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Silverstone Circuit
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==Circuit== {{Main|Development history of Silverstone Circuit}} [[File:Silverstone Circuit, July 2, 2018 SkySat (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Satellite view of the circuit in 2018]] The Silverstone circuit is on the site of a [[Royal Air Force]] bomber station, [[RAF Silverstone]], which was operational between 1943 and 1946.<ref>{{cite web|title=Silverstone β UK Airfield Guide|url=http://www.ukairfieldguide.net/airfields/silverstone|access-date=30 April 2021|website=www.ukairfieldguide.net}}</ref> The station was the base for the No. 17 Operational Training Unit. The airfield's three runways, in classic [[Class A airfield|WWII triangle format]], lie within the outline of the present track. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and [[Buckinghamshire]] border and is accessed from the nearby [[A43 road|A43]]. The Northamptonshire towns of [[Towcester]] ({{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=out}}) and [[Brackley]] ({{convert|7|mi|km|abbr=out}}) and the town of [[Buckingham]], (situated in Buckinghamshire) ({{convert|6|mi|km|abbr=out}}) are close by, and the nearest city is [[Milton Keynes]], the home of [[Formula One]] team [[Red Bull Racing|Oracle Red Bull Racing]]. Many F1 teams have bases in the UK, but [[Aston Martin in Formula One|Aston Martin]] (formerly [[Force India]]) is the closest to the track, with a new base having just been built under a kilometre from the race circuit. Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an 'ad hoc' group of friends who set up an impromptu race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware that the airfield was deserted. He and eleven other drivers raced over a {{convert|2|mi|adj=on}} circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car was written off, and in the aftermath of this event the informal race became known as the ''Mutton Grand Prix''.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Tibballs |first1= Geoff |title= Motor Racing's Strangest Races |url= https://archive.org/details/motorracingsstra0000tibb |url-access= registration |year= 2001 |publisher= Robson Books |location= London |isbn= 978-1-86105-411-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/motorracingsstra0000tibb/page/123 123]β124 }}</ref> The next year the [[Royal Automobile Club]] took a lease on the airfield and set out a more formal racing circuit. Their first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the [[I BRDC International Trophy|1949 International Trophy]] meeting, it was decided to switch to the perimeter track. This arrangement was used for the [[1950 British Grand Prix|1950]] and [[1951 British Grand Prix|1951]] Grands Prix. In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking Woodcote and Copse corners, and this layout remained largely unaltered for the following 38 years. For the [[1975 British Grand Prix|1975]] meeting a [[chicane]] was introduced to try to tame speeds through Woodcote Corner (although MotoGP would still use the circuit without the chicane up until 1986), and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in [[1987 British Grand Prix|1987]]. The track underwent a major redesign between the [[1990 British Grand Prix|1990]] and [[1991 British Grand Prix|1991]] races, transforming the ultra-fast track (where, in its last years, fourth or fifth gear, depending on the transmission of the car, was used for every corner except the Bridge chicane which was usually taken in second gear) into a more technical track. The reshaped track's first Formula One race was won by [[Nigel Mansell]] in front of his home crowd. On his victory lap back to the pits Mansell picked up stranded rival [[Ayrton Senna]] to give him a lift on his side-pod after his [[McLaren]] had run out of fuel on the final lap of the race. Following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver [[Roland Ratzenberger]] at [[San Marino Grand Prix|Imola]] in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this the entry from [[Hangar]] Straight into Stowe Corner was modified in 1995 to improve the run off area. In addition, the flat-out Abbey kink was modified to a chicane in just 19 days ready for the 1994 Grand Prix. Parts of the circuit, such as the starting grid, are {{cvt|17|m|yd|abbr=on}} wide, complying with the latest safety guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12499373|title=Formula 1 seeks to be better by design|first=Katia|last=Moskvitch|date=25 February 2011|access-date=22 June 2018|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
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