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Moto GP have announced they are using the old pit and paddock at Silverstone this year as its more accessible for fans and that the entertainment etc is more centralised. Richard Phillips of Silverstone claims they cannot afford to build a tunnel or bridge to the new complex for now. Seems like a bit of a disaster for the circuit to me. Although the new wing is mighty impressive the stadium feel of the old layout has been lost as has some of the atmosphere in my opinion.

The fact that access to the new wing is limited actually mirrors the way the relationship between average fan and F1 is. Out of reach and mysterious as to what goes on behind the garage and in the paddock.

There was a survey out last year asking about F1 fan accessibility and if you'd like a paddock walk at the British GP on the Thursday (answer yes please!) but the following question chilled me

Q: how much would you be willing to pay for it?

My answer was: it should be included in the price of a three day ticket you cheeky milking b*****ds!

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Multi 21 or Catch 22?!

It ain't hating just 'cause it's not love

I have contacted Silverstone numerous times about access on the Thursday. They claim that the FIA or FOM will not allow it but it is allowed at other circuits. See Japan and Monza!
The last I heard was that they were considering it for this year but with just 4 months to go and no press release I wouldn`t hold your breath

I went to the wing for a corporate event, it is a right trek to drive to plus going over Bridge is quite hairy as it is single track so you are hoping no mad wannabe racer is coming from the other direction

F1 is shockingly expensive. If you consider that actual time of entertainment is much higher at a festival, and they are considerably cheaper (grandstand ticket and camping to Silverstone is about £350+, last time I went to Download or Sonisphere they were less than £200 (actually, Sonisphere was free as we won tickets). At those, you get about 3 days of 12 hours of bands - 36 hours. I know it is apples and oranges, but the price differential is bloody massive. If they did a thursday tour, I say let it be free for those with weekend passes. Thursday is quiet (even compared to Friday). give the real diehard fans a break!

I really cannot believe that Silverstone ever thought it was good idea to open the Wing without a bridge or tunnel for the fans to get access - obviously not such an issue for F1, but for any championship that offers access it becomes a complete nightmare. A choice between seeing the cars and teams in the paddock OR getting a good grandstand seat and actually seeing the racing. A huge oversight. I think it was a brave choice for MotoGP to move it back and I'd be interested to see if any other championships...BTCC, WEC etc follow suit.

Then again, an international rugby ticket is maybe £65 for 80 minutes of play, an f1 weekend ticket includes all the practice and quali sessions as well as the race and also has the support classes on top of it.

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"Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?"

Give 'em hell Dani!

British Driver Supporter (and Daniel Ricciardo)

Good lad... Too bloody right. Would be disgusted if they charged for it on top of a 3-day ticket

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#10

The BTCC have never used the wing complex. The last couple of years since it was built they continued to use the Club Circuit and the old pit and paddock.

Ah good point, of course they don't, what with running on the National Circuit. Thanks JonA. Please replace BTCC in my original post with any other appropriate championship.

A couple of years ago I asked Alan Gow about it on the BTCC forum:

http://www.btcc.net/forum/showthread.ph ... stone-wing

Silverstone were in an impossible position though. Bernie had a gun to their head and, as we're now seeing, what Bernie demanded was at odds with what the fans wanted, or at least Silverstone couldn't afford to reconcile the two in the short term. But apart from the fans who choose to sit opposite the new pits, who does it affect? I don't mean to say those fans don't matter, but weighed against the tens of millions watching on TV...

It's a shame but it sounds unavoidable, and the plan is to resolve the issue (both of fan access and limited pit/paddock size), so I'm for giving Silverstone the benefit of the doubt. Copse IS the first corner though!

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Klaus Kinski: making me question my heroes since January 2013

Thanks for the link, was interesting to read Alan's views. It is interesting though how some championships choose to run from one paddock, and others decide to be split, I wonder what the reasons for those that choose split are, (obviously F1 don't mind so much - if they can cope with the separate paddocks at Monaco they can cope anywhere).

Balibari - It does affect fans who attend for events other than F1, the new pit building is quite difficult to get to and offers few if any grandstands nearby which is a shame if there is an open paddock. Silverstone did have a choice, with the amount they spent on that pit building and the changes they had to make to that general area of the track, a pedestrian bridge would not have been too much of a stretch.