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Britain: SPARKY Silverstone - Part 1
By Nick Sparkes
July 13 2005
Arriving back home after witnessing the eleventh round of the Formula One World Championship is a bit like arriving at Gatwick airport after a holiday of a lifetime. In the first of a 3 Part series, I will look back at my first Grand Prix experience, an experience that I’ll never forget.

Making impressions

Forget about what Bernie saids about Silverstone, we have one of the world’s best circuits. The money that has been spent on new roads to ease traffic worked a treat, toilet facilities were the same as the ones in your local IKEA, and if your lucky to get a Grandstand seat, the view you have of the track is as clear as air. Wondering around the circuit made me very proud of our home Grand Prix, which is nothing compared to what you see on the television. The atmosphere of everyone around you makes you feel as though you’re in a carnival; the colours, music and sounds are mixed together to give this very holly and exciting environment.

The first of many experiences

Unlike the everyday fan I was treated to a couple of experiences which money can’t buy, the first was having ‘Centre Access’ on my Grand Prix ticket and was a guest of the BRDC for all three days. This mean’t I had to wear a BRDC wristband, which allowed me into the BRDC campsite as used by David Coulthard and Jenson Button. The campsite is a totally different world to the busy nature of the packed out Grandstands and mile long toilet queues. Here I could relax, chat and enjoy what was going on around me, and just walk up to the fence where I could clearly see the cars racing round the track.

The second was the Pit Lane Walkabout on Friday morning. I was buzzing whilst waiting for the gates to open, and when they did, calmly walked in showing my Pit Lane pass. I was therefore able to get right up close to the cars, and watch a couple of pit stops as well. It amazed me how much work goes in to preparing these cars as the first Practice session was only an hour away.

Finally when I reacted the Toyota garage which to me felt like a mile away from all the other front running teams, Mike Gascoyne the man behind Toyota’s 2005 success came up to me and happily signed my autograph book as well as pose for a photograph. I was even able to get him to add ‘totallytoyotaf1.com’, which made the meeting even more special.

My final experience was a guided tour around the Ferrari Garage, a team that has struggled for results all season but still has the hope of retaining the drivers and constructors world championships. I witnessed the cars being taken apart in preparation for the weekends Practice and Qualifying, and was able to get very close up to some of the major parts of the bodywork like the front wing and side pods. If you’ve never seen a Formula One car in the flesh, your be amazed how small the car is, and when your told how much downforce it creates and the speed it withholds, you appreciate how amazing these cars really are. Once this was over, there was a quick walk down the paddock and a look at the team’s motor homes, the Red Bull energy station was flowing with guests from top to bottom whilst journalists awaited the arrival of Jenson Button outside B.A.R Honda. Sadly just as I tried to take everything in, the experience was over and I had to hand back the Shell V.I.P pass, as the next couple of visitors took their visit around the Ferrari garage. It was truly an amazing experience, properly one never to be repeated, but something I’ll never forget.

 

Press the Button

If you hate Jenson Button, stay clear of the British Grand Prix. I lost count of the amount of caps and t-shirts with his name printed across them, but they were everywhere. With the crowds sitting in the grandstands and on the banks of Silverstone covered in a wash of white, red and blue shouting the word “Button”, it really brought home how much support this young man has, and when he exited the pit lane for the first time all the horns sounded and the crowds cheered which wasn’t repeated for any other driver.

 

Toyota remaining calm

Toyota arrived at Silverstone after another poor race performance, their run of podiums seemed like years ago as the team fights to stay at the front of the grid.Watching the cars during Practice through the Maggotts and Becketts sequence gave me an excellent opportunity to see how the back of the cars stick to the racetrack. I noticed that the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s perform well on long runs, whilst the Jordan’s and Minardi's seemed like a handful though the faster sections of the racetrack. For Toyota their cars looked in very good shape, and this was reflected in their Friday Practice performance with all three cars within the top six.

 

My first day out was nothing short of a blast, and would set me up for the rest of the weekend which I knew would only get better!

 

SPARKY: Part 2

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