Record Ticket Sales for Silverstone in First 24 Hours

The Silverstone track has barely secured its future in the Formula One championship and already thousands of people are demanding tickets for the next year's race. Less than 48 hours after the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) and Bernie Ecclestone announced the 17-year deal for the hosting of the British Grand Prix, no less than 6,500 tickets were sold by the organizers.

Bear in mind that the next year's British Grand Prix is scheduled in the same day as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, a stage that England – although they haven't got there in quite a while – may reach. The British team is seen as one of the FIFA World Cup favorites next year, which may see most of the fans in the UK have to choose between cheering for their national team or for one of their two champions in Formula One.

The BRDC was not able to put the tickets up for sale because of the uncertainty regarding the future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Last year, the Northamptonshire based track was one of the few in Formula One to record a profit from their Grand Prix organizing, mainly thanks to huge ticket sales.

“It was a shame we couldn't put them (tickets) on sale earlier but we had to do the right deal. We've a good team, a great circuit, great fans and I'm confident with the two British champions we have now (at McLaren) that we can pull this off,” circuit managing director Richard Phillips told The Sun yesterday.

As for the football fans out there, Phillips confirmed that a giant screen will be placed inside the Silverstone complex in order to show the FIFA World Cup Final. However, we're not sure if that measure will still be taken if England won't reach the final stages of the competition.