OCTOBER 27, 2005

Silverstone being realistic

Silverstone was hoping to keep its traditional mid-July date for the British Grand Prix but the race organisers now accept that in order to minimise the impact of TV scheduling clashes with the soccer World Cup in Germany the race has had to be moved to June 11.

"We were hoping to keep our traditional date in July, but we are also realistic," says Richard Phillips, managing director of Silverstone Circuits Limited. "Time differences and TV schedules around the World Cup were always going to be taken into consideration, so we're not entirely surprised that a number of circuits have had to change dates. Getting the circuit ready for a British Grand Prix on June 11 will not be a problem.

The circuit is confident that despite the date change the event will be a sell-out.

"The five year deal between the British Racing Drivers' Club and FOM has given us the security to plan for the long term, and the guarantee of Formula 1 racing at Silverstone until at least 2009 enabled us to start selling tickets much earlier than in previous years," Phillips added.