July 5, 2011

New Start for Silverstone



Advance the above clip to 0:54 secs and you will get to the new start/finish position for the British GP at Silverstone. It's the culmination of a multi year renewal plan which has included a madification to the layout first seen in 2010 and completed this year with the opening of the new pit and paddock complex on the opposite end of the track.

New Pit Straight
photo: Steve Gamage

So no more 180 mph Copse after the start, the new turn 1 is Abbey but all the first lap action will potentially be in the "new" Arena section turns: Village, Aintree and then after the Wellington Straight into the Luffield loop.

Silverstone Circuit guide via Adam Pigott Photography



It should be nice improvement and it's great to see investment being made in a classic racing facility like Silverstone. The British classic has worked hard to expand beyond just the Grand Prix and into a full fledged "experience".

Silverstone now offers a complete rage of "experiences" ranging from single seater driver to "hot laps" to car control clinics and racing schools. find more at Silverstone.co.uk.

Also at Silverstone is iZone Racing, a driving training facility with services for racers ranging from simulator to media to mental training. Below is a clip of their simulator. You can ride it for about 60 Euro per hour and apparently even Michael Schumacher got motion sickness the first time he tried it!





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4 comments:

  1. Love the oversteer after the Hangar Straight on that lap...

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  2. The new Layout is terrible. I've heard nothing good about it from all the drivers I've spoken to. Especially for historic racing the new tight section of Village, Loop and Antree is just far to slow.

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  3. @Jonny It's been Tilke-tized a bit but without those tight corners the only overtaking you would see in F1 would be of the fake DRS type...

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  4. @AC, I agree however I dont feel it will great many more if any overtaking opertunities compared to the old layout. Of the many races I've watched and been involved in it hasn't so far created a huge differance in terms of overtaking.

    It will be interesting to see how it effects the F1 to see if it does make it more exciting. I just find it a shame that they have forgoten about the many many other races and champoinships that race on the circuit, purely to focus on just One race, One weekend of the year.

    The championship should be exciting enough as it is insted of circiuts having to adapt to make it seem more exciting. Its a pitty its not exciting enough.

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