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Silverstone 2013


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#101 SpartanChas

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 18:16

Completely agree about the after party acts. F1 forum and interviews last year were great, but a Blondie TRIBUTE act? Come on! They were really good, but a Blondie tribute act?

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#102 blackmme

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 18:32

Completely agree about the after party acts. F1 forum and interviews last year were great, but a Blondie TRIBUTE act? Come on! They were really good, but a Blondie tribute act?

To be fair I think Blondie are now a Blondie tribute act so it might have been them :-)
I think it was back in 2006 that we had the real Status Quo, not my cup of tea but let's face it they did open Live Aid.....
Jools Holland always went down well but I guess it's simple economics you can either pay Bernie or Jools.

Regards Mike


#103 MinT

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 18:41

I agree the organisers at Silverstone are just very lazy.

The entertainment is awful and an embarrassment - Singapore gets headline acts every night - we get X Factor failures and tribute acts. If they really want people to stay and see the show rather than clog the roads - then book some better bands.

The food also is all the same and is poor quality and very expensive. Facilities awful.

You do however get to see all the rich and the corporate hangers on getting chaufferred into the Wing - great !.

I am one of those who decided against going this year for the first time in ages - just realised it was 3 days where I was struggling to enjoy it and paying a lot for the sake of it.

#104 blackmme

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 18:53

I agree the organisers at Silverstone are just very lazy.

The entertainment is awful and an embarrassment - Singapore gets headline acts every night - we get X Factor failures and tribute acts. If they really want people to stay and see the show rather than clog the roads - then book some better bands.

The food also is all the same and is poor quality and very expensive. Facilities awful.

You do however get to see all the rich and the corporate hangers on getting chaufferred into the Wing - great !.

I am one of those who decided against going this year for the first time in ages - just realised it was 3 days where I was struggling to enjoy it and paying a lot for the sake of it.


My wife was close to that point of view this year MinT. The simple fact is in Singapore every tax payer contributes to the race in the UK it's the 100,000 or so race goers. In my opinion that's probably the right way.

Trust me though you are treated far better and have facilities far better than if you went to Reading, Leeds or Glastonbury where you are treated with contempt......

Regards Mike



#105 chrisblades85

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 19:08

I don't want to moan too much about about the entertainment as its obviously not the reason why we go. I'd rather pay a tenner less on my ticket then to be treated to Chico like the other year for example.

#106 LBDN

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 19:29


Having attended F1 races for around the last 10 years, the thing that is really starting to grate on me ( perhaps with old age !) is the fact generally speaking the majority of motor racing events that true motor sport enthusiasts attend are not in my opinion exceptionally excessive in terms of price. Take for example BTCC, DTM at Brands, F3 , GT racing, even uk stock car racing. All are what i would class as reasonably priced events for the level of entertainment.

Then you have F1 which is so ridiculously priced in comparison it seems ridiculous. I appreciate that Silverstone have to recover the costs somehow given the amount bernie charges and i would gladly accept the price if silverstone were more creative on how they could provide fans with value for money in other ways i.e entertainment etc.

Silverstone are limited in what they can do about ticket prices to cover the cost of hosting the race, but they certainly are in control of how they entertain the fans while they are there.

I'm not attending this year for the first time in 10 years. I camped last year and the weather did not put me off one bit, however the feeling of it being poor value has certainly started to creep in now.

#107 TimRTC

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 20:52

I guess a lot of it is simply that a great many people will come whatever the facilities. Adding better concert performers, more reliable toilets, covered seating for food is not going to bring any more fans in and for every fan who decides to stay away, another will come to give it a try.

#108 pingu666

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 21:50

i dunno, alot of people go to le mans, or nascar events

silverstone is lacking so much spectator side vs le mans, facilities and nice things.

got tickets for presscot hillclimb, 25quid for 2 days, lovely place to be, can walk around paddock too.. :)


#109 joshb

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 21:54

Never been to Silverstone (or any GP) but comments here are reaffirming to me that I should do it once for the experience but not again. The Brits know how to rip the average die-hard punter off whilst the corporates who don't give a toss are whisked in for free

#110 ApexMouse

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 22:05

Replace 'the brits' with 'F1'

#111 joshb

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 22:18

Replace 'the brits' with 'F1'

Is it really a worldwide thing though? Malaysia does dirt cheap tickets apparently and Silverstone is about the 4th most expensive, so if F1 can rip people off, the Brits rip you off worse than most

#112 TimRTC

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 22:50

...whilst the corporates who don't give a toss are whisked in for free


Same in every sport and just events in general (eg. some of the big airshows where people with connection to the trade side get luxury treatment)

Sadly working in optics does not get you tickets to anything :cry:

Is it really a worldwide thing though? Malaysia does dirt cheap tickets apparently and Silverstone is about the 4th most expensive, so if F1 can rip people off, the Brits rip you off worse than most


Not really surprising, Britain is one of the wealthiest countries on the global tour these days that actually has domestic race fans (ie. excluding the Middle Eastern oil-fund races).

Edited by TimRTC, 29 May 2013 - 22:54.


#113 Buttoneer

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 23:37

Is it really a worldwide thing though? Malaysia does dirt cheap tickets apparently and Silverstone is about the 4th most expensive, so if F1 can rip people off, the Brits rip you off worse than most

It's all relative. Things are expensive here because we all earn lots of money in relative global terms. A crappy burger van burger might cost you £6 without chips which is about three times the price of a burger in a local fast food outlet. In Hungary we were paying five times the amount you might pay in Budapest centre. It was 500ft for a small 500ml water at the circuit or 175ft for a 2lt bottle near my hotel. In that regard, the Hungarians are crooks, right?

#114 Clatter

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Posted 30 May 2013 - 12:07

Our tickets have arrived which always makes the heart beat a little faster.
We set off for Woodlands in four weeks tomorrow, wooooo hoooooo!

Can't wait.

Regards Mike


I'm glad they send them out early now. A few years ago they wouldn't arrive until a week (or less) before the race. Now that got the heart pumping, but for the wrong reason.

#115 Clatter

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Posted 30 May 2013 - 12:13

Is it really a worldwide thing though? Malaysia does dirt cheap tickets apparently and Silverstone is about the 4th most expensive, so if F1 can rip people off, the Brits rip you off worse than most


You can't compare a state sponsored race with the BGP. It's not the Brits that are ripping people off.


#116 Linus27

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Posted 30 May 2013 - 13:02

Agree with everything Elissa and AlanK have said about the British GP. Having been about 5 times, every year it has gotten worse. Over priced race tickets, over priced poor quality food, merchandise stands are over priced with no team stands these days. Very poor facilities and if I am honest, the grandstands are just so far away that its not worth it any more. Even last year when we camped in Silverstones own campsite, they packed us in so tight that I could not even pitch my 2 man tent. They had a big meeting area with tent which showed the Italian job on Friday evening but after that, nothing else apart from things on repeat which was nothing interesting. So, I won't be visiting the British GP any more unless things improve.

Edited by Linus27, 30 May 2013 - 13:03.


#117 goingthedistance

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Posted 30 May 2013 - 13:30

Well we picked up a couple of weekend tickets for Club Corner off eBay, should be interesting to see if the negativity for this circuit is well founded. It's the only track we'll ever be within driving distance of home for, so figured we may as well give it a go.

#118 Cavani

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Posted 30 May 2013 - 14:49

is Elissa the lebanese singer ? oh i hope so

#119 F1ultimate

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Posted 31 May 2013 - 13:13

Can anyone recommend some half decent B&B or accommodation that is within reasonable walking distance to the circuit. I will have GA tickets and want the journey to and from the circuit to be as smooth as possible.

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#120 blackmme

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Posted 31 May 2013 - 15:18

Can anyone recommend some half decent B&B or accommodation that is within reasonable walking distance to the circuit. I will have GA tickets and want the journey to and from the circuit to be as smooth as possible.


The only one I could personally have recommended would have been booked by last October. Your best bet now is something in a location accessible for the park and ride. Northampton, Towcester (I think) and Bicester IIRC.

Regards Mike

#121 markeimas27

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Posted 03 June 2013 - 15:38

The arrogance and ignorance of the F1 personnel will be the downfall of the sport. Considering they are meant to be the educated, intelligent individuals their attitude to the sport and fans is awful.

With less than 4 weeks until the British GP there are still tickets in 11 grandstands available as well as general admission. I can not see it selling out this year. In my opinion this has nothing to do with Vettel winning all of the time ( which he`s not really doing this year anyway! ). Its the economy, people having bad experiences last year, The free live coverage on the BBC being restricted to 9 races this year, its turned so many casual viewers away. However, the biggest issue is price. Yes, Glastonbury might be £200, a football match might be £50 but general admission prices have risen from less than £100 to £165 in 6 years. Thats a 65% increase in 6 years, during a recession.

The wing is great but we don`t go to the wing do we? A few weeks back I attended the WEC event. The toilet block behind Club grandstand ( yes, THE toilet block expected to service about 15000 people ) had no power....no lights, no hand driers working, and of course the toilet door lock was missing. Thats just bloody abysmal treatment for the customer.
At the entrance to the pedestrian tunnel on the Hangar straight the same inch of mud that was washed off the banking during last years GP was still all over the pavement.

I have requested on numerous occasions that we have access to the circuit on the Thursday. So many other circuits allow this and do pit lane walks etc. I get the same reply every time which is that FOM will not allow this. I even provided Silverstone with a link this week advertising a fans open day at Canada next week. Needless to say I had no reply. I don`t believe them anymore. The only way you can get near the paddock is if you win a competition by humiliating yourself playing air guitar on stage somewhere. Its so bloody patronising.
Silverstone constantly promot the free after race party. 1st of all, its not free. The budget comes from the customers. And who picks the entertainment? This year we have X factor failures again!

There also used to be lots of off track activities. All of the team stands no longer exist. Its just merchandise now.
There is also no where to sit undercover to eat and drink. No marquees or anything. You have to sit on a wet bench in the rain.

There are so many simple improvements that could be made but it would appear that the will is just not there.

All said and done, I`ll be there. Arriving Tuesday at Whittlebury which is so much better than the official Silverstone site. They allow simple things like people in caravans and trailer tents to pitch up next to friends in tents without insisting you go to seperate fields. ( a rule Silverstone announced just last week after customers had already booked and paid! ). I put up with the poor service to see the F1 and meet fellow fans. There is a special spirit amongst the fans on the banking at 6am. ( I`ve been in about every grandstand but GA has the best atmosphere by far ).
See you there



I totally agree with this post. I wonder how many of you ever take the time to get in touch with the circuit management though? Their email addresses are all publicly available as are their job roles. It's all firstname.surname@silverstone.co.uk

Richard Phillips their MD had done a pretty decent job until the last 2 years where he seemed to neglect the venue and the blindingly obvious. E.g. the more than realistic chance of a British weather on-slaught. I even noticed at one point last year he rather shamelessly used his PR lady at the circuit Katie Tyler as the 'fall guy' as she was the one doing all the 'front man' work. This is no football club, but should another disaster occur this year, no doubt they will (quite rightly) lose their jobs.