F1: Silverstone continues price-reduction effort

Silverstone is hoping to continue pushing down ticket prices for the British Grand Prix as it bids to make hosting Formula 1 sustainable.

The German Grand Prix dropped off the calendar last week after Hockenheim gave up hope of hosting the race. Silverstone is privately owned and receives no government funding, so it faces a challenge to afford the race fee and survive as a viable business. The management was given an overhaul late last year with Patrick Allen replacing Richard Phillips as managing director, and the new regime has already implemented sweeping changes.

A ticket for the British Grand Prix was among one of the most expensive on the F1 calendar in 2014 but earlier this year, Allen began plans to change by cutting prices.

"When I came up with the idea for a £99 [$147] ticket, I was told, 'You can't do that, it's madness,'" Allen told AUTOSPORT. "But I said, 'Let's try it.' So we put 1000 tickets on sale and they sold out in 22 minutes.

"We kept the promotion going until 5 p.m. on the day and we sold 6000 tickets. In total, we took 18,000 calls. It clogged the lines up. So we know the demand is out there. People want to come but they haven't been able to because of the price."

Silverstone says ticket sales are 30 percent up on last year with a major ticket price overhaul planned for the future.

"We want to make the ticketing structure transparent," said Allen. "If you buy tickets early on, you'll get the best deal. As you get nearer the event, it costs more. The plan is to introduce that next year."

When asked Silverstone plans to continue to drive down prices with early bird deals, Allen said: "I would like to think we can achieve that."

Originally on Autosport.com