Now that the provisional
2020/21 calendar has been released, I thought it was worth revisiting this thread, because I sense that 'the powers that be' have actually listened to us for once.
From the Gerard Neveu Q&A as reported by Daily Sportscar:
Quote:
And there are no four-hour races now?
“You’re right. We have different lengths of races still, six, eight, 1000 miles and 24 Hours. Not four now after discussing with the teams. The place where we set up four-hour races like Silverstone left them frustrated with the length of the races. We have to pay attention to the fans and local people.
At Silverstone, we have a four hour (ELMS) race on Sunday now, so we finish earlier so that people can get home at a better time after the race. That is the culture now.
That’s why we have switched to six hours for Silverstone and switched the day and we are racing on Saturday, you will have ELMS Qualifying in the morning then the FIA WEC race, then support races and the ELMS race on Sunday.
“It was a clear choice. It will finish at like seven o’clock, just before darkness.”
Are you concerned about a loss of media coverage because it’s the same weekend as the Monza F1 race?
“The reason is that we are on Saturday is so that on Sunday we can let the massive UK fan community watch the (F1) race on TV. We looked at how we can grow this event. It has huge potential, but for the past three years, we’ve had a similar number of fans. This is why we have made the change.
“We also want to make sure it’s all over earlier on Sunday (when the ELMS will host a four-hour race). If you look at MotoGP weekend, at 3:30 on Sunday it’s done. They finish early so people can leave and get home by a reasonable time. As we have a long race, if we start at 8 a.m. it doesn’t make sense, it’s too early.
“We want a celebration. We want to set up an enthusiastic meeting, maybe a concert or something on Saturday night?”
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The wording is slightly ambiguous as to what led to the decision to revert back to 6 hour minimum race lengths (the frustration of teams or fans or both), but the sentence "We have to pay attention to the fans and local people." suggests that we have been listened to. So, whilst I am still mystified as to why they thought it was a good idea to reduce the Silverstone race to 4 hours in the first place, I say kudos to the organisers for reacting immediately and putting this right for next season. Thank you!
Let's hope Silverstone step up too!
