Was the British MotoGP at Silverstone a SUCCESS or FAILURE? | Crash.Net Podcast 58
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- Опубликовано: 7 окт 2024
- Keith Huewen: Where were the fans? ‘MotoGP needs to be cool again’
Fantastic racing, great weather and a home rider on the Moto2 podium - so why did fans stay away from Silverstone? Keith Huewen gives his opinion on this week’s Crash.net MotoGP podcast.
With a Long Lap penalty from Assen for world champion and title leader Fabio Quartararo, the British MotoGP was always going to be unpredictable - and didn’t disappoint.
Four different riders took turns in the lead, with a continuous stream of overtakes throughout the field and the podium places ultimately covered by just 0.6s at the chequered flag.
But the thrilling race was witnessed by just 41,002 trackside fans, down from 67,000 last year and a fraction of the sell-out 142,000 spectators for last month’s Silverstone F1 race.
So why the drop?
“I know Silverstone, they've got great road infrastructure and it's really well organised. But to drive straight in at 8am on a Sunday seemed odd to start with,” said former British champion and Grand Prix rider Huewen.
“41,000 is half of what it should have been, considering the package that was being put forward. We had three fantastic races. OK, we're not to know that in advance, but moreover we had the best weather consistently through the week that I've ever seen for a British Grand Prix. Everybody knew it was going to be beautiful weather.
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Binoculars needed at Silverstone, feels clinical/disconnected. A weekend at Donington with my boys was always epic. Amazing atmosphere, and placez you could get close to the bikes. A far better experience.
Agreed, never liked watching bike racing there you are so far away from the track.
@@marksimpson5218 I think this is exactly the problem, Silverstone is a boring spectaor circuit.
100% correct get it back to Donnington 👍
@@kevjack8603 Donington only got 30,000 for MotoGP in the mid 90's before Rossi came along. At the same time WSBK with Fogarty got 70,000 at Donington and 120,000 at Brands Hatch. Ultimately it's the riders that will draw the crowds.
The cost was mental! By the time you factor in tickets and grandstands and parking we paid £350... There will be more at thruxton for BSB
Yes sir, they need to get their hand out of spectators pocket for the kill off all the fans.
Go by bike - park for free.
My wife & I attended on Sunday and I commented to her on the ride in that the roads seemed less busy than last year. It was noticeable that there were fewer cars and bikes going to Silverstone this time.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable day out and enjoyed the racing enormously but much later that evening my wife asked if I thought the cost of the day was "good value". I had to think long and hard about it and then answered that, no, I don't think it was particularly good value. I asked her the same question and she gave the same answer. I'm not sure we'll be going back next year - especially when you compare the prices of MotoGP with BSB & WSBK.
I really don't care about music and other entertainments if I'm there for just the Sunday.
Good point about the music and other entertainment - I didn't care enough about it to watch any of it.
Silverstone isn't the best circuit to watch from - you can't get close enough and it spoils it - that with £90 + £30 parking is best part of a £500 day out for you and your missus when all's said and done. Simply too expensive sorry.
Hard thing is for Silverstone, Ella Eyre might attract some young girls and even lads, but most bikers couldn't give a damn about Ella Eyre whoever that is. You've gotta attract the younger generation but you can't alienate the proper bikers either with modern urban crap. Real talk fellas, cheers.
I agree its hardly a mystery why attendance was so low. terrible track to watch bikes at, I’ve been 3 times and wouldn’t go again let alone for that kind of money, Keith was paid to be there has a VIP pass and has a completely different experience to those of us who have to put up with a long drive, expensive entry, poor view, expensive food and drink and £30 parking? that is just madness, i wouldn’t pay that on principle.
Bro your old Af and your generation is a has been
Bring it back to donington.
@@TonyBelas British Superbikes and Touring cars use the national circuit much better as a racing spectacle
I've been to Catalan MotoGP, so different - great viewing and grandstands all the way round, half the cost, amazing atmosphere - more like a festival, no queues for food loos etc, normal prices, free parking, in and out in minutes, 100,000 people! The truth is on the continent they are still people / fun focused and in UK now everything is about money, but as long as your house is going up in value......so dull
I've been to all of the Euro GPs , except Portimao, and some that are no longer on the schedule. I went to Mugello for the 5th time this year and the atmosphere was flat, probably because of no Rossi but also the same as Silverstone it is very expensive. I can get flights from UK to Barcelona, three nights hotel and a three day pass at the circuit for less money than camping and a three day pass at Silverstone. No Rossi, and to a certain degree Marquez, have an effect but there were 100K+ at Assen and Sachsenring and there are no top Dutch or German riders. Silverstone & Mugello need to get realistic, they are taking the p*ss with pricing. I have not missed a GP at Silverstone since they 1st had it in 1973 but I am wondering about next year. As a pensioner I got a 50% discount at Aragon, no concessions at Silverstone though!
@@mickcollyer707 It's more that these big events in UK are no longer by or for the people any more, they are just seen as opportunities to fleece, it's the same at Bike Show NEC, that's why I stopped going about 10 years ago. No wonder there are no new bikers, they have no reference to how the biking community was / should be.
I was there camping for the weekend, hoping for it to be a cheaper experience. We had bought general admission tickets and thoroughly enjoyed free roaming the grandstands on the Friday and saturday so much that we considered to upgrade our tickets for the sunday. We went and it was 50 pounds A PERSON. While we were inquiring about upgrading there was an older gentleman who was there to try and get general admission tickets for the saturday and sunday, they wanted to charge him 200 pounds for the saturday and sunday tickets, for anyone that is A LOT of money, which excludes getting there and food on the day, especially considering that we payed 180 pounds for 2 weekend tickets the month before that. What made it even more sad was on sunday seeing the amount of empty grandstands just sitting empty for the entirety of the weekend, including the VALE grandstand, which was completely empty, why charge 200 pound for a general admission tickets and leave all of the grandstands empty?? I would much rather charge 50! and have the entirety of it full.... just didnt make sense to me seeing the amount of people trying to buy tickets then saying no after seeing the price.
Problem has alot to do with a deep feeling amongst race fans that Donnington is a better track to watch motorcycle racing
You seem to have forgotten about the massive increase in the cost of living Keith.... £130 for one person in their car (£90 per ticket) for just parking and getting in is A LOT of money !!
And no doubt all the vendors were ripping people new ones for burgers, drinks and ice creams !!
Fantastic racing though 👍🏻
£6.90 for a pint and I saw £8.50 for a bacon roll...
