BritCar 24 hours, Silverstone

[Muzorewa]

'Free' tickets are available for the BritCar 24 hours, 1st to 3rd October. By 'free' they mean £2.50 per person booking fee plus £6.00 per car parking fee, so £16.00 for a family of four. Still not too shabby for a whole weekend, and as it's a 24 hour race you won't be needing Whittlebury Park will you

http://www.britcar24hr.co.uk/tickets/

For an idea of what to expect, see here.....

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 37&t=25412

[francophile1947]

"The number of free tickets available is based on the number of parking spaces at Silverstone allocated for this offer and assumes all vehicles are full of spectators"
Does this mean only full vehicles qualify for the offer

[Muzorewa]

No, it means they'll run out of carpark passes before they run out of spectator tickets they then can't issue.

In this technology-driven world, when you book a given number of spectator tickets with a parking pass, wouldn't you think they could keep a running total of spectator tickets AND parking passes and cut the tickets when one or other reaches the maximum allocation?

And what about people who live nearby who might want to arrive on foot, or bicycle.

Or scooter

[francophile1947]

Thanks Muz

[mikexgough]

I've booked it..... So where shall we congregate/Camp?.........

[Muzorewa]

I've booked too. Maybe we should leave it until, say, September to see who else is going

Assuming we can get inside the circuit, I'd favour somewhere between Club corner and the Farm. But if we can get infield, then somewhere along the old National or International straights

[francophile1947]

Booked

[Muzorewa]

Right, decision time chaps. It seems this might be one of the most poorly attended Bongo meets apart from DebbiePritch's military manoeuvres event at Conway this weekend which is due to have, erm, three Bongos in attendance.

So Mike & John, plus anyone else who is going but not spoken up on this thread, what to do about camping. I'm not convinced that Silverstone will allow us to camp within the circuit. Whittlebury Park isn't a good idea for this event in my opinion as the whole idea of watching the 24 hour race is to be able to watch bits during the night without having to walk miles to get there. Sure, you're not going to watch all 24 hours, in fact truth be known you'll probably watch the start, the finish and a few bits between but you should at least be able to easily watch half an hour in the middle of the night should you feel the urge. Plus Whittlebury isn't cheap, for Friday to Sunday you're looking at £35.00 in advance or £40.00 on the gate.

So what do we do? Well last night I received an email from White Rabbit Racing who ran the only on-site camping at the 2008 event (the 2009 event was cut to only 6 hours due to the recession ). They had two areas, one within the security fencing and one just outside, we were in the area outside but there was no problem with security, just that you had to show your ticket every time you wanted to go to the latrines - no bother, just have your ticket on a lanyard round your neck. For an idea on the site, there's some pics amongst the ones I posted in the 2008 thread HERE.

The area they have is shown here.....



....with the bit at the bottom right being the infield bit. It's on the main pit straight and you're right by the bridge & Copse tunnel so can get to the paddock area really quickly, plus there's bogs, bar and food etc right there as well.

Based on our experience in 2008 we are seriously tempted to go with this again, we didn't want any of the other stuff they offer, all we wanted was a camping pitch near the action which is exactly what we got and were really pleased with it. To us the £30.00 'just outside the fence' deal would do, paying another £20.00 just to be the other side of the fence doesn't seem necessary but we're not bothered either way.

Gist of email here:

Self-congratulatory bullshit about the recent Le Mans 24 hours followed by:

So, what's next? The Britcar 24hrs that's what.

We had a great camp at Silverstone in 2008 for the last BC24 with over 500
people staying at the track for the weekend. Last year, being only a six
hour race it was admittedly a little quieter but the race is back in 2010
on October 1,2,3. Traditionally an outstanding weekend for weather and
possibly the last hot weekend of the year. Hopefully!

