photo's and film of everything, my advice would be not to take to many.

I found afterwards I had spent half the sessions looking through a lense.

I would only take a few photo's if you are going to and then sit back and watch the action.

[philipbain]

I'm at the British GP too this weekend, will be there from Friday through to Sunday and although I seem to spend my summers year after year perpetually watching motor racing this will be the first time i've attended a Grand Prix, though I have seen F1 cars in action before, namely the Goodwood Festival Of Speed in 2001, though there was only a single run done in an F1 car that was actually going for it, Takuma Sato in a 2001 BAR-Honda on his final run on the Friday, still remember it well, whilst I don't have any particular memories of the other drivers dicking about doing burnouts! (Thats right Jenson Button, contrary to what you say, true F1 fans don't want to see F1 drivers doing burnouts, they want to see the cars going quickly, I get the feeling the big boys are too $hit scared to attack the hill - not Sato!) And I was also in attendance at the Regent Street F1 demo back in 2004, as were tens of thousands of others, though unlike most I did actually see the cars! Looking forward to seeing the sheer majesty of F1 up close and personal doing what they are meant to do. Anyone else on here camping at Silverstone?

[philipbain]

Another thing I found was I kept on taking Photo's and film of everything, my advice would be not to take to many.

I found afterwards I had spent half the sessions looking through a lense.

I would only take a few photo's if you are going to and then sit back and watch the action.

I agree, I've learnt over years of going to hill climbs that if you take photos of everything you don't actually end up seeing the event! I recommend taking lots of photos during practice sessions and suchlike, leaving you free to watch and enjoy the race.

[JBAFCB]

Thank you to all for your very useful replies

I'm coming from Bournemouth in Dorset and go to Silverstone every year to watch the BTCC and can usually do it in 2hrs. At least I hope so at 5am!

I've been a huge Jensie Button fan right from the very start in 2000 and have never been so excited about a motorsport event. I've only ever seen him at Goodwood festival of speed so I'm counting down the hrs! Only ever been to F1 once before..Friday practice 1996 and at 11 I didn't really appreciate it

I think we're in for a classic weekend as well, really hard to call let's just hope McLaren's update works

Thanks again

[steveaki13]

Thank you to all for your very useful replies

I'm coming from Bournemouth in Dorset and go to Silverstone every year to watch the BTCC and can usually do it in 2hrs. At least I hope so at 5am!

I've been a huge Jensie Button fan right from the very start in 2000 and have never been so excited about a motorsport event. I've only ever seen him at Goodwood festival of speed so I'm counting down the hrs! Only ever been to F1 once before..Friday practice 1996 and at 11 I didn't really appreciate it

I think we're in for a classic weekend as well, really hard to call let's just hope McLaren's update works

Thanks again


Hope you all really enjoy your weekends. I hope to go again next year.

[Allyc85]

Thank you to all for your very useful replies

I'm coming from Bournemouth in Dorset and go to Silverstone every year to watch the BTCC and can usually do it in 2hrs. At least I hope so at 5am!

I've been a huge Jensie Button fan right from the very start in 2000 and have never been so excited about a motorsport event. I've only ever seen him at Goodwood festival of speed so I'm counting down the hrs! Only ever been to F1 once before..Friday practice 1996 and at 11 I didn't really appreciate it

I think we're in for a classic weekend as well, really hard to call let's just hope McLaren's update works

Thanks again

It should be an awesome weekend. Where ever you watch from have a great time :D

[Powered by Cosworth]

Free Practice at 50 quid a ticket, sit anywhere, and free parking, is a bit of a bargain so i'll be off to that! Well, cheap compared to the raceday tickets :(