Fuel to get there
Family with 2 kids how much. Can do a week on spain for less
In 2018 we went to Misano and made it part of a weeks holiday. Flights, hire car, airport parking this end, track tickets for three days with grandstand seating, and a chalet on a local campsite cost us €482 each. On top of that there was other near by attractions, the Simoncelli museum in Coriano, Tavullia, the Hochey restaurant in misano adriatica, the beach and the Ducati factory in Bologna on the way home. We were also able to take our own food and beer into the track so that was supermarket prices. The track parking was some guys field about 15 minutes walk away, I think we paid about €15 for the day. I know times have changed but have they really changed that much?
I took my nephew to Silverstone Sunday for my 10th visit and his first bike race ever and he absolutely loved it so much that he wants to go for the full weekend next year! We sat and watched every race he was intrigued who was winning, what country they're from, what make each bike was, what colours the teams are. And to top it off there was an awesome display of BMX dirt jumping in between which made his day! Hats off to Silverstone and Monster energy can't wait until next year. P.S we're going to Thruxton to watch the BSB this weekend so hopefully the new wave of British bike racing fans is safe!
I'm sorry but it was just too expensive. Superb racing in all classes was enjoyed at home this time.
@@stevec5766 Also with BSB you get more races. For instance there are 3 superbike races, over the weekend, and mostly 2 supersport, superstock, junior superstock, sidecar and talent cup races. No long waits between races. Motogp gave 5 races over the weekend, Mgp, moto2, moto3 and 2 talent cup.
Having been at the F1 & MotoGP at Silverstone a few things I noticed
1) Young people. F1 was packed with people in their 20s. Whereas the vast majority of MotoGP were 40-50 plus.
2) On track action. There was 5 races in total for the weekend lasting between 30-40 minutes each. F1 weekend had 8 races lasting twice that on average, plus the associated qualifying seasons
3) The race order was odd. It should climax with the main MotoGP, not end with the British talent cup. The F1 weekend felt like it was building to the GP all weekend, MotoGP felt like the GP was just another event at a weekend race meet.
I was there I feel that it was a combination of factors.
1. Not being a bank holiday weekend
2. Cost of living with ticket prices up on last year.
3. Cost of things at the event. All food vendors prices were very inflated.
4 No Rossi and Marquez
5. Being free to air may have had an impact
I can't imagine it being better in person than on my couch with a coffee and no lines and the best camera angles. Thanks for the commentary
BT sport content is phenomenal, well educated / educational, great interviews and insight , brilliant updates on paddock rumours and not overly dramatised.
I don’t see why and how you can ask for anything more from a coverage.
£25 a month for a service most people buy for European football ain’t bad at all.
Massive MotoGP fan (who attended and loved the racing on Sunday) and relatively young (student) but it’s difficult to see how GP can grow without drastic changes.
It fundamentally comes down to how the media channels are operated.
The RUclips content is poor highlights are slowed and owned by the TV companies eg BT Sport Sky Italia as opposed to Dorna for upload.
Instagram and Twitter engagement from GP is poor with constant streams of info benefitting fans of the Premier League UCL F1 the UFC etc. The posts are slow poorly formatted with cringey captions and a comments section flooded with bots and gibberish.
Being behind a paywall is also a huge inhibitor to growth and Dorna need to have some humility recognising that we are not where we should be and that forcing people to fork out for coverage puts people off.
This is especially weird given motorbikes (especially in South East Asia Africa some regions in South America) are ways of life and fan bases there would be so easy to capture especially titanic markets like India.
These nations have no interest in 4 wheels and so much in 2 so to galvanise them would be so beneficial and comparatively easy given how worthwhile they would be.
1. Sub-Par media channels
2. Paywall Coverage
3. Not enough expansion into obvious markets
4. Not getting enough riders from varied countries onto the books of a manufacture we are sick of having half the grid made up of Spanish riders although they are very talented and it’s a nation that loves bikes.
5. Too expensive I would rather have 250k for a tenner than 40k for 100 not for the sake of economics but for the fans.
6. Fix it please motorbikes are a source of universal fascination and communicating speed and skill on a motorbike is far easier to do for the general public given the perception of biking as being very difficult to begin with (in all fairness it’s accurate).
They also serve as the ways of securing a livelihood in the largest emerging markets in the world.
Sorry for the rant it’s just so frustrating something as comparatively stale as F1 with no manufacturer interest far less factory teams a snooty reputation a toxic fanbase and spaced out racing is absolutely massive (avid f1 viewer btw simply my viewpoint)
Dorna - Fix up for your own sakes the blueprint is there just copy and paste while retaining the communal atmosphere biking will always have over car racing
P.S if you have made it this far respect I would’ve fallen asleep by now
I agree with a lot what you are saying however I’m 21 and I despise what has happened to F1 commercialisation I used to adore it now I barely can stomach watching it.
Reasons why --
1. The age demographic of the sport has been reduced to such a level that it feels like a kids sport and kills all the intensity of the sport and the racing.
2. The content for me has been watered down to a point where we seen f1 drivers doing bouncy hoppers at silverstone.
3. It’s become more about forcing entertainment out of every race rather than letting the sport deliver it.
4. Slightly an offshoot of my previous reason but the commentary and presenters are forcing excitement ..for example in Hungary 1 lap to go and Lewis was 9.6 seconds to go and the commentators were hyping up as if he was .2 behind, these are the same commentators and they weren’t doing this pre liberty. Another example was Monza no overtake for 26 laps by anyone and it was made out like it’s a 9 way battle.
5. The fanbase has become so young there is such a tiny percentage of reasoned opinion and debate.
They need to fix manufacturer balancing , reduce paying riders and make sure the racing is great so remove wings and lower the horsepower so tyre management isn’t such an issue.
MotoGP is and should be the Antithesis to F1.
Exciting , raw and for young adults and above. Kids will make their minds up like we did .
@@VR46314 that’s a great point mate I grew up loving F1 but the petulance of the fanbase is very frustrating even Sky Sports just act as adversaries for teams and drivers they don’t like it’s very annoying.
So 100% we should remain an antidote to the circus of F1 but 40,000 is pitiful either way this isn’t BSB (as much as it’s a great series) this is the pinnacle yet it’s not presented as such.
Balance is hard to strike tho but there are some smart people with shiny foreheads that should be figuring this out for us it shouldn’t be for a couple young lads to ponder over in a comments section!
@@kyriegt3 absolutely mate fair play for getting through my comment , sorry for wasting 11 and half hours of your time.
Great points raised by yourself all the best mate 👍🏼
I don't think there was any mainstream news coverage, nor very few of the daily/Sunday newspapers had reports on the race. That is bad. They won't just turn up - Dorna needs to invite them. Show them how good this sport is, and the racing is superior to the over promoted F1.
