JULY 21, 2000
Silverstone announce new travel plans for British Grand Prix
The Northamptonshire-circuit is only provisionally included in the calendar for the 2001 championship pending an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in October, where Silverstone must convince the council that there will not be a repeat of the rain hit 2000 event.
Thousands of spectators were left stranded in impassable muddy car-parks or stuck in miles of traffic jams around the circuit. But Silverstone's plans to limit parking and encourage car sharing is the first step in salvaging their damaged reputation.
Public car-parking at Silverstone will be limited to 18,000 spaces and only vehicles with a new-style official car pass will be admitted.
To obtain the new pass Silverstone have imposed certain restrictions. One pass will only be sold to bookings of two to four people, two passes will only be sold to bookings of five to eight people and so on. Single ticket bookings will not qualify for a car pass and coach or bus services will instead be offered.
"People tend to use the car to travel to major sporting events by force of habit," explained Silverstone chief executive Denys Rohan. "The reality, however, is that this can actually spoil the visit experience as time is spent in traffic queues entering and exiting car parks.
"Getting together with friends or family to travel to the Grand Prix will add an extra dimension to the visit and help us smooth the journey."