So, join us please for an Indian summer party at Silverstone. If you've not
been, the Britcar is the race that Top Gear did back in 2007 in the
Pensiton Villas BMW 330d. Silverstone is surprisingly spectacular for night
racing as it is bloody dark out there and makes for great spectator viewing
especially down at the Abbey grandstands. Once again, premium campers with
WRR get to bring their cars in which means getting about the circuit is an
absolute cinch! We're told that there are some 50 entries paid up for the
race with perhaps 20+ expected in addition so it should be a good grid.

We will be located in the usual spot right behind the start finsih
grandstand making it a 2 minute walk to the pit lane which, true to Britcar
style will be open to one and all. Ask nicely and the teams will usually
allow you in for a look around.

There will be two levels of camp again at Silverstone. Standard camp will
be cheap, basic and located just outside the payline but still very close
to Gate 5 for easy ins and outs and you can park your car on your pitch.

The premium camp is located within the payline in a secured compound which
will be marshalled 24hrs with only one way in or out and strict wristband
only access. This site will have onsite showers and is very close to two
toilet blocks and the Bridge cafe and bar. Britcar tell us they are putting
something on in that area so we'll let you know what that is when we find
out more. Obviously the paddock bar over in the pit area will be rowdy as
usual. Premium campers can bring their cars in and navigate the inner
perimeter ring road and the areas within the track itself at will.

Prices are held at the same as the last two years and are for the full
weekend so, get yourself up there after work on the Friday and enjoy the
qualifying!

Basic Camp: £30 per car (including £5 booking fee (paypal tax!)) which
includes camping for up to three people.

Premium Camp: £50 per car (including £5 booking fee as above) and includes
camping for up to Four people included in the secure area as well as your
car pass.

Ticket prices also include postage for any booked before 15th September.
Any booked thereafter will need to be collected at the main gate.

As ever, we will not be particularly strict with space and I will be very
happy to arrange group pitches for anyone wanting to book multiple pitches
and set up together. Just drop us an email accordingly and we'll sort it.

Camp will be open from 12pm on Friday 1st October to 6pm on Sunday 3rd.

We sincerely hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading.

White Rabbit Racing


What think you? - If we want White Rabbit Racing, particularly if we want the 'inside the fence' deal, we need to book now. I can book for all of us if necessary or for whoever fancies it. Speak now or forever walk from Whittlebury

Team Muz

[friendeedebs]

Right, decision time chaps. It seems this might be one of the most poorly attended Bongo meets apart from DebbiePritch's military manoeuvres event at Conway this weekend which is due to have, erm, three Bongos in attendance.

I might start getting a complex luckily it's quality not quantity that counts
This looks fab, have a great time guys
Catch ya later Team Muz, the sun's a shining here

[francophile1947]

I'm happy with either Muz, so will fall in with whatever you decide, based on your previous experience of the event
It's probably better if you book it as a group (or should that be trio ) and I'll send you a cheque or pay you cash on the day, whichever you prefer

[mikexgough]

I'm happy with either Muz, so will fall in with whatever you decide, based on your previous experience of the event
It's probably better if you book it as a group (or should that be trio ) and I'll send you a cheque or pay you cash on the day, whichever you prefer

Me too......outside the fence is good for me too........ although I am waiting for my brother to call back to say he is going or not... hopefully tonight........hoping to blag some tickets and vehicle passes for the centre...... we could all 3 camp in the centre infield...

quick add on...... My brother & his rescue team are going and he will phone me Monday.......

[Muzorewa]

Cool, centre infield (where you were in my pics from 2008) is good. I'll give it a week or so, if we're all happy with outside the fence there shouldn't be a space problem, WRR should be able to accommodate us with no issues.

Mike, let me know, I'll commit to WRR mid-July if you get no joy.

Team Muz

[mikexgough]

....Update...................Hopefully I should know by the end of the week if I have any blagged tickets.....with Centre Camping

[Muzorewa]

We're ok for tickets, and I think John is too, we just need the vehicle passes to get inside the circuit

[francophile1947]

We're ok for tickets, and I think John is too, we just need the vehicle passes to get inside the circuit

Haven't actually got tickets yet, just an email confirming that I've paid