I actually think it's time Dorna were given the boot; they're past it, and have no idea how to promote the sport, apart from in Spain. A global sport need promoters who think global......not the insular lot Dorna are.
Can’t upvote this enough - you’re right on all points.
Too expensive, too dull, and Silverstone is such a dull circuit. Sure it might be good for the racers, but watching there is a boring experience, and no amount of trackside "entertainment" will make up for that. Take the MotoGP back to Donington for some great racing and great atmosphere. Silverstone is a one trick track - F1 might be exciting there (or so some people say) but other car series' and bikes are dull as hell to watch there.
I’ve both raced at Silverstone & been a spectacular (for MotoGP), it’s just leaves you feeling flat. Just like the circuit layout.
World Superbikes at Brands Hatch in the 90’s was something truly spectacular. OK, a generation ago now but I firmly believe the circuit layout has a large part to play in that. You can see so much of the circuit from Clearways etc.
Returning to the Silverstone topic. While I feel truly fortunate to witness Vale winning a race, I spent most of my time watching the races on a HUGE TV screen. In the pissing rain. I could have watched from home & been nice & dry with a good pint.
The atmosphere never comes through on the TV, that’s why I mentioned Brand in the 90’s, I’ll never ever forget the atmosphere. It only made the racing better than it already was.
£90 to get in on Sunday (not that I would; currently living outside the U.K.) plus the parking; well now you just spent the same amount for a full year’s direct Dorna subscription to watch the whole bloody season.
Former airfield circuits have never thrilled me like the park ones do (focusing solely on U.K. circuits here). Watching 20+ MotoGP bikes flying down Paddock Hill Bend, now that’ll get the blood pumping!!
Nailed it. Fully agree with the Brands in the 90's sentiment too, it's what got me into bike racing as a kid and the memories have never left me. It's a circuit that really rewards physical spectatorship, whereas whenever I've been to Silverstone I've felt the need to re-watch on catch up the next day.
Unfortunately Brands will never host MotoGP due to lack of run-off but I would absolutely 100% be there come hell or high water if they did!
I’m in the US. Tiger Woods single handedly put golf back on the map here. Stars put butts in seats. No Rossi. No Marquez. Mix that with the cost. My non-biking friends would tell me to root for Rossi when I told them I’m going to MOTOGP. THAT is starpower. And right now in the general public, nobody has it.
Went to Donington for WORLDSBK in July and it was a fantastic weekend on every level,racing ,ie a lot more classes,the paddock is open all weekend,rider autograph signing sessions,and the paddock show is a really great idea,MOTO GP take note.Plus the viewing at Donington is great all round the circuit.
Interesting to see the analysis and comments. I went to Le Mans this year 130,000 in attendance and also Silverstone last year. Average age at the French GP is much lower and more family attendance. Accommodation costs are also lower, which is a big factor over a 3 day weekend.
I'm glad you brought this up. Last year my wife and I used Park & Ride and the car queues on Sunday freaked us. This year P&R wasn't available (we still don't know why) so we decided to leave the motel at 'silly O'Clock. Drove straight in and were parked up by 06.20hrs. It seemed really strange. Even by 9 cars were still driving in with no queueing. But then when you have to pay £10 for a pint and a half and £8 for a (foot long, I admit) sausage roll it's not really surprising people are staying away. Silverstone/BRDC missed a trick with no motorcycle merch in the main shop too. I heard so many fans, me too, walk in look around and come out muttering 'no GP stuff'.
I used to watch the Bristish round at Donnington every year and have also been to Le Mans and Laguna Seca. I stopped going a while back. This year I've stopped watching on the telly - a gradual decline that I never thought would happen.
The reasons for me are,
1. When BBC had the coverage loads of people watched high-quality coverage for free. Now the free option is highlights on a Monday night with ads in between. No pre- or post-race articles and no interviews. The numbers of people interested will be dwindling over time, just due to that. I know I could buy a BT package but I don't want to pay them for taking it off the BBC. That's daft as it would have been someone else if not them, but there it is. I had a pass from Dorna one year (a while back now), but the price jumped and was more than I was willing to pay.
2. I'm working from home most of the time and I haven't seen mates in the pub so much since Covid. Having fewer conversations about sport, I'm less interested these days. In all sport. It feels a shame, but is a fact in my case.
3. Rossi's retirement. When he won all the time, I wanted others to win. But he's always been the most colourful character and you look out for him even when he's not competitive.
4. The technology on the bikes. Bikes are supposed to be about the rider and the road. First it was traction control, now launch control and aero. I know these guys still have amazing skill but it's all getting a bit button-pressy for me. Let the car drivers have the buttons and the driver aids. I'd rather not see them in bike sports.
Sorry I don't have any answers. I just wanted to chip in with my own reasons for losing interest.
On top of the price, a contributing factor for me was the change in date. I last went in 2017 and it was held over the bank holiday weekend meaning the travel back was so much easier and didn't cost me any additional annual leave.
I go every year but couldn’t this year because the date changed! Now it’s the middle of the school summer holidays! I wonder how many others clashed with their annual family holiday and couldn’t go? At least when it was at the end of August over the BH weekend you could still go and spend a day with the family as well. The same date has been confirmed for next year so I won’t be going again 😕
I have been going for years but starting to get fed up with silverstone. It’s a brilliant track and facilities are clean and good but £7 for a beer, £15 for a bit of food and £30 for parking on top of a £90 ticket for just a day is ridiculous. It’s £200+ day for a single adult and with the way of life at the moment that’s not ok. The other thing is even with only 41000 queueing times were still long for a drink or something to eat.
To add to that I have only just found out from this video Stereophonics were there?!
Finally BT have been killing the GP for years. Greedy arses!
I think this extends beyond purely ticket price and allocations.
The UK government have spent years branding motorcycles as 'dangerous' and making it extremely difficult for young people to get involved or even pick up a license. Having recently spoken with a friend who teaches, if you want a full license it can cost around £1000 minimum and CBT's have to be retaken every 2 years.
The Gov are doing their best to kill motorcycling in the UK and have done for years. A big change is needed.
A very valid point. Kids struggle to be switched on to bike racing and all the lads who ride moto x bikes etc are branded reckless.
Out of the park, respect
Great podcast and very honest analysis. I went to WSBK at donnington in july with mates and my 4yo daughter and have been to silverstone for the MotoGP 3 times since 2016. I believe that the access at WSBK for fans was awesome. We camped and when we were randomly walking around the paddock on saturday night we bumped into scott redding and leon camier. Both stopped for a photo and a chat. As a motorbike fan that is part of what you visit for.. to see these ‘TV people’ as people and feel part of the show. Also the podium access at WSBK was very good. Being able to take a picture with JR, Toprak etc after the podium for a young fan in priceless.
