Sales are down at Silverstone

Silverstone is a unique stage in the F1 calendar. Firstly, it is the event with the longest contract, as it runs until 2026. But above all, the circuit is at the heart of the Motorsport Valley, with the headquarters of most of the teams in the nearby vicinity. It thus concentrates the passions of British fans.

But the 2012 edition was a nightmare for the organization. Indeed, torrential rains led to mudslides in the parking lots and campsites nearby. To ensure the facilities remained usable the next day for the race, the organizers were forced to implement an extraordinary measure: encouraging thousands of ticket holders for the qualifications not to go to the circuit! This created automotive chaos, with traffic jams lasting several hours to access the circuit. A GP2 driver, caught in the midst of the disaster, was even forced to call the organization to be picked up by an organizational scooter to be on the circuit on time!

These measures proved to be fruitful as the crowd of big days was present at the circuit from 7 a.m. the next day! In total, 127,000 spectators gathered around the circuit. Nevertheless, the refunds cost the trifling sum of a million pounds, which did not prevent the circuit from making a profit for this edition, thanks to its insurance policy.

During a gathering of the specialized press, local leaders were keen to ensure that everything had been put in place to prevent such things from happening again in the future: « What took place last year is unprecedented. In the previous ten years, the weather had been relatively good, and we had wonderful Grand Prix events. Therefore, we need to put things in perspective. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. Last year’s experience served as a wake-up call, and we had to implement many measures to ensure people have a great time in 2013. We learned last year that we need to go even further. Such weather conditions, as extreme as they may be, cannot be predicted. So it could happen again. Obviously, what we had before was not adequate, and we have therefore spent a lot of time and effort on the matter. »

For the 2013 edition, ticket sales are currently not meeting expectations, which likely explains the holding of this very press conference. Last year’s experience certainly does not help, but British interests are also threatened by the continuous victories of Sebastian Vettel (already two wins in four races) while British drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are currently lagging: « What we are currently observing is a combination of what happened last year with the weather and probably the fact that Vettel is doing a bit too well, a bit too consistently. So ticket sales are not as good as last year but not by much. It would help us to do a little more. »

Indeed, Silverstone still belongs to the BRDC, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, and receives no public subsidies. It is therefore essential that each event is a commercial success. To achieve this, entries must be as high as possible since they constitute the circuit’s only source of income left by the contracts negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone. For several years now, the BRDC has been seeking to reach an agreement with other investors to secure the future of the circuit. While Qatar was long considered a potential investor, the transaction did not materialize.

Stuart Rolt, the chairman of the BRDC board, commented on this partner search process: The investment process has been ongoing for a long time and it’s frustrating for us. We have something really special to offer people, but right now there is something called the recession. Investments in land property have become very difficult and outside of London, it’s even more difficult. We have learned that. We also insist on talking to people who want to maintain a strong level of motorsport at Silverstone. We can’t be surrounded by or be in the hands of people who would remove these features from Silverstone. We would like to conclude this by the end of the year.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr