MAY 16, 2002

Octagon considering selling more tickets to British GP

OCTAGON MOTORSPORTS, the organizers of the British GP, are considering offering 5,000 more tickets to the race on July 7th. Race day ticket sales have been limited to 60,000, which have sold out, due to concerns about traffic congestion at the Silverstone circuit that has plagued the event for the past two years.

Construction on a new by-pass, designed to relieve much of the congestion, began after Bernie Ecclestone's repeated threats that the race would be left off future F1 schedules if the traffic problem was not solved, and Octagon was forced to put up a 5m pound bond to ensure that the problems would be solved by the 2002 event.

The new by-pass will not be complete by July, but Octagon feels that it will be complete enough to carry much of the traffic expected on race day, leading to the consideration of selling more tickets for Sunday.

A meeting between Octagon representatives, the highway agency and local police is scheduled for Friday to discuss the logistics of handling more fans, after which the decision will be made.

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