I also think Silverstone is such an F1 track it makes spectating for a bike fan no fun. it feels soulless and you spend more time watching the big screen because you feel more detached.
The cost was also a big put off for this year. We paid less each to camp at WSBK and eat all weekend than a day ticket to MotoGP would have been. In these times the normal car people can’t afford it like we used to be able to. I love bikes and at the moment my daughter does too.. but there comes a point where watching on TV can sometimes be the better option.
So maybe better access to the paddock could help make the MotoGP fan feel more involved but for me it’s a silverstone problem. I would guess that if the MotoGP went to Donnington next year it would be a record breaking weekend. Just my opinion
So far from the track it's hard to tell the difference between the riders of the same team without a distinctive helmet design especially KTM, I could only tell the difference between Bastianini and Digi when Bastianini had the red stegasaurus wings on the back.
Only get to see the bikes for around 15 seconds or so depending on where you are on the track then they are gone for the best part of 2 minutes, then its difficult to hear the commentary unless you pay another £14 for the radio or you need binoculars to see the so called big screens or you have no idea what's happening on track.
Add on the price of tickets, food, drink, parking and accommodation for the weekend it just doesn't make it financially viable anymore for the average working man/woman.
Then there's the price of either a monthly BT Sport subscription or the overpriced Dorna videopass which also costs us UK subscriber's more than the rest of Europe then it's no wonder MotoGP is losing interest in this country.
45 quid whole weekend bsb parking included!!! and 28 quid for 4 days camping at brands. sorry silverstone still shit on bsb. good friday 1000's of kids, and this yr the closed the grandstand opposite the finish line, totally missed opportunity. on the friday i always sat in the grandstand, and always let kids sit in the 1`st row. it creates a great atmosphere on friday.
For us (me and two boys) it came down to a combination of cost and quality.
Weve always previously attended MotoGP.
However this year we decided on WorldSBK for two reasons. First is the cost. Second was the amount of races available.
Add to that the absolutely stunning views available at Donny, the availability of the paddock and riders.
We especially loved being able to actually walk across the track too.
We've already decided to return to Donny for WorldSBK next year. It was a better experience than we had expected.
Sad to say, but MotoGP now feels isolated, unobtainable and for the rich.
Too expensive in tough times
I was at Silverstone this year and last year , absolutely brilliant, I know its not cheap but racing and the whole weekend experience was awesome. Don't understand why low turnout, may be the fact no riders in top class but even so British riders in other 2 classes. I will be back next year regardless. Thank-you Silverstone
Tickets £310 camping £245 pint £7.80 pizza £14 = £800+ weekend. Amazing time and as much as I love MotoGP will be thinking twice about going next year
Im a massive motogp fan im always banging on about it to my nieces boyfriend who’s a f1 fan so decided to treat him £80 a ticket is what I normally pay so wasn’t to bothered £100 in fuel I kind of knew that was gonna be the case but when I got there and had to pay £55 in parking and £10 for 2 small waters how can you justify that and all the empty stands locked up they could of opened a couple for a better view apart from that It was absolutely amazing 3 class races and a new motogp fan 👍
Vendors costs are mad so understand to some degree. Wouldn't hurt Silverstone to have free water from taps around the circuit.
@@TL-tg7kh They have drinking water taps at every toilet block.
One of the issues now at Silverstone is the lap length. With a lap time of about 2 minutes, and races of 17-20 laps you just don't get to see the bikes racing as frequently as on smaller circuits. It's a difficult situation as although alternative shorter circuits are available at Silverstone they don't have the spectator infrastructure of the GP circuit. Personally I just don't think that Silverstone is an ideal circuit for MOTOGP.
100% agree
I was considering going, given I was in the UK. When I found out how much it was likely to cost, I hit the abort button.
I did the Isle of Man TT for almost the same price. The TT, I can meet and talk to all the riders & teams. I am right in the raw, unfiltered action.
I've seen the MotoGP live in several countries, and done Philip Island at home. MotoGP is my favourite motorcycle racing class, however - you don't get close to the action like with TT etc. You're not really in the midst of it all. You see the bikes come and go for a few seconds each lap, and that's about it. It's still really cool to be there, but it's just not possible to be in the mix like you can at the TT / road racing / BSB etc.
However, if it's only 200 quid then it's worth it. But 500+?? Plus the overpriced food and mid-strength beer etc? There not value for that sort of money.
As for getting in these unknown fancy millenial-gen artists to do shows? Is the racing coverage really that weak they need to put on sideshows for Fortnite-playing millenial ipad-kiddies?
Spend the money creating better coverage of the racing / teams / tech. Get Brembo, Öhlins etc doing tech talks in a Tech Talk tent. Bring retired riders in with their old bikes to do Q&A's, maybe tell funny stotries of their rivalries, or talk in detail about how it was like to actually RIDE the bikes. Find ways to get us closer to the riders, teams & racing. Put TVs everywhere for the hapless souls who can't afford grandstand tickets. Make the day genuine value for money. If you want to pay artists to host child-minding kiddy-parties, you need to have a think about why you're bothering to have a race at all. Don't charge me money for that crap. I came to see racing, not artists I've never heard of or would only listen to if I was being tortured by the CIA.
Go back to basics. Get your immersion right. MAKE ways for the fans to be immersed in the action. This isn't hard - F1 is doing it. And F1 isn't even racing! It's a fancy parade of over-regulated sewing machines. If they get the fans immersed, MotoGP can too.
Only been to Phillip Island MotoGP weekend, it was amazing for a spectator, especially if you had a stand seat at a corner like Lukey Heights. This was when Stoner was still at Ducati and a weekend pass did not cause personal bankruptcy and parking was free.
Phillip island is my home track, probably the best for spectators, you can walk around the whole track, I always go to turn 4. And free parking, I’m surprised SS charge for parking
I was an amateur racer and I’m a die hard motorcycle racing fan. What I feel about MotoGP now is it’s gone too far the way of F1. All this aero on the bikes. All the top speed and safety now needed. They don’t look like machines I might aspire to in the showroom any more. Plus the prices. I know a lot of fans are turned off by the look of these machines now.
I think youre right there Peter - even though it's a prototype class, they need to reign that in because the racing has suffered.
there is nothing wrong with how the bikes look and it definitely not the reason for any of the ills currently affecting attendance. the elephant in the room is that the sport has lost the greatest personality it had ever had. it will take a while more motogp to discover life without Rossi.
