SILVER STONE’ S FESTIVAL TIME
There is a buzz surrounding the World Rallycross Championship’s move to a new home at Silverstone at the end of May. It was a wrench to leave Lydden Hill, which had hosted the WRX for four seasons, but the facilities and the layout at Silverstone offers many options to create an event from the ground up.
The circuit was opened in March with the first round of the British Rallycross Championship and WRX visitor Sebastien Loeb dominated the clash in his Peugeot 208. The Frenchman, along with all the other full-time competitors in the series, plus some surprise guests, will be ripping up the mixed surface event on May 25-27. The WRX meeting will have more of a festival feel to it, with a host of other attractions bolted on to the on-track action. The southern part of the venue will be thronged, and it isn’t only the new rallycross track that will be used.
Anyone buying a ticket expects to see top-class motorsport, but almost every element of the weekend at Silverstone has been thought about and enhanced by the organiser.
Driving experiences will take place on the International configuration, which includes classic corners such as Stowe and Club, with manufacturers offering visitors the chance to try out their latest products. There will also be the opportunity to be a passenger in a drift experience car.
And there will be music in the evening. Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx, Ministry of Sound, Razorlight and Lethal Bizzle will be among those performing on the specially created stage on the inside of Club Corner.
Championship promoter IMG has worked hard to formulate an event with a difference along with the circuit bosses. Lessons have been learned from the host of WRX meetings held globally over the last four years and they have been included in the creation of both the rallycross circuit at Silverstone and Speedmachine itself.
IMG’S James Taylor explains: “We’ve ensured that fans can view the entire track so that they can enjoy all of the race from their seat. We’ve also worked hard on the layout of the festival so that fans can move easily around the venue.
“There are going to be so many different aspects of the event that it’s hard to choose one that will stand out above the others: but, aside from the on-track action, our team is looking forward to the music acts on Friday, saturday and sunday .”
The final of the Codemasters DIRT 4 esports World Championship will be hosted in The Wing pits over the course of the weekend. More than 10,000 people entered the competition and have been through regional heats, quarter finals and semi-finals and the fastest men will be selected to battle it out. The competition will be live streamed on Motorsport.tv, and the winner will get the chance to test drive a RX2 rallycross machine at Silverstone.
Some iconic machines will also be on display from Prodrive and some of the Group B machines from a jaw-dropping period of the World Rally Championship’s history.
For those who prefer more energetic sport, there is even the chance to run the circuit on Friday night in either a 5km race or a 10km version at 1900hrs. That is just the curtain raiser to what will be a flat-out weekend.
Taylor explains this has very much been a joint programme between the circuit and the series promoters, and it is a deal that is likely to evolve over the longer term.
“Silverstone shared our vision for the festival that we wanted to create,” says Taylor. “The first-class facilities and support have allowed us to make the event possible.
“We’ve been delighted by the interest and enthusiasm shown by our existing championship partners too, and manufacturers competing in World RX this year, but also from new event partners and the wide range of exhibitors who will be on site during the festival. We intend for Silverstone to be the UK home of rallycross for the foreseeable future.” For details of how to buy tickets for speedmachine, go to speedmachine.com.