Silverstone track day cancellations
Discussion
stellasparks said:
Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about the cancellations you and your friends have been experiencing with trackdays at Silverstone. While I don't have access to real-time information, as of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, I can provide you with some general possibilities that could lead to such cancellations:
Weather Conditions: Adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain or extreme temperatures, can sometimes result in the cancellation or rescheduling of trackdays for safety reasons.
Track Maintenance: Track maintenance is a regular requirement to ensure the safety and optimal conditions of the circuit. Scheduled maintenance or unexpected repairs might lead to the cancellation of trackdays.
Event Clashes: Sometimes, a sudden scheduling conflict can arise if a higher-priority event, such as a professional race or a major motorsport event, takes place at the same time. In such cases, trackdays might be rescheduled or canceled to accommodate the larger event.
Operational Issues: Silverstone, like any other venue, can face operational challenges that may impact scheduled events. These could include staffing issues, technical problems, or other logistical constraints.
To get accurate and up-to-date information about the specific reasons for the cancellations you're experiencing, it's best to contact Silverstone directly. Their customer service or track operations team should be able to provide you with insights into what might be happening and any alternative options available to you.
I hope you and your buddies are able to resolve this situation and enjoy your trackdays at Silverstone soon.
Are you chat gbt?I'm sorry to hear about the cancellations you and your friends have been experiencing with trackdays at Silverstone. While I don't have access to real-time information, as of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, I can provide you with some general possibilities that could lead to such cancellations:
Weather Conditions: Adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain or extreme temperatures, can sometimes result in the cancellation or rescheduling of trackdays for safety reasons.
Track Maintenance: Track maintenance is a regular requirement to ensure the safety and optimal conditions of the circuit. Scheduled maintenance or unexpected repairs might lead to the cancellation of trackdays.
Event Clashes: Sometimes, a sudden scheduling conflict can arise if a higher-priority event, such as a professional race or a major motorsport event, takes place at the same time. In such cases, trackdays might be rescheduled or canceled to accommodate the larger event.
Operational Issues: Silverstone, like any other venue, can face operational challenges that may impact scheduled events. These could include staffing issues, technical problems, or other logistical constraints.
To get accurate and up-to-date information about the specific reasons for the cancellations you're experiencing, it's best to contact Silverstone directly. Their customer service or track operations team should be able to provide you with insights into what might be happening and any alternative options available to you.
I hope you and your buddies are able to resolve this situation and enjoy your trackdays at Silverstone soon.
Directly with Silverstone
It’s weird as they’ve cancelled about 2/3 of the days up to October but offered 2 alternatives. I’ve checked with other people who’ve booked and they also have had these cancellations. So it’s definitely not weather or maintenance.
I’m guessing they found some more profitable way to sell those days, but pretty poor firm on their part.
Our group has rebooked and added some days with other circuits but I’m less inclined to book with them next time if they do this as it’s a PITA co-ordinating everyone however great the track is.
It’s weird as they’ve cancelled about 2/3 of the days up to October but offered 2 alternatives. I’ve checked with other people who’ve booked and they also have had these cancellations. So it’s definitely not weather or maintenance.
I’m guessing they found some more profitable way to sell those days, but pretty poor firm on their part.
Our group has rebooked and added some days with other circuits but I’m less inclined to book with them next time if they do this as it’s a PITA co-ordinating everyone however great the track is.
Surely Silverstone events would have known and agreed the F1 filming dates prior to releasing the public calendar and should have made suitable allowances for weather by allocating more dates than strictly needed.
It’s just bad form really to cancel event bookings for anything that could or should have been foreseeable. Exceptional weather or unexpected track damage I can understand. Someone with a bigger budget being able to grab an already allocated date just isn’t how these things should be run. Their circuit, their playpen and lack of competition I suppose. It’s not as if you can book with another TD for a Silverstone date anymore.
LoT and PCGB excluded obviously.
It’s just bad form really to cancel event bookings for anything that could or should have been foreseeable. Exceptional weather or unexpected track damage I can understand. Someone with a bigger budget being able to grab an already allocated date just isn’t how these things should be run. Their circuit, their playpen and lack of competition I suppose. It’s not as if you can book with another TD for a Silverstone date anymore.
LoT and PCGB excluded obviously.
b0rk said:
Surely Silverstone events would have known and agreed the F1 filming dates prior to releasing the public calendar and should have made suitable allowances for weather by allocating more dates than strictly needed.
It’s just bad form really to cancel event bookings for anything that could or should have been foreseeable. Exceptional weather or unexpected track damage I can understand. Someone with a bigger budget being able to grab an already allocated date just isn’t how these things should be run. Their circuit, their playpen and lack of competition I suppose. It’s not as if you can book with another TD for a Silverstone date anymore.
LoT and PCGB excluded obviously.
Yes, they’ve cancelled dates up till October and only offered a couple of alternatives. To be honest we’re more likely to gravitate to other tracks or look to Europe if this is how they behave,It’s just bad form really to cancel event bookings for anything that could or should have been foreseeable. Exceptional weather or unexpected track damage I can understand. Someone with a bigger budget being able to grab an already allocated date just isn’t how these things should be run. Their circuit, their playpen and lack of competition I suppose. It’s not as if you can book with another TD for a Silverstone date anymore.
LoT and PCGB excluded obviously.
People make plans months in advance and not that it should make a difference these are not budget days either.
Luckily other tracks had a bit of availability.