Difficult to justify the cost of fuel to get there ( from south west wales), then the entry cost, either day parking or weekend camping plus refreshments. Circuit is too big, end up watching most of the race on the big screen and the few seconds that they race past "live". No Rossi, so no real personalities as they have become too sterile - thats where the "fun" is missing - thank goodness for Jack Miller!
There needs to be more free to air coverage - get people interested in the sport - and increase its popularity amongst the younger generations.
And whilst they've moved it from the Bank Holiday weekend, its still smack bang in the middle of the summer holidays when people are probably away with their families. Mid June would be a better time in my opinion as it used to be many years ago.
yeah agree circuit os just wrong ,, too big, too many fences soulless
AusMoto for the Phillip Island race has been advertising for months now,
I have not been to Silverstone for many years, but I imagine that the landscape of the circuit hadn't fundamentally changed. It was a boring place to spectate at, unless you paid extra for grandstand seating. No way would I pay £135 for entry and parking, never mind the £?? extra for a seat so that I could at least get a view of a reasonable amount of the track....
We used to go for the weekend at Donington every year for Moto GP, went to silverston once and never again the spectator viewing is rubbish in comparison especialy if your a keen photographer. All the other factors that you mentioned also play a part, No more Rossi, too expensive for a sunday ticket (I paid £60 for weekend WSBK at Donington) and no additional parking charges.
You asking about attendance > I enquired about camping for 2 days with my camper van, £350 is taking the piss! I stayed home and watched it on the TV !
First time at silverstone. I was there Fri through Sunday. Great value but not so much if you just went on Sunday. Fantastic racing. I heard so much bad stuff about silverstone but I enjoyed it.
Rossi, and a household name is missing massively. How many people still wearing Rossi merch. If you don’t follow GP, you won’t know any of the riders names. Petrol costs, cost of living, it all adds up. Oh and they tannoy system must date back to the 70s. Useless.
Some good points made from you fellas.
Watching Suzi presenting the show on Fri night was a real hoot.
Dorna come after fan pages that create video content on Instagram. They're so protective of every video they release and that fans take in the paddock and at the track. Short videos I filmed at AmericasGP and posted on my IG were flagged and taken down for copyright by Dorna last month. Videos I filmed on my own phone, videos that had millions of views! It scared me into deleting 90% of my videos because I didn't want my community I'd been building for 5 years to get deleted! I don't understand being so protective that fans cannot even post content they filmed at the race. It's as if they don't want fans!
Interesting post, Dorna Corp should wind its neck in a bit by the sounds of things
Some reasons from my perspective:
Cost £90 a person + £30 for parking, plus food / drink - 2 people going to get through £350 in a blink. When people are choosing between heating and eating, not going to happen.
Advertising: Saw none. Anywhere. I knew it was on because I'm a fan and even I had to check the MotoGP calendar
Competition: Day 1 of new premier league season, proximity to WSB at Donnington and F1 GP
Venue: Silverstone may be great to race at, but it's crap to spectate in
Pull factor: 1st Brit GP post Vale, also with no MM93, and little local yokel riders. Maybe The recent success of MotoGP is not due to Dorna but the characters in it? IIRC Even the F1 GP saw drop in attendance after Mansell etc retired, and probably will when Hamilton retires.
A massive problem is its the wrong track. Brands Hatch is amazing, spectacular and much better suited to bikes.
Rip off prices, obscene car parking fees and the wrong track are all major issues in the poor attendance.
Great races by all classes. I took my friend and this happened to be her first ever race she had been to. She loved the moto2 and rooting for our home rider jake Dixon. You get out of it what you want. If you go with a negative attitude its going to be crap but if you go in for the racing the atmosphere the exhaust smells. Can't be better.
Yes prices were expensive but try and get that experience at home watching it.
Fantastic day. Loved every second.
So insanely expensive for a day out really. Not worth the money. The UK events scene - sport and music - is in full rip off mode Over the last few years and it needs to wind its neck in a bit. If ticket pricing and on site catering costs etc across a number of events were more reasonable a lot more people would turn out for stuff
Looked at going, but the price of the tickets and what you're getting for your money is a disgrace. Who is Ella Eyre? Who polled motorcyclists and came up with that as a suggestion for value for money and putting on a good show? Silverstone needs to get back in touch with motorcyclists because it seems to me that the management there are on another planet. I want to watch motorcycle racing - Take a leaf out of the BSB booklet. Tickets that are affordable and a weekend full of racing action. You can get to see loads of stuff going on in the paddock and most of the circuits allow you to get close to the action. Attendance at BSB meetings don't seem to be suffering too badly.
Throw in high fuel prices, rising cost of living and reduced job security for many and you can see why Silverstone MotoGP was always going to struggle. Oh, and it was free to watch on ITV :) I love motorcycle racing, been going to events for 30+ years, and I will continue to go, but not to the MotoGP when it represents shocking value for money. I'll stick to BSB and classic bike meets thanks.
Silverstone is great for facilities but rubbish for spectating, I've been 3 times since it moved from Donington the last time in 17 and that will be the last time. I never found a point to view from that could come close to rivalling almost any place at Donington (old hairpin for me) or Brands Hatch. I understand the argument about lack of run off at Brands but we still go there for BSB and it's deemed safe, so why is it safe for one series and not another? One riders life is just as valuable as another's, perhaps I'm just biased because I love Brands. Back to the point, to be fair the racing at Silverstone was great but watching it on TV was by far the best option for me. That's my tuppence worth. Congratulations on the pod I watch every week keep up the good work
The main reason for me was cost, I’d done WSBK before where the racing has been outstanding over the last two years. This weekend I’m at Cardiff for the speedway GP 4 British riders in the event and the cheapest ticket only £20 and the atmosphere will be unreal, I regularly do BSB too again like the speedway GP. Excellent value for money. MotoGP just too expensive
I couldn't believe on site parking for Sunday was £49! I even emailed and called to make sure I wasn't missing something. I went on Friday for £20 with free parking. This year was the first MotoGP race I haven't attended for 10 years. With the increase in ticket price plus the outrageous hike in car parking I voted with my feet. I'll be watching more BSB instead.
how much 49? was thart some pikey farmer trying it on
I think building on the personalities of the riders would get more younger people through the door such as behind the scenes on RUclips and with vlogs everything from training videos to mechanical walkthroughs down to just the travel would make people feel more included and draw more interest
Glad you mentioned Scott Ogden, Keith. Scott Ogden complained about not getting out on track on time, is it about time Laverty stopped standing in front of the BT Sport cameras and concentrated on running his team properly?
Also why was it that none of the BT commentators had the guts to ask Laverty what went wrong, especially at the BRITISH MotoGP.
