“We’re very grateful to the people who did stay at home. This has given us
some breathing space and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.
“Another day like yesterday would have killed the staff apart from anything
else. They would probably have deserted us.
“Sometimes these things are on a bit of a knife edge but we’re back on an even
keel now. It will still be challenging. Some people might have to walk a bit
further but come early and wear reasonable footwear.”
Whether his optimism is misguided remains to be seen. Phillips said that the
latest weather forecast was for a dry night with the rain resuming at 7am.
That is two hours after car parks open and one hour after the gates open.
Needless to say, Silverstone is encouraging fans to set off early.
“The grass car parks aren’t in great shape, there’s no denying that,” Phillips
said, “but we’ve also been able to pull in a few provisions. There’s a bit
more Park and Ride tomorrow and we’ve got some more buses.
“We’re hoping people come early. We’d like lift-sharing. If you’ve got a bike,
come on that. 4x4s are very welcome, horses, pack animals.”
It was good to see him making light of the drama. Phillips and his team have
copped some fearful criticism over the last 24hrs, much of it justified.
While it is true that the weather has been horrendous, and far worse than
forecast, it was not beyond the realms of possibility that car parks and
campsites might flood.
The bald facts are that the whole infrastructure, Silverstone’s best laid
contingency plans, fell to pieces under the strain. Lessons must be learned.
As BRDC chairman Neil England said on Friday night, to let it happen again
would be “criminal”.
The race remains afloat but the reputation of Silverstone, so carefully
burnished over the last two years, has once again been severely bruised.
Disgruntled fans had bombarded radio phone-ins and websites yesterday to
express their dismay at the way the situation developed, although those
inside the circuit yesterday seemed largely content to put a brave face on
it.
“They have been fantastic,” Phillips said. “Fans in the UK amaze me actually.
It is quite humbling having them around. They’re just brilliant.”
Phillips was similarly grateful to Formula One chief executive Bernie
Ecclestone whose decision to offer sympathy rather than criticism was by far
the biggest surprise of the day. Ecclestone was famously furious at the
height of the fiasco 12 years ago, labelling the British Grand Prix at
Silverstone a “country fair masquerading as a world-class event”.
The 81-year-old’s views have mellowed in recent years, thanks in no small part
to the circuit owners’ decision to pump £40million into giving the place a
facelift.
“I’m really, really upset for the fans, but in reality if it was you running
the race what would you do?” Ecclestone said. “They couldn’t predict the
rain. From what I hear there are a lot of camping sites that shouldn’t be
there that let people park. Because they were under water, the people
arrived that had paid to park, drove around and that’s what caused all the
trouble with the traffic jams.
“Honestly I don’t think anyone expected the amount of rain we had. You might
as well say ‘why didn’t the councils in all these different places
throughout England do something?’ because I looked on the TV and saw places
flooded, houses flooded, shops flooded, people abandoning cars. I didn’t
expect to see that either.”
Phillips was clearly appreciative that Ecclestone, for so long the enemy, had
saved Silverstone the humiliation of another public dressing down. “Things
have changed haven’t they?” he smiled. “[Bernie] has been very good to us
for the last couple of years really, since we’ve built the Wing
[Silverstone’s new pits and paddock complex].”
Crisis averted then? We’ll see. Phillips claimed not to know with whom the
event was insured or whether the losses could be recovered. “Now is not the
time to be counting pounds, shillings and pence,” he chided, adding that
claim forms will be sent out early next week.
He was more concerned with the latest weather forecast. “I think it’s going to
be dry from now until probably 7am,” he said peering out of the window
overlooking the start-finish straight. “The latest forecast I’ve seen is for
the odd shower. The race itself might be wet. Who knows? This is Britain.”