View source for Silverstone Circuit

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{| border=1 align="right" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 width=230  style="margin-left:3em; margin-bottom: 2em;"
|-
|colspan=2|[[Image:GrandPrix Circuit Britain 2006.png|240px|Route of the Silverstone Circuit as laid out for the British Grand Prix]]
|-
!colspan=2 style="color: white; background: darkred;"|'''Silverstone Circuit'''
|-
|Location  || [[Silverstone]], [[Northamptonshire]] and [[Buckinghamshire]], [[England]] 
|-
|Events    || [[Formula One]]; [[GP2 Series|GP2]]; [[Superbike racing|SBK]]; [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Superbike racing|Superbikes]]; [[British Touring Car Championship|BTCC]]; [[Touring car racing|WTCC]]; [[British Formula Three Championship|British F3]] 
|-
|Length km || 5.141 
|-
|Length mi || 3.194 
|-
|Turns     || 17 
|-
|Record time   || 1'18.739 
|-
|Record driver || [[Michael Schumacher]] 
|-
|Record team   || [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] 
|-
|Record year   || 2004
|}


[[Image:184451_5e5d34d2.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Stowe Corner at Silverstone]]
[[Image:Silverstoune.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The original circuit, as used in 1950 and 1951.]]


{{Motorsport venue |
  Name       = Silverstone Circuit |
  Location   = [[Northamptonshire]], [[England]] |
  Time = [[GMT]]|
  Image      = [[Image:Circuit Silverstone.png|230px]] |
  Image_caption = Grand Prix Circuit Map |
  Events     = [[Formula One|F1]], [[GP2 Series|GP2]], [[British Formula Three Championship|British F3]], [[Superbike World Championship|SBK]], [[British Superbike|BSB]], [[Touring car racing|WTCC]] |
  Layout1   = Grand Prix Circuit |
  Length_km = 5.141 |
  Length_mi = 3.194 |
  Turns     = 17 |
  Record_time      = 1:18.739 |
  Record_driver    = [[Michael Schumacher]] |
  Record_team      = [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] |
  Record_class     = [[Formula One|F1]] |
  Record_year      = 2004 |
  Layout2   = International Circuit |
  Length_km2 = 3.619 |
  Length_mi2 = 2.249 |
  Turns2     = 10 |
  Layout3   = National Circuit |
  Length_km3 = 2.638 |
  Length_mi3 = 1.639 |
  Turns3     = 6 |
  Layout4   = Stowe Circuit |
  Length_km4 = 1.281 |
  Length_mi4 = 0.796 |
  Turns4     = 5 |
}}
[[Image:184451 5e5d34d2.jpg|thumb|right|Stowe Corner at Silverstone]]
'''Silverstone Circuit''' is a [[motor racing]] circuit near the village of [[Silverstone]] in [[Northamptonshire]], [[England]]. It is best known as the home of the [[British Grand Prix]], which it first hosted in 1948 and which has been held on the circuit every year since 1987. The circuit is also home to the [[BRDC International Trophy]], formerly one of the premier non-Championship [[Formula One|F1]] races in the calendar, today awarded to the winner of a race for historic F1 cars at the annual Silverstone Classic meeting.

== Circuit Development ==
Half the circuit is in [[Northamptonshire]] and half in [[Buckinghamshire]], roughly equidistant from [[Milton Keynes]] and [[Northampton]]. It is built on the site of a World War II bomber base, [[RAF Silverstone]], which opened in 1943. The airfield's three runways, in classic [[Class A airfield|WWII triangle format]], lie within the outline of the present track.

The first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the [[I BRDC International Trophy|1949 International Trophy]] meeting it was decided to switch to the perimeter track. This arrangement was used for the [[1950 British Grand Prix|1950]] and [[1951 British Grand Prix|1951]] Grands Prix. In 1952 the startline was moved from the Farm Straight to the present Finish Straight, and this layout remained largely unaltered for the following 35 years. For the [[1975 British Grand Prix|1975]] meeting, a [[chicane]] was introduced to try and tame speeds through the mighty Woodcote Corner, and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in [[1987 British Grand Prix|1987]], before the track underwent a major redesign between the [[1990 British Grand Prix|1990]] and [[1991 British Grand Prix|1991]] races. The reshaped track's first F1 race was perhaps the most memorable of recent years, with [[Nigel Mansell]] coming home first in front of his home crowd. On his victory lap back to the pits Mansell even found time to pick up stranded rival [[Ayrton Senna]] and give him a lift on his side-pod, after Senna's [[McLaren]] had expired towards the end of the race.

Following the deaths of Grand Prix drivers Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modifed in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this, in 1995, the entry from Hangar Straight into Stowe Corner was modified so as to make its entry less dangerous (but less challenging).

=== Spectator traffic management===
Historically, Silverstone has suffered traffic jams on race days. This problem has been largely eliminated with the completion of the [[A43 road|A43]] Silverstone bypass, a dual-carriageway road just to the north of the circuit. When the race was moved to an April date in [[2000 British Grand Prix|2000]], rainy conditions turned the fields used for car parking into mud baths, causing chaos for spectators trying to park. On F1 race day, a large amount of spectators travel to the circuit via helicopter, enough to make [[Silverstone Heliport]] the busiest airport in the UK for this day.