As for the low attendance, my wife and I went to our first ever MotoGP last year at Silverstone to see Rossi's last appearance. It cost us £352 to get into the Hamilton Straight North stand and parking. We were not interested in any of the entertainment, only the racing, we had a fantastic time, but would we go again to see a load of foreign racers, even though we do follow them on BT Sport, no we would not.
Silverstone was the 1st race circuit I ever went to back in '86. Since then I have been to most of the UK's tracks and all are so much better for public viewing. The very few best spots at Silverstone only allow several seconds of 1 rider viewing per lap, unless you buy grandstand tickets, even then you want an exact 5m wide area sweet spot in the stand between Luffield and Woodcote looking back along Wellington straight and leaving via the pit straight towards Copse for best effect. By comparison I could name several spots at many of the other UK tracks that allow double the viewing time than 90% of what Silverstone can offer, non of those requiring a grandstand. The trackside spots at other sites often allow a raised view on free embankments, which extends the time you can spend eyeballing the action, giving an elevated view above other peoples heads stood only half a step in front of you and you are very much closer to the track if you choose to be at or near the fencing. Also most tracks have the ability to change viewing spots quite easily via the infield, but at Silverstone a walk around the tracks outer circumference is an hour plus trek unless you have passes to the inner compound. All of this limits you, so your weekend to remember has worse photography results to look back on, by lack of varied location and due to sheer speed they pass you by, when you can find an unobstructed spot to put a lens upon a bike. I choose to stop going to the British GP's the day Silverstone was announced as Donnington's replacement, due solely for these reasons, last attending the circuit in '01 or '02 for WSB. Another thought is since the track was extended you get even less viewing due to less laps, the reverse of what happened at Assen. I was against cutting the Dutch track short, but it went from a 16 lap race to 22 laps, increasing your enjoyment and value for money by 1 5th, plus if you main grandstand at Assen you get to watch them come at you on the main start/ finish straight and go away from you the back straight which equals a double bonus value to the cheaper than Silverstone grandstand ticket price, something you can get none of at Silverstone due to it's airfield layout. Honestly I'd rather spend extra going international (Aragon is next on wish list) and making a holiday out of the experience than go back to Silverstone, or do an 3 extra BSB events per year than 1 MotoGP event there
Totally agree Silverstone whilst a superb circuit to race on, you have to lay out a fortune to see anything.
I'm off to Valencia for the final round €67 for Friday Saturday and Sunday. All seated great views and in and out on the train. The UK is light years behind with regard to the spectators.
Absolutely spot on comments, Silverstone is too flat and doesn't at all create a viewing position capable of delivering more than a couple of seconds of actual bikes.
Bring back Donnington, a far better race track, the Old Harpin is a fabulous viewing spot and takes some beating but Assen is up there too.
My son went and said it was the lowest crowd he had seen. I have not been for a few years, but I would not have paid that cost for a ticket and parking.
Some feedback on a personal level regarding attendance. In 2005 we went to Donington for the gp. I don't think I've ever been so wet and miserable. Right then having spent a lot of years at the side of wet British tracks we decided we weren't doing this again and that we'd spend out money and go to Italy and Spain. This we now do as part of a weeks holiday. Our gp trips are usually arranged in advance so while good weather abroad isn't guaranteed it's more likely. To buy tickets for a UK event in advance means taking a chance and last minute stuff doesn't really work for our group as we all have stuff we have to juggle to be there. We did look at Silverstone but thought the ticket price was too high. I assume bikes parked free? But if you add parking, food etc into the equation that makes it an expensive day out for a lot of people especially if its a family and in our current financial climate.
I hear Keith over the radio all day what people should do when they coming in lol
Thank you for a great podcast as usual. I suspect part of the reasons of low attendnace figure is that many people and families are away for holiday after the last 2 years. It'd be also interesting to compare last year's and this year's the ITV viewing figure and learn whether people prefer one viewing format over the other. Last year Live MotoGP peaked with 472,000 viewers.
It should never have moved away from Donnington Park. OK, the facilities don't suit the prawn sandwich brigade......but the track is far better for bikes and the camping for the weekend was wild!!! Bring it back to Donnington!
Sad to see crowed figures as it is a good venue for the event, but as a spectator i think the viewing at track side is poor i uesd to go when Keith raced and was there in 2011 as a guest of Ducati.
All the track entertainment does not make up for poor spectating views and it is only any use if you were staying overnight as it is miles from anywere.
You forget alot of pockets are being squeezed people are worried about the cost of living . How much would it cost for a family and
you carnt see without a stand.
I have been to Mugello, catalunya, Lemans, checho, the worst place ive been as a spectator is Austia very poor only one place you can watch without a stand Dont get me wrong ive been into GP's since the 70's and iam still a big fan its not the product but would never bother with silverstone, id rather go abroad to Mugello which cost me the earth, or Barcelona.
Hit the nail on the head - Keith can get stuck on the trying to be too modern like cameras in the paddock are going to solve it - they're not! It's the track, have it at Brands Hatch and you'd get 100,000!
Hi -- we (Pole Position Travel) have been taking people to MotoGP events since 2002 and there is a lot I can say about the recent Silverstone event. First put this in context: All events are down or at best barely at the levels pre-COVID. We were down from 2021 and greatly (50%) down from 2019. Our figures ALWAYS track the overall trend. Our customers tend to be pretty hard core, there for the racing and not for the personalities, so this hasn't affected us too much, but certainly the loss of Rossi has cut a huge swathe of the fan base -- witness the appalling attendance at Mugello (and Misano looking bad).
But unlike most European rounds, Silverstone is almost exclusively British. We get a few Americans (and back when they were not caged up, Australians), but probably 85+% British. Last year was a bigger event because Brits really couldn't go anywhere else and after 1.5 years of no racing people were desperate to get back. This year we have seen strong (relative to 2022 post COVID) events in Assen, Portimao, Catalunya now that it is ok to travel to Europe. So we lose a chunk of an already diminished market this way.
And true, F1 is smashing it this year - our partner agencies who deal in both sports report a massive swing towards F1 and away from MotoGP. Keith is absolutely correct that the Drive to Survive' series on Netflix was a major marketing boost. The MotoGP response was essentially a flop. Leaving aside severe technical and distribution issues, it missed the fundamental point of MotoGP. F1 all the action and drama occurs OFF track; in MotoGP is occurs ON track. No one cares what Alex Rins has for breakfast, but two mega-power machines swapping paint at nearly 200mph and finishing within thousands of a second of each other is absolutely gripping. (Where were those fantastic slo-mos we love?). So basically this didn't help; and when people consider where they are going to spend their very hard earned money and especially time; F1 becomes a more attractive proposition as they can relate to it.