It is a commercial reality I am afraid. If the circuit is not being used, then it is losing money, and Silverstone can lose money fast. Silverstone is one of the biggest names in F1 and Drive to Survive has reminded and reinforced that with a lot of people around the world. If a corporate client wants to book 3 days or a manufacturer wants a week for a new car launch, it will trump by far the income from a track day event, and something no commercial entity can turn down. They may even want to do more than one event per year and even become a regular customer. Corporate clients don't ask for allocation nearly a year in advance. You don't tell them no, because you have a 1/4 full track day scheduled, it is the way of the world.
I booked direct through Silverstone Track Days for May 29 and only now do I discover they won't accept my type of car (Radical). Can I get get a refund? Not so far. Can I get anyone to speak to rather than just getting a recorded message? Like hell. Silverstone is just too big, too up itself to bother about the general customer. If only Jonathan Palmer and MSV ran the place. Better still, if Javelin did track days there.
Nickjd said:
It is a commercial reality I am afraid. If the circuit is not being used, then it is losing money, and Silverstone can lose money fast. Silverstone is one of the biggest names in F1 and Drive to Survive has reminded and reinforced that with a lot of people around the world. If a corporate client wants to book 3 days or a manufacturer wants a week for a new car launch, it will trump by far the income from a track day event, and something no commercial entity can turn down. They may even want to do more than one event per year and even become a regular customer. Corporate clients don't ask for allocation nearly a year in advance. You don't tell them no, because you have a 1/4 full track day scheduled, it is the way of the world.
Or, despite being owned by top level racing drivers, Silverstone has lost sight of the fact that they are supposed to be the Uk’s leading motorsport venue and find it easier to book it out for a week at a time for manufacturer launches instead 
I wonder how many 1/4 full trackdays will they have had since they binned all other TDOs off………..
Steve H said:
Or, despite being owned by top level racing drivers, Silverstone has lost sight of the fact that they are supposed to be the Uk’s leading motorsport venue and find it easier to book it out for a week at a time for manufacturer launches instead
I wonder how many 1/4 full trackdays will they have had since they binned all other TDOs off………..
Unfortunately Steve, committing in September to rent the track on a Wednesday the following May and then having to tell a corporate client that is willing to spend 10 times the amount of the circuit rent, no, because you have a track day booked, does not keep the champagne coolers running in the BRDC. It also sends those clients elsewhere and JP is not adverse to cancelling days at short notice either. I wonder how many 1/4 full trackdays will they have had since they binned all other TDOs off………..
Sad to say, I will soon be stopping doing track days, without ever having done one at Silverstone.
My problem, not theirs.
I just cannot stomach paying 3 times what it would cost at most MSV circuits to drive on a very wide piece of tarmac with almost no altitude changes.
Charging what they do, one would really hope that they would not piss their (few) customers off even further by cancelling at short notice.
Are all the car track day companies fully booked this year? I ask, because one of the bike track day companies have been asking on Facebook for last minute bookings because of very low numbers booked - 15 bikes for a day at Cadwell Park is quite simply a massive loss for them. They would need 50-60 just to break even.
My problem, not theirs.
I just cannot stomach paying 3 times what it would cost at most MSV circuits to drive on a very wide piece of tarmac with almost no altitude changes.
Charging what they do, one would really hope that they would not piss their (few) customers off even further by cancelling at short notice.
Are all the car track day companies fully booked this year? I ask, because one of the bike track day companies have been asking on Facebook for last minute bookings because of very low numbers booked - 15 bikes for a day at Cadwell Park is quite simply a massive loss for them. They would need 50-60 just to break even.
QBee said:
Sad to say, I will soon be stopping doing track days, without ever having done one at Silverstone.
My problem, not theirs.
I just cannot stomach paying 3 times what it would cost at most MSV circuits to drive on a very wide piece of tarmac with almost no altitude changes.
Charging what they do, one would really hope that they would not piss their (few) customers off even further by cancelling at short notice.
Are all the car track day companies fully booked this year? I ask, because one of the bike track day companies have been asking on Facebook for last minute bookings because of very low numbers booked - 15 bikes for a day at Cadwell Park is quite simply a massive loss for them. They would need 50-60 just to break even.
Close to full. Some cancellations are come up for some, some not.My problem, not theirs.
I just cannot stomach paying 3 times what it would cost at most MSV circuits to drive on a very wide piece of tarmac with almost no altitude changes.
Charging what they do, one would really hope that they would not piss their (few) customers off even further by cancelling at short notice.
Are all the car track day companies fully booked this year? I ask, because one of the bike track day companies have been asking on Facebook for last minute bookings because of very low numbers booked - 15 bikes for a day at Cadwell Park is quite simply a massive loss for them. They would need 50-60 just to break even.
The Silverstone National track day last Monday was far from full. Half the garages had their shutters down.
It was better than the usual, and apart from a very slow McLaren, the driving standards were very good, with hardly any red flags, snd the track was in very good condition.
It’s very annoying about the other cancelled days though, it’s such s as great track, whichever configuration.
When I was leaving there seemed to be loads of Porsches in the car park, was there an event in the evening?
It was better than the usual, and apart from a very slow McLaren, the driving standards were very good, with hardly any red flags, snd the track was in very good condition.
It’s very annoying about the other cancelled days though, it’s such s as great track, whichever configuration.
When I was leaving there seemed to be loads of Porsches in the car park, was there an event in the evening?
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