BRDC promises improved Silverstone GP

According to Alex Hooton, the chief executive officer of the BRDC, "significant improvements" have been made to the Northamptonshire venue's infrastructure in the last year. This comes at a time when a huge media row has blown up over the fate of the British GP between key figures in the BRDC and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone who recently likened the race to "a country fair masquerading as a world event".

"We have built new internal access roads to pits, tarmac car parking for 650 cars, a two-lane vehicle bridge over the track, six new public toilet blocks and extensive amenity works, including the existing toilets and enhanced signage," said Hooten. "Additionally a new police command centre, at a cost of half a million pounds, has been built, providing efficient management of external traffic flow to and from the circuit plus monitoring and control of internal crowd movements and car parking.

"These improvements in the past year are not the only notable advances in their quest to enhance Silverstone. Improvements in the run up to the 2002 British GP included a new A43 roundabout, dual carriageway access to the circuit, entrance boulevard, 27 acres of hard standing car parks, public toilets and improvements to circulation roads at a cost of $22m.

"We are confident that customers and supporters will see at the Formula 1 GP next weekend the extent of these improvements and the significant advances that have been made over the past two years."