And then there is the pricing. Raising prices when everyone is broke and anxious, when you lose your star attraction, and travel & recessionary fears continue to linger is not a sound economic policy -- which many circuits are learning to their cost (but not all). And I cannot tell you how many phone calls we got this weekend from customers asking if they can get a parking pass from us! (Now I know why!)
Could go on a lot further, but bottom line is Dorna has put together a brilliant sport; not a lot needs to be done on the technical side; but the promotion of it is lacking. Silverstone has put together some superb facilities, and applaud their entertainment programme, but perhaps in the future let people like us know about it well in advance so we can sell it (and the time and planning needed) and use to promote the event ourselves.
I could tell during the race that a lot of the stands looked empty, I think it is a combination of a bunch of things because some other races seemed like the attendance was ok, or better than ever.
I think the cost is the prevailing issue. Everything needed for everyday life is becoming more expensive.
I was there on the Saturday and have some input, mostly around value for money.
1. £29 to park on the Saturday, considering the MotoGP ticket itself was £40, is ridiculous. That pissed me off the week before I even got there. I refused to pay that £29 and parked at Dadford Road campsite instead for £10 (reasonable).
2. £6.90 for a pint of very average beer also takes the piss. I live around the Hampshire/Berkshire border so am used to Southern prices - it isn't a cheap place to eat or drink so my expectations for pricing is on the high side anyway.
The food on offer was also equally overpriced, so I didn't buy any. If you feel like you are being taken for a ride with every transaction it pisses you off and poisons your experience, even if it is just a little bit.
3. I don't like sitting in the same seat/stand for the whole day, so I didn't go to the race day. If you don't have a seat then you really don't get to see much - I found that out in 2019. Because of this I am not willing to pay race day prices to be captive in that seat (my preference, obviously). I prefer to go to the Friday/Saturday and then watch the race on TV, having already had the in-person experience.
I will be happy to go back to Silverstone each year, but I'm done with overpaying for a ticket, parking/camping, food and drink so will stick with going to the practice and/or qualifying days and bring food and drink with me. And I'll be parking away from the circuit! 😆
As someone who lives right on that very same border the prices of food and drink even made me Gulp!!!!
Still nothing beats being there live love using all my senses not just eyes and ears on tv!
They did survey, I did one on the Saturday morning, I mentioned the price was high for a family and a lot of the stands were locked for the weekend 👍🏻
1. Too expensive. Charging for parking is the last straw.
2. Silverstone is a poor viewing circuit, so either you buy a seat and stay in the same place all day, or move around and only see a small amount of track. Both options unsatisfactory.
Surprised to see so many empty seats on the telly. I was there Thursday and Friday and it was quite busy. I think ticket prices and parking have put many off. Also, Silverstone is a great MotoGP circuit but one which is actually better on telly than trackside. Next year I will do qualifying only.
loved it thought it was amazing at siverstone i was right in the stand where pecco did his burn out and stoppie at the end it was awesome as it was my first experience yes it was expensive ie food and drink wise as for entertainment i had no idea that there were bands playing it needs to be advertised better and it does need to be cheaper food and drink wise for sure
Also il add, there are some sections of the circuit you can't access at times, in 2018 I think it was there was no public access on the infeild area beyond the grandstand on outside of maggots.in 2019 I was up at the wing, Vale area, I was told by a person in the wing that I should not really be in that area, reason why there was nothing up there. Now this is not Silverstones fault, because apparently Dorna did not pay for the use of that area, and I'd imagine it's been like that for a few years, as you will notice the grandstand on the infield of vale is alway empty. But I'd imagine with the change for next year this will be different.
Went to Barcelona MotoGP in 2017, cost me 59 euros for 3 days, bought the ticket from England online from NZ, I couldn’t believe how cheap it was even with the exchange rate, not including the airfares 😃
The ticket prices and camping were all fine in my opinion the entertainment and the prices of food and drink at the track were over the top. We need everyone in the paddock to use there platform to get Moto GP back on the map. A still had a great time for the 4 days and the racing was brilliant
Agree with comments that Silverstone is sterile compared to Donnington, Cadwell and Brands (I know the latter 2 not suitable for moto GP, but just putting it there). so I'm never excited by the prospect of a trip to Silverstone to watch our sport. However surely the major reason for poor attendance has to be the the lack of a competitive Brit in the top class.
Been to motogp (2nd time) and wsbk (1st time) this year. Both had great races but wanted to share my thoughts after listening to the podcast.
For me it's two main things in comparison to wsbk, cost and access. I could forgive the cost of motogp if there was more access to the paddock and seeing what teams do. Personally I think motogp should open up the paddock so people can see moto3 and moto2 teams. Getting to see some of these teams and riders would generate interest in the lower classes. Wsbk do it and you get to see/feel more of working environment of riders. The benefit motogp has over wsbk in this is that moto3 and 2 riders move up alot more than they do in wsbk so you could meet the riders of the future.
I was there and was with 2 young boys and it was their first ever experience of going to a motor sport event - they loved it and want to go back next year . I suspect the main reason for the smaller crowd is simply the cost of thr tickets. £80 for general admission during the cost of living crisis is a lot of money. Regarding parking, I used the Dadford Road carpark close to Club corner - it only cost £15 on Sunday.
Cost of living rises is key factor.
Also some will have been put off by the time it took to enter and leave Silverstone after the F1 gp. It was chaos.
Facilities couldn't cope with the large number of F1 attendees.
It is a bit of a Conundrum. Donnington isn't the answer . GP has outgrown that track. Fantastic track but not for today's GP. On the bikes don't look like bikes you buy. That's WSBK. F1 cars , don't look like my car. Weekend was hugely enjoyable and massive effort by Silverstone.
Hotel I stayed at was half empty ?
Cost will be a part with all that's going on right now.
I know from people I know that would normally have gone. Can watch it on BT and Terrestial tv
No fuel, hotel, camping ( not cheap)
No Rossi. And parking fee swung it in the end for those. It's my sport and for one will not turn my back on it when non petrol heads pay this kind if money to watch F1 and many have limited interest.
Anyone remember the attendance dropping when the gate price was almost doubled at Donnington in the late 80's, early 90's, seems the organisers haven't learned lessons from previous disasters.
They never learn.
The main reason is the shortage of British riders and the lack of sponsors for British
Riders I was there all weekend running my
Grandson in the British talent cup
Aside from the feedback that Silverstone needs to help double their attendance figures by close on 100% for 80,000 spectators to attend next year’s event the Crash MotoGP podcast is simply awesome! Well done guys 👍 👌How about featuring more bike industry (not just the riders) legends of the past and present including brand and team managers, rider coaches and future stars for their commentary around MotoGP race previews and reviews?
