Silverstone announces parking plans

The 2000 event, run over the Easter weekend in April, degenerated into chaos when water-logged car parks turned into mudbaths. The circuit was forced to shut its public car parks for Saturday qualifying and thousands missed the Grand Prix itself when raceday parking problems caused massive traffic jams.

For 2001, Silverstone hopes to encourage a significant amount of its spectators out of their cars and onto coaches, which are expected to be given priority in the new traffic management scheme.

Public car parking at the circuit will be limited to 18,000 spaces and only vehicles with an official car pass will be admitted. Car-sharing will be encouraged by limiting car passes to just one for a booking of two to four people, two for five to eight people, etc. Single ticket bookings will not be given a car pass, but passes will not be required for motorcycles.

"People tend to use the car to travel to major sporting events by force of habit," said Silverstone chief executive Denys Rohan. "The reality, however, is that this can actually spoil the experience as time is spent in traffic queues entering and exiting car parks. Getting together with friends to travel to the Grand Prix will add an extra dimension to the visit and help us smooth the journey."

The FIA, the sport's governing body, has granted Silverstone a May 13th date on the 2001 calendar, but on the proviso that it reimburses ticket-holders unable to get into this year's race and shows it has tackled its traffic and parking issues. Silverstone must present details of its traffic plan to the FIA World Council, the sport's rule-making body, in October.