== Hosting Grand Prix and Formula One ==
Silverstone is the current home of the [[British Grand Prix]], which it first hosted in [[1948 British Grand Prix|1948]]. The [[1950 British Grand Prix]] at Silverstone was the first race in the newly-created [[Formula One]] World Championship. The race rotated between Silverstone, [[Aintree Racecourse|Aintree]] and [[Brands Hatch]] from 1955 to 1986, but relocated permanently to Silverstone in 1987. 

On [[30 September]] 2004, [[British Racing Drivers' Club]] president [[Jackie Stewart]] announced that the British Grand Prix would not be included on the 2005 provisional race calendar, and if it were, would probably not occur at Silverstone. However on [[9 December]] an agreement was reached with Formula One rights holder [[Bernie Ecclestone]] ensuring that the track would host the British Grand Prix until 2009.

===Future===
[[Bernie Ecclestone]] has stated that he will only negotiate the future of Formula One at Silverstone post-2009 if the BRDC gives up its role as promoter of the event. In an [[Autosport]] interview he said "I want to deal with a promoter rather than the BRDC. It is too difficult with the BRDC because you get no guarantees with them. We've said that unless they can get the circuit to the level expected from so-called Third-World countries, we are not prepared to do a deal. They know what we want them to build." A new pit-and-paddock complex is the minimum redevelopment required. [[Maurice Hamilton]] has described the attitude of the BRDC as "[appearing to be] inflexible and sometimes arrogant."

On August 1, 2007, it was announced that a £25m redevelopment of the circuit has been approved, with new grandstands, pit facilities and a development centre planned to be built. 


==Other competitions==

The [[Dunlop Tyres|Dunlop]] MSA [[British Touring Car Championship]] withdrew the track from its calendar in 2007, however demand from teams and sponsors saw the return of Silverstone to the 2008 BTCC calendar. Silverstone also hosts rounds of the FIA GT, British Superbikes, British F3, British GT and Le Mans Series championships as well as many club racing series.  It is also host to the UK's only 24 hour car race, the Britcar 24, which is gaining in popularity, having first started in 2005.

It has in the past hosted exhibition rounds of the [[D1 Grand Prix]] both in {{D1|2005}} and {{D1|2006}}. The course, starting from the main straight used in club races, make use of both Brooklands and Luffield corners to form a S-bend, a requirement in [[drifting (motorsport)|drifting]] and is regarded by its judge, [[Keiichi Tsuchiya]] as one of the most technical drifting courses of all.. The section, used in drifting events since 2002, is currently used to host a [[European Drift Championship]] round.

=== List of Grands Prix at Silverstone ===
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.''
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" border=1 cellpadding=3
|- tr BGCOLOR="darkred"
! Year
! Driver 
! Constructor
! Report
|-
! [[2007 Formula One season|2007]]
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Kimi Räikkönen]] 
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[2007 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2006 Formula One season|2006]]
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Fernando Alonso]]
| [[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[2006 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2005 Formula One season|2005]]
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Juan Pablo Montoya]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]]
| [[2005 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2004 Formula One season|2004]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Michael Schumacher]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[2004 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2003 Formula One season|2003]]
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Rubens Barrichello]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[2003 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2002 Formula One season|2002]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Michael Schumacher]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[2002 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2001 Formula One season|2001]]
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Mika Häkkinen]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]]
| [[2001 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[2000 Formula One season|2000]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[David Coulthard]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]]
| [[2000 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1999 Formula One season|1999]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[David Coulthard]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]]
| [[1999 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1998 Formula One season|1998]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Michael Schumacher]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1998 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1997 Formula One season|1997]]
| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Jacques Villeneuve]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1997 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1996 Formula One season|1996]]
| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Jacques Villeneuve]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1996 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1995 Formula One season|1995]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Johnny Herbert]]
| [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1995 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1994 Formula One season|1994]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Damon Hill]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1994 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1993 Formula One season|1993]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1993 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1992 Formula One season|1992]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1992 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1991 Formula One season|1991]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1991 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1990 Formula One season|1990]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1990 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1989 Formula One season|1989]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Honda Racing F1|Honda]]
| [[1989 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1988 Formula One season|1988]]
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Ayrton Senna]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Honda Racing F1|Honda]]
| [[1988 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1987 Formula One season|1987]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Honda Racing F1|Honda]]
| [[1987 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1985 Formula One season|1985]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Techniques d'Avant Garde|TAG]]
| [[1985 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1983 Formula One season|1983]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[Renault F1|Renault]]
| [[1983 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1981 Formula One season|1981]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1981 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1979 Formula One season|1979]]
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Clay Regazzoni]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1979 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1977 Formula One season|1977]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[James Hunt]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1977 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1975 Formula One season|1975]]
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Emerson Fittipaldi]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1975 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1973 Formula One season|1973]]
| {{flagicon|US}} [[Peter Revson]]
| [[Team McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1973 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1971 Formula One season|1971]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Jackie Stewart]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1971 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1969 Formula One season|1969]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Jackie Stewart]]
| [[Matra]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1969 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1967 Formula One season|1967]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Jim Clark (racing driver)|Jim Clark]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Cosworth]]
| [[1967 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1965 Formula One season|1965]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Jim Clark (racing driver)|Jim Clark]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Coventry Climax|Climax]]
| [[1965 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1963 Formula One season|1963]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Jim Clark (racing driver)|Jim Clark]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Coventry Climax|Climax]]
| [[1963 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1960 Formula One season|1960]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Jack Brabham]]
| [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]]-[[Coventry Climax|Climax]]
| [[1960 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1958 Formula One season|1958]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Peter Collins (racing driver)|Peter Collins]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1958 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1956 Formula One season|1956]]
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Juan-Manuel Fangio]]
| [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]]-[[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1956 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1954 Formula One season|1954]]
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[José Froilán González]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1954 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1953 Formula One season|1953]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Alberto Ascari]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1953 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1952 Formula One season|1952]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Alberto Ascari]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1952 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1951 Formula One season|1951]]
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[José Froilán González]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[1951 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|-
! [[1950 Formula One season|1950]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Giuseppe Farina]]
| [[Alfa Romeo (Formula One)|Alfa Romeo]]
| [[1950 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
! [[1949 Grand Prix season|1949]]
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Toulo de Graffenried|Emmanuel de Graffenried]]
| [[Maserati]]
| [[1949 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
! [[1948 Grand Prix season|1948]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Luigi Villoresi]]
| [[Maserati]]
| [[1948 British Grand Prix|Report]]
|}