We were in Assen 5 weeks ago for the Dutch TT. This year, all the bike parking was covered.. in solar panels! What a great investment and will surely help with bills at Silverstone! We thought It was a great idea!
52.000 at Donington for WSBK. Cost my wife, me my 2 daughters £100 give or take for weekend tickets. Extra £40 for my dad to come on the Sunday. My daughters were free as they are under 13. Free parking. Open paddock for everyone. Looked at going motogp at Silverstone. Cost for Sunday was around £600 for the 5 of us. As much as I love motogp. That is ridiculous amount of money for one day.
Huge Fan of Motogp & F1
Missed this year's Silverstone due to change of date as its usually Bank hol weekend & already had hol booked. Also to compare to F1, No British Rider in Premier Class I think has a huge impact. F1 you have 3 drivers!! Also been to many other tracks outside of UK & yes far cheaper tickets & money saved I've had either a 3/4 day mini break which is a huge thumbs up. Italy & Spanish tracks also advertise places to visit such as home of ducati, Marco simonchelli museum & obviously tavuillia etc..To attract younger generation these trips work.
The true reason for MotoGP going down the pan in this country is the lack of accessibility to the sport. It's gone too far behind the paywall and it's not talked about in the mainstream media partly because of that fact. We need all races live on ITV and you could then have BT Sport as the only place to watch every session. The sport needs eyeballs.
I'll just throw in my opinion lol , I think all the above, Rossi era over, no Lorenzo, no Marque, no real battling going on that's consistent, to many Ducatis, Suzuki leaving, cost of living and so on. In the financial market it's either a Bull Market or Bear, I think its a currently a Bear market. I'm 38 and have been watching Moto since Casey Stoner won in 2007. Iive in Australia and would happily get up in the middle of the night to see a battle of the best, but that wasn't always the case. Now 38 with kids and no real rivalry going on in Moto, I am loosing the WANT to watch. I still think there is some great things going on like Aprilia and Alex, but Honda & Yamaha are almost none existent. The Ducatis are all over the place as usual and if it was a entire field of Ducatis I still think the factory would never win a title. WSBK is where it's at atm. Don't get me started on Baptista and why they didn't give him a factory seat after his race at Phillip island on the factory Ducati... ??
I agree with Keith about advertising boards, lots of places like Redgate at Donington Park has at times been ruined for viewing by bloody advert signs.
Absolutely. Was boiling hot in our area of the grandstand, but there were 3 empty rows behind us on the PIT STRAIGHT. Saw the number on the screen but couldn’t see what it was for. Can’t believe that was the attendance
as an American Silverstone is a bucket list for me to see a motogp race or any race really. love that track. it always turns up a good race.
Was there on Sunday,great racing…but too expensive,(half the price and maybe double the attendance).parking price a joke.We need a British rider.Doesn’t help with football starting early this year.I feel that empty stands took away from the spectacle that is moto go which is far better to watch over f1
You talk about what is going on at the gp paddock to draw people in , I doubt any one knows any of this they just go for the racing . I think lack of free tv coverage for the year is hurting the turnout ,as most people that aren’t fully into the sport just go and do something else and lose interest in the sport .
I was at the Day of Champions on Thursday and the MotoGP practice on Friday.
How on earth are they justifying charging £30 for parking on race day when it’s £15 on Friday? Let’s face it £15 is disgusting, we parked in a field!!!
The cost of £90 on race day is ridiculous. If that cost remains why not throw in the parking too?
I’m sure a lot of the ticket price is to pay for the bands that play over the weekend. This is my 3rd year of going for the practice day and I’ve never stayed to watch the bands. I’m sure this is probably the case for lots of people.
Scrap the bands, save that money and pass it back to the ticket buyers. I’m a big concert goer but when I go to Silverstone I’m only interested in the bikes.
I’m sure a big part of the lower attendance figures are due to Rossi & Marquez not being there. I think the stall holders were selling less t-shirts etc for that reason too.
Lastly I was fuming to see that the race was on ITV for free! I pay a lot to have BT broadband & tv and only switched when the MotoGP went to BT. I do not want to see it available for free elsewhere. That should not happen again!
We went this weekend, did notice the drop in numbers. I'm convinced it's the lack of a Rossi character that's caused a drop in interest. The race was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. But I too prefer Brands from a spectator point of view.
Fabulous racing Sunday
But I would have gone to the track on Friday had I known about the entertainment
First I heard about it was watching Suzi Perry Friday night on BT 2
Don’t waste money on the bands a bit of advertising on the right channels would be money better spent
Same thing happened in Mugello. Ridiculous prices. The difference from one circuit to another is mind blowing. You can see the race in Cheste from 48€, but for Austria is 90€.
Only reason i did not make it to Silverstone this year is because i was away( beginning of school holidays afterall) still disappointed with the turnout of course, but maybe the holidays had something to do with it on a broader scale? Lots of people could not wait to get out this year as soon as summer started! Love the show!
Keith's comment if you want to see the top class you need to pay top dollar (something like that). Can't believe what I'm hearing! So only the well off should get to see motoGP, and those burger vans should be selling prawn sarnies and caviar, of course will be loads more youngsters and fantastic atmosphere........
im a massive fan of all classes and have been watching motogp for over 25 years. i dream for the brits to do well, i shout the house down on race weekends.
but what normally happens is they do well through practice and sometimes quali but when it comes to the races they fall off, i think most people know whats going to happen to our guys and ,very sad to say, nobody is willing to pay to see this trackside.
also no british rider in motogp
I think it's the individuality of motorbike racing,it's definitely a team sport no question but compared to F1 it's more an individual feel.
There's a lot less drama in Moto GP it's a 22 lap race it doesn't get the media coverage it deserves.
As for Silverstone and British fans they haven't got a British Moto GP rider doing the business in the premier class.
Fans in Britain get Hamilton Norris Russell in F1 and there house hold names.
I think Johnny rea would have been the answer had he got that well deserved Moto GP contract.
School holidays/ industrial fortnight - big influence on people being available! Dorma should know this
The biggest problem was the rip off pricing. I also heard that parking was an unbelievable £40 which is basically exploitation of the fans if true.
I haven't been since 2010 when it took a ridiculous four hours to get out of the car park. This was due to them locking all but a single gate and the parking guys had all gone home.
I remember that. I’ve not been since as the venue is pretty underwhelming to watch bike racing live. Great racing and great on tv but live at trackside it’s poor. Donnington or Brands far more interesting
@@cookinongaz Brands would be amazing. Such a fantastic track.