F3 GT Launch Day - Silverstone March 16th

[mcurtis26]

Does anybody know if this will be restricted access or if the public can go as well? Looking forward to Donington in April

[Emma]

I hope the public can go...but it's in school time so doesn't look as if I can go

[Gaz]

I think you've probably got more chance of getting in at Silverstone from experience than you would have done if it were at Donington.

I'd imagine they may open up the area around Luffield up a la F1 testing although I don't know. Donington would have been a bugger cos the only way in is either over the wall or having to pass the security guard on the main gate!

They should open it up to the public and charge a tenner for entry like BTCC and BSB do but that would be too much like common sense I suppose!

[bella]

media days are usually restricted aren't they?

oh and gaz - noone's going to pay a tenner to get in!

[Ian Sowman]

Well, gaz might

[Kicking-back]

He should blag a free pass......

[hmmmm]

there are only a hand full of people who pay to watch the RACE so no one will pay to go to the media day. if that was a choice

[bella]

thats what i was thinking too, hmmmm...

[mcurtis26]

I assumed it would be restricted, but wasn't sure as BSB and TOCA had public access to their launch days, at least to most of the circuit if not complete access. Personally, i'd happily pay a tenner to get in, its hardly expensive and race car live was a similar kind of price.

[Gaz]

Glad you typed that mcurtis26, all these people making me look silly! I'm hardly saying you'd get 10,000 there but there obviously would be 1-2 people who would want to go judging by this post but may not get in. So why not just charge them a tenner so they can get in alla BSB or TocaTour. Or if thats too much for some of you skinflints then a fiver! Start saving now.....

The pass joke is getting a bit old now though btw, it was funny the first time k-b! Bit like my "you need to get out and about more line" ....not funny anymore...but still truthfull!

[mcurtis26]

I find the F3GT package a lot more fan friendly than BSB or Toca tho tbh...SRO and FOTA deserve a lot of credit for the current strength of the series and the quality of package (somebody is bound to disagree with me!)

[jase]

While on the whole I agree with you mcurtis, the basis of the strength of the F3/GT package was there before the SRO took over

[bella]

i ain't playin' sro's banjo for anyone. the only good things they've done have involved the gt championship, and i'm not even sure they've been good.

(although i reserve judgement until the end of the year on the calendar)

[rdjones]

Originally Posted by mcurtis26

I assumed it would be restricted, but wasn't sure as BSB and TOCA had public access to their launch days, at least to most of the circuit if not complete access. Personally, i'd happily pay a tenner to get in, its hardly expensive and race car live was a similar kind of price.

I went to the TOCA open day last year, and will be doing again this year. It wasn't busy and it was an enjoyable day out and it was nice to see some cars again after the long winter break.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by bella

oh and gaz - noone's going to pay a tenner to get in!

Oh yes they would. But not for the F3, for the BGT and as we know there will be more people there in the way of media for the BGT boys mainly due to pay to view websites like DSC who have the funding and recources to send photographers and reporters to these kind of events. British F3 is fast becoming a side show of the BF3/BGT package IMO mainly down to the SRO influence and that of DSC. BGT is becoming stronger and stronger year upon year in terms of grid sizes, and I beleive too that the BF3 grid too is looking to be up on numbers of those in 2004, correct? SRO is good for both championships IMO.

[bella]

right well thats a lovely pro-gt rant, but this is single seaters. the gt championship appears to be nothing but a test bed for new ideas on how to run championships. i've not seen anything beneficial happen to f3 outside of the inevitable calendar changes.

increases in numbers in the f3 field are NOTHING to do with sro. they're to do with the management of the series and the implementation of cost cutting measures which isn't within sro's remit.

oh and don't make me laugh about blaming the downfall of british formula 3 on a website.

[MikeHoyer]

I don't know about the SRO or any websites, but I would say for sure that the main attraction of the F3/GT package is the GT's, rather than the F3's, they attract a lot more interest from what I've seen at the circuits, probably mainly due to the variety and exoticness of the cars. Compared to that the F3's are just another single seater.

I know at Brands in 2003 a lot of the crowd left after the GT race, and there was still an F3 race to run.

[SALEEN S7R]

I agree Mike, although the F3 series is a good little series. Well worth watching IMO, defintly a good support series for the GT's. I just hope the F3 series is as entertaining this year as it was last year. Oh and I dont know about the F3 series declining in terms of levels of interest, more a case of interest in the GT's is growing due to people like DSC, as I said before. The F3 series isnt getting weaker, but IMO its not getting any stronger than what it was say 5 years ago either. Still a big thawn in the side of the Euro F3 series though.

[MikeHoyer]

Oh yeah it is good, I really enjoy it, but I can see why the GT's would have more appeal.

[strider]

F3 is motor racing, pure and simple and it's done in single seaters, as bella has pointed out. And five of the drivers who raced in British F3 last year have since had an F1 test.

GTs are fine and dandy for ten minutes at the start and ten minutes at the end, but what with pit stops, driver changes, confusing Safety Car interventions etc, you need to be a genius to keep with what's happening in the middle forty minutes! Oh, and I do believe there is another forum where you can chat about how great they are...