The brand new 3.7-mile Arena layout of the Silverstone track, set to be used for July's British Grand Prix, has received some rather mixed reviews from a number of drivers after the first day of racing on the new circuit on Saturday.
The new layout, which was officially opened last week, is being used this weekend for the first time hosting the second round of the new FIA GT1 Championship.
But after the qualifying session, the reaction from the GT drivers was somewhat mixed, with some impressed with the new layout and others not particularly blown away by it.
Former Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who is racing a Ford GT1 for the Matech Competition team in the championship, shrugged that the track was "nothing special", suggesting that he saw no real new opportunities for overtaking with the new section.
"It's nothing special," the Frenchman said, "We have lost Bridge and the complex which was very nice and we didn't gain much with the new part. I'm not a 100 per cent convinced.
"With the single-seater cars they are flat-out through Abbey and in Formula 1 it is going to be very fast as well. I don't think it gives any overtaking opportunities. So that's a bit a shame."
There were further unhappy comments from British duo Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter, racing for the Sumo Power Nissan team. Hughes expressed sadness that the old layout had been