JULY 17, 2001

Does Silverstone deserve a Grand Prix?

THE British Grand Prix came and went and as usual there were problems with traffic. The track has done a lot of work and earthmoving in underway for the construction of the new Silverstone bypass.

THE British Grand Prix came and went and as usual there were problems with traffic. The track has done a lot of work and earthmoving in underway for the construction of the new Silverstone bypass. But will it make a difference. There are not going to be any special access roads from the new road, unless the government agrees to fund it - and that is not likely to happen. Even with new roads will the access get any better? Is the Silverstone car parking going to be able to cope with the increased pressure of cars arriving from the new A43 - or will everything clog up and the main road tail-back as it does today?

One of the major problems remains that the track is located half in one police division and half in another and there is no obvious sign that the two authorities work together. This year on Sunday morning Silverstone village was blocked solid while at the same time other access roads to the south were flowing freely.

While British race fans seem to accept that it is necessary to have to queue for hours on end, there are not many circuits around the world which suffer the same problems. The other tracks all seem to be better organized.

There is an argument that the development plans put forward by Silverstone will not solve any of the access problems and we hear that there is still movement afoot to push Silverstone harder to invest in better access roads.