Silverstone 6hr WEC event yesterday...

[reggie747]

A mate and I scooted on down to the WEC Silverstone 6hr endurance race yesterday - Did any of the forum members have a piece of it I wonder ?

I've attended many a Grand Prix there over the years but never a WEC event. My initial surprise given that this is a full blown round of an FIA sanctioned event was the complete lack of numbers of people there - it was surprisingly light of crowds. I suppose on reflection and with some thought, it was never going to be like a Formula 1 event but I felt it was really under subscribed. My very rough guess is that maybe 6000/8000 people at a push.
There was a £ 40 entrance fee and you could basically sit in whichever grandstand you wanted to (I think only 2 were closed). There was a free bus service on to get around the circuit rather than walk the whole thing.
I can't figure out why the 3 leading manufacturers, Audi, Porsche (Audi) and Toyota actually bother with this because prize money from bums on seats would be a shortfall.
The racing was very good though particularly the three teams mentioned above. There was a privateer turnout filling the lower classes.

A great day weather wise but I probably won't be attending again. The atmosphere was lacking.

Just some thoughts....

[watchcollector1]

I went last year and it was similar to how you describe. It did feel really low key although quite a few of the spectators were watching on the race a big screen inside the "Wing" which to me seemed to defeat the purpose of attending it - why not just watch it at home?

I really enjoyed the racing though and I'd would definitely go again (unfortunately I couldn't make it this year).

In terms of attendance I don't think the time of year helps and apart from Le Mans (with all the associated history), endurance racing is a pretty tough sell as a spectator event to the casual motor racing fan.

[andy tims]

Been to Le Mans for years but yesterday was my first time at the 6 hours of Silverstone.

Pretty small crowd as the OP says.

Radio essential to keep track of what's happening as with all endurance racing.

I really enjoyed it, although it looks like the result will be decided "in court"

[reggie747]

I really enjoyed it, although it looks like the result will be decided "in court"

Hadn't seen that Andy. Woohoo !

[Foxy100]

I've been a few times for the WEC/6-hour race and find Silverstone a hateful place. Without all the crowds and goings on of the Grand Prix, the place is a vast concrete wasteland, and as befitting an airfield, cold and miserable for most of the year. If the race was run at Brands the place would be packed. I can't wait for Le Mans, a proper race at a proper (despite the ACO's best attempts) venue.

[Jeremy67]

I have many happy memories of 1000km Group C races at Brands but Simon and I are of one mind when it comes to Silverstone.

[aldfort]

Hadn't seen that Andy. Woohoo !

I suspect that Audi, like Porsche and al the rest only really care about one endurance race. The Silverstone 6 hour is a shakedown, extended test run.

[UKMike]

I used to enjoy going to the 1000kms and BOAC 500kms races - especially watching the Porsche 917 in the hands of Siffert and Rodriguez. Real classic races.

However, the modern hybrids from Porsche and Audi are profoundly ugly cars, no matter how fast they are, and the modern Silverstone is a sterile, and tedious race track for the spectators (in my opinion) - I won't ever go and watch a Grand Prix there, so I can understand a low turnout for WEC.

[legin]

My mate went because he knows one of the privateers but said he only laser an hour and drove home as it got a bit boring


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[CardShark]

I was there a couple of years ago for Porche's return to the top catagory, really enjoyed it though unfortunately I haven't been able to go since then . My brother and a couple of friends made it to this one, all said it was a great race. I'll be at LM this year, the first time since 2011 which is pretty poor form, I guess I'll have to get my WEC fix there, instead.

I think Brands would be great for the spectator but maybe less so for that particular class of race car (LMP1 or 2), Silverstone would provide more of an opportunity to really test the aero and outright speed of them.

[johnboy9876]

I went to the event yesterday (and also last year). I really enjoyed it, but I don't go to a huge number of races and so made the most of the day. I do agree that it wasn't that well attended, perhaps the organizers should think about putting on at least one support race to keep interest, or have something else going on in the circuit's grounds to get families better involved. There are other things that you don't get at other race events, pit lane walk and grid walk prior to the race. There were some stunning cars on show wherever you looked and some good racing to see. I do have to confess that I was there as a guest of a member of the BRDC and so did get into some 'extra' areas (Aston Martin pit garage to name one and the BRDC clubhouse) and that probably has swayed my opinion of the day.

I agree with the earlier comment that this event is not the main one for the teams (that's definitely the Le Man 24hr), but from what I saw all of the teams do still take this event very seriously

[watchcollector1]

However, the modern hybrids from Porsche and Audi are profoundly ugly cars, no matter how fast they are, and the modern Silverstone is a sterile, and tedious race track for the spectators (in my opinion) - I won't ever go and watch a Grand Prix there, so I can understand a low turnout for WEC.

There are decent places for spectators to watch the racing at Silverstone, particularly Woodcote \ Luffield and Village. The WEC at Silverstone was fantastic last year, probably the best race of the season.

The Grand Prix was very good last year too. We were in a great spot at Club to see the action up close.

[NJH]

Silverstone is an odd place and I agree with Foxy to an extent, it always looks and feels empty unless a GP event is on. The circuit pretty much fills up from the inside out so I would always try and get infield for anything less than a GP event if possible. I was watching back some of my in car footage from 2011 when I raced in a support race to the Britcar 24hr. It was a mega weekend and supposedly 30K+ crowd but on my vids the circuit looks basically empty, everyone was infield with a few opposite the start line outside Copse and down at Luffield.1/10th as many people creates a mega atmosphere at a circuit such as Castle Combe. I also agree on the weather effect, I have never been to an event at Silverstone that was anything other than either freezing cold and grim or boiling hot.