The organisers are hoping that upgrades to spectator and circuit facilities in time for the Foster's British Grand Prix on July 18-20, together with a rapidly intensifying battle for the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship, will boost the appeal of this year's race as the season hits its traditional midway point.
Visitors to the British Grand Prix this year will experience the benefits of further advances to Silverstone's road system and infrastructure. The long-term commitment to Silverstone and the British Grand Prix is evidenced by the latest tranche of the ongoing £40million development of the UK's most famous motorsport venue.
The investment this year has focused on delivering major improvements to facilities for spectators.
The new roads network around Silverstone, now fully operational for some months, will mean a radically improved traffic flow throughout the event.
The A43 dual carriageway Silverstone bypass has been completed and includes crossover points to enable a one-way system to operate to and from the venue at peak times, with priority lanes for the park-and-ride scheme.
With the completion of new surfaced car parks for more than 5,000 cars, visitors to Silverstone will experience a very different face to the venue.
The revised roads system is complemented by a new venue control centre, from where police, the emergency services, Highways Agency and Silverstone management will be based to oversee the running of the British Grand Prix.
The purpose-built facility features a traffic management function that will enable the direction of incoming and outgoing traffic across the biggest racing weekend of the year in the UK.
Inside the gates there is a long list of enhancements to facilities for Silverstone visitors, including the upgrading of the internal road system to smooth the movement of people and traffic with a brand new, larger capacity centre bridge, more and improved spectator signage, renovated grandstands, a total of six new toilet blocks and upgrades to existing amenities.
Together with new fencing and landscaping, the latest development phase is aimed at driving up the quality of spectators' experiences at Silverstone for the blue riband event.
The work has continued on track safety as well, with the conversion of gravel run-offs at Woodcote and Stowe corners to the latest FIA-specification tarmac, new gravel traps and Armco barrier around the 3.19-mile circuit. Silverstone has worked closely with the FIA in all of the work carried out on the circuit itself.
Andrew Waller, managing director of Silverstone, summarised the latest changes: "Our overriding priority for this year, and beyond, is to improve the experience for the spectator and ensure that we provide facilities to the standard of an international sporting venue, as part of our deep-rooted commitment to Silverstone and the British Grand Prix."