==Circuit maps==
<gallery>
Image:Silverstoune.jpg|'''1949 to 1951'''
Image:Silverstone 1952.jpg|'''1952 to 1973''': following the relocation of the pits area.
Image:Silverstone 1975.jpg|'''1975 to 1986''': with the Woodcote Chicane in place to reduce speeds through Woodcote Corner.
Image:Silverstone 1987.jpg| '''1987 to 1990''': with the Bridge Chicane in place to reduce speeds through Woodcote Corner.
Image:Silverstone 1991.jpg|'''1991 to 1993''': Redesigned, incorporating the new Becketts, Vale, Priory and Luffield corner complexes.
Image:Silverstone 1994.jpg|'''1994 and 1995''': with the addition of the Abbey Chicane.
Image:Silverstone 1996.jpg|'''1996''': with minor adjustments to the Stowe and Club corners.
Image:Silverstone 1997.jpg|'''1997 to 1999''': with further changes to the Vale complex.
Image:Silverstone 2000.jpg|'''2000 to date''': with the reprofiled Luffied complex reduced to one corner.
</gallery>

==In popular culture==

;Gaming
* The circuit has featured in all modern [[Formula One]] simulators such as [[Formula One Grand Prix]] and more recent official F1 games.
* In [[Forza Motorsport]], and [[Forza Motorsport 2]] Silverstone is one of the tracks available for use in the game.
* The circuit is also a selectable track, with many configurations, in [[TOCA Race Driver 3]].
* All three layouts of the main circuit are part of [[rFactor]], but known as Northamptonshire in the sim.
* In [[Grand Prix Legends]], Silverstone is featured in its mid 1967 layout.

;TV
* The circuit has featured in many episodes of British motoring TV shows such as ''[[Top Gear]]''.

;Film
* In 1965, the chase scene in the thirty-eighth minute of the [[James Bond]] film ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'' was filmed at Silverstone.

== Location ==
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=52072199&x=-1017565&z=15&l=0&m=h Wikimapia]


== External links ==

* [http://www.silverstone-circuit.co.uk Silverstone Circuit]
* [http://www.silverstoneracingclub.co.uk Silverstone Racing Club]
* [http://worldstadia.com/stadium/england/silverstone/515.php Silverstone Circuit] Concise Description, Directions and Photographs of the Circuit
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?sll=52.10292,-1.016579&sspn=0.02868,0.133209&hl=en&q=silverstone+circuit&btnG=Search&cid=52102920,-1016579,7354982379904003550&li=lmd&z=14&t=m  Google Maps satellite view of Silverstone] and [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=silverstone+circuit&cid=52102920,-1016579,7354982379904003550&li=lmd&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=52.070591,-1.015549&spn=0.02638,0.05785&t=k&om=1 the circuit itself].
* [http://www.f1db.com/f1/page/Silverstone_Circuits_Ltd. Silverstone Circuit History and Statistics]
* [http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/britain_795/ Statistics from official F1 site]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/circuit_guide/4250951.stm BBC's circuit guide]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ciroalbertopabon/Circuitos_eng.htm Ciro Pabón's Racetracks] 3D views and virtual laps of all F1 circuits, including this one, via Google Earth
* [http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/f1-information/going-to-a-race/silverstone-great-britain/ Spectator testimonial of visiting Silverstone]


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