as ticket sales soar for the British Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit was inundated last week with fans booking tickets to see newly crowned Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton on home soil at the 2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX, taking place on 19 – 21 June. The reaction from fans since the dramatic season finale has been staggering. In the week following the Brazilian Grand Prix (3-9 November) the Northamptonshire circuit has sold just under 22,000 tickets for Hamilton’s home Grand Prix, representing almost ten times the weekly average at this time of year - approximately 2,500 British Grand Prix tickets were sold during the equivalent week in 2007.
Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuit Limited, commented, “The reaction from fans since Brazil has been incredible. We always notice an increase in sales when Lewis wins, or indeed if any of the British drivers do well, but the level of demand for tickets last week exceeded all expectations. “He is a fantastic ambassador for British motor sport and thoroughly deserved to be crowned World Champion. We are already looking forward to seeing him here at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in June. The atmosphere will be amazing.”
Damon Hill OBE, President of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) and the last British driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship (in 1996), was at Silverstone to cheer on Hamilton at a screening of the Brazilian Grand Prix in the BRDC Clubhouse. Damon Hill OBE, BRDC President and 1996 Formula 1 World Champion, was joined by 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter and 1981 British Grand Prix winner John Watson at Silverstone for a screening of the Brazilian Grand Prix
Speaking at the screening, Hill commented, “We are looking forward to welcoming Lewis back to Great Britain as a World Champion. A British driver as World Champion, driving for a British team – we are going to have an unbelievable party at the British Grand Prix in June. “Next year will be a whole new experience for Lewis as World Champion. Expectations will be higher than ever, but he will also receive unbelievable support from the fans – nowhere more so than here at Silverstone for his home race. The 2009 British Grand Prix looks set to be the last at Silverstone for the foreseeable future. He will get an unbelievable reception from the fans and it will be a fantastic occasion.”
Tickets for the 2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX, taking place at Silverstone on 19-21 June, are on sale 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be booked at silverstone.co.uk, or by calling 08704 588 300.
