Is ELMS The Best Value Race in The Entire Motorsport Calendar?

The one catch about heading to Silverstone race day is the distance I have to travel. On a good run, it would usually take me 2 and a half hours on Fridays so I had the advantage of leaving at 5:30 in the morning, a time promptly moved forward due to the race being started earlier than planned because of weather (brilliant move as I'll explain later). I saw one of the comments on my TikTok saying that there were major roadworks in my direction, but even with that it thankfully only took me 2 hours and was parked up by the time the gates had already been open for 45 minutes.

My first impression did show that people wanted to be here. I'll be honest, it wasn't packed but it was healthy amount that there was a sense of atmosphere rising. If you also attended, you would know that all of the actions was happening around the National Pits, again something I've never experienced from being at F1 or MotoGP weekends. But for an area that would only fill the catering stands for these race weekends, it was the perfect amount for a series like this. I started off first by heading to the Castore store by the Michelin trucks just to see what F1 merch was on offer, unfortunately my taste is expensive when it comes to warm jackets and I still hadn't bought any Iron Dames merch so it was a no this time.

Just after taking a pit stop at the Pit Stop Cafe for a coffee and breakfast muffin, I decided to just take a look into the paddock to see if it was actually free to get in. The Race Makers let me know that yes, my eyes didn't deceive me and I was once again shocked by how much access you could get with such a cheap ticket. And I thought MotoGP Day of Champion tickets were a decent price, this was even better! Although I thought the trucks would be decked out in their team colours, it was still nice to soak in the vibes at least when it was still slightly quiet. And I managed to eventually find the Iron Dames lorry to my happiness.

While people were queuing for their Autograph sessions, totally not jealous at all, it turns out I didn't need a special pass to see the one person I came there for in reality. There were about 5 people crowded around a black truck and then my eyes locked onto Jamie Chadwick, and my heart dropped that second. She headed back in briefly but came back out to say hi to everyone, realising I didn't have anything to sign (not the first time, example a. Williams Fan Zone 2024 and example b. MotoGP Day of Champions 2024) so I had my photo opportunity. My only fan moment and one of the calmest interactions I've ever had when I'm not being pushed past. 

This is when I'd spend the next 45 minutes talking to a lovely man about BTCC and how Silverstone has changed for better or worse over the years, plus that time he had breakfast with Jason Plato of all people. I haven't mentioned it yet but I had headed to Silverstone on this day completely on my own as I don't have many motorsport friends that would fancy being out in the scheduled torrential rain for so long, but I didn't want that to ruin the opportunity to go. The conversation I had with this guy was fantastic and something utterly out of my comfort zone. After we parted ways, I even made an effort to ask someone for a photo of me underneath the Fanzone sign and after telling these guys that I'd come on my own, they'd offered to let me join their squad although I politely declined to have the freedom to do my own thing.

The Fanzone was great also, plenty of things to do for the time I had to kill until the lights went out. It was great to see the McLaren prototype on display as well as a few other cars and then of course it was time to get some Iron Dames merch. Loads to choose from too, but I can imagine that fans of the other teams thought there was very slim-pickings. And the best thing about it being a smaller series is that it doesn't seem crowded but there is still a buzz around the area. It also meant that testing out the sim racing didn't take too long in terms of queuing although I will say that I absolutely suck at it and was put straight onto beginner mode!

It was probably about 20 minutes from lights out and I could see from waiting that the Copse grandstand was filling out quite nicely. I hadn't really done too much research as to where I should sit which was my first mistake so I just found the National Pit Straight in order to watch all the people pile into the grid for the Grid Walk, again totally not jealous! It turns out that where I would've sat for the majority of the race was directly in front of the garages and podium so I wasn't too disappointed other than the downfall of the internet. I wasn't sat near any screens, another mistake from not researching properly, so I would've prefer to log into the FIA WEC app to see all the action that happened on the other side of the track. I would say it only worked for about 10 minutes during the first red flag and that was it.

So the lights go out and it's finally time to go racing. I had no idea they had the same formation start as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and I could only describe it as beautiful seeing all of the cars come around that first corner, and the noise! That was incredible. I think the first hour showed a particularly good amount of chaos, amazing that I was sitting in the most perfect place to see the Iron Lynx get clipped straight into the barrier which caused the most lengthy delay. As the cars rolled back into a yellow flag start, I began to notice that there were so many seats available anywhere, and there would be no harm in discovering where else would be great to watch. Plus it was getting very cold so I made a move to get some hot food before heading to Woodcote, one of the grandstands that actually had working WIFI!

I ended up sitting here for the majority of the race because it had such a good view down to Luffield and Brooklands as well as all the way up to Copse, annoyingly as I'm writing this I realised I forgot to take a photo due to the pouring rain and my phone also being a dual screen to watch the San Marino MotoGP race from 1pm to 2pm. It was great to see how the cars dealt with the wet weather as they were sliding through, but no major crashes for the rest of the race from what I was able to see. I definitely recommend sitting here as you do have a screen stood in Brooklands that you can just about see if you don't have any internet access to the app.

Finally for the last 30 minutes, I left to go back to my original seat to watch the podium but this is when I soon realised the extent of the weather and why it was a great idea to change the start time at very late notice. At this point the only available seats on the National Pit Straight were the ones were the rain was blowing into you. Saying that I was holding onto an umbrella for dear life is an understatement as the race was finally red flagged due to the weather and the best possible outcome for me as the IDEC Sport team won overall. I was so excited to be able to see Jamie on the podium and even more grateful that I got to meet here only a few hours before, even if it was absolutely freezing and it was most likely time to head home.

Overall, was this the greatest value race I have ever been to? If we're only basing it on this category, then yes I think it was. The amount of access you get paired with the actual popularity of the weekend that makes it easier to walk around puts it very high on the list, even if I may not understand the ins and outs of the championship itself. The 4 hour race has already been confirmed for next year around the same September weekend and anyone that is considering it should take this article as a brilliant example of why to attend for either the Sunday or every session from the Friday. But it's important to note, it may take you 2 hours to get there like me, but it will take you 5 hours to get back home!