VVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR OOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM....t here they go, 2 minutes until I see them again...... (Silverstone Circuit)

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Silverstone Circuit
Date:	08/07/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free race days (Renault World Series), access to different parts of the track

Disadvantages: Traffic congestion on exit, F1 grand prix is expensive

Despite not being a huge fan of motor racing, 2 weeks after the 2009 British Grand Prix, the Renault World Series motor sport event was held at the Silverstone circuit, and offered free tickets to the weekend's racing, exhibitions, demonstrations and more. Everybody likes a freebie, and I was heading down the M1 for the weekend to Wimbledon and the Royal Albert Hall (see my other reviews!), I decided to pick up a couple of tickets and try something new.

Having heard about people's negative experiences of Silverstone previously in reviews of the British Grand Prix, one thing stood out. 'Traffic is horrendous'. Happily, with the Renault World Series event, despite all of the free tickets, because the event was spaced out over a weekend, with a variety of things throughout the day, I think people's arrival times were more staggered, and as a result, the journey from the M40 motorway was surprisingly pain free. Parking was situated in a large number of adjacent fields to the circuit, and for this event at least, was totally free. Again, bargain!

To the circuit itself, a short 10 minute walk from Car Park 50, and despite the bottleneck of punters trying to get from the car park to the entrance over a small bridge, entrance to the venue was relatively painless, and unusually for such a major sporting destination, no bag checks were in operation! Had I realised in advance, I would have brought more refreshments with me, rather than pay over the odds (£3.50 a pint) for a beer inside the venue itself. Lesson learnt for next year though, there were many people with picnic hampers, coolboxes and the like, so I don't think bringing your own food & drink is discouraged at all. Again, whether this is different for the F1 Grand Prix, I'm not sure, but for smaller events like the Renault World Series, there was no problem at all bringing anything you wanted into the track.

Because the circuit is over a mile in length, the scale of the place is quite overwhelming at first, particularly for somebody like me who is more used to football, cricket and rugby stadiums! Dotted around the circuit are several grandstands from which to view the action. I watched the start of the main 3.5 series race from the main grandstand (opposite the pit lane), and the sheer noise of 20 cars revving their engines and racing down the home straight at once was pretty overwhelming! I strongly suggest you do the sensible thing and bring along some earplugs if you plan to sit here for any event!

Further down the home straight is the Copse Corner stand, and as the first corner on the track, offers a great view of the cars as they grip the track and zip right past you. Opposite this stand is a big screen, which is really good for relaying what is happening in the race once the cars have flown past you every lap.

The other stand that I visited on my trip to Silverstone was Luffield, which offered a really good view of 3 corners on the approach to the finish line. I was lucky enough to see a couple of collisions and skids on this series of bends when I was there (let's be honest, everyone likes to see a crash!) and this was the best place that I had found to watch the action from.

On quieter days, access to Silverstone appears quite unrestricted, and I was able to walk through the paddock area and have a look at some of the action behind the scenes. The best part of the day was the promise of a 'pit walk', allowing visitors the chance to walk down the pit lane, have a look at some of the 3.5 series cars up close, and look at the operation that goes on in the garages. In theory, this was the best part of the day...in reality, every other person at Silverstone had a similar idea, and once I'd actually made it through the queue to get access, I had 5 mins of being pushed and pulled along with hundreds of other people, and didn't really get a good view of anything at all. Disappointing, but if you wanted to get a feel for the pit experience, it's better than nothing.

Comparing this circuit to the only other race track I have visited (Belgium's Spa, which I stumbled upon almost by accident earlier this year when driving through Europe), Silverstone is far less picturesque, and much flatter, but the facilities are a lot more modern, and the owners have clearly spent some money investing in some of the older parts of the circuit.

If current plans are upheld, this year's British Grand Prix will be the last at Silverstone, as the race is intended to move to Donnington Park from 2010, an unpopular move with fans and drivers alike, who like Silverstone's history, speed and race day experience. I certainly enjoyed my time there, and if you can pick up a free ticket to one of the smaller events in the calendar, it's well worth a visit. For me personally, as a non-motorsport fan who was just looking to try something new, I wouldn't pay the £100+ to see a grand prix race day, as the cars really do race by you at such a speed that you end up watching large parts of the race on the big screens anyway!

Getting away from the circuit took longer than it did to park up on arrival, but we still exited the car park within 30 mins of trying to leave, and were back on the motorway for the continuation of the trip to London shortly after.

I had no idea what to expect, but if you're a petrolhead and haven't yet smelt the burning of rubber on Northamptonshire's famous circuit, it's worth a visit. Just remember the earplugs!

Summary: A must for a petrolhead, fun & potentially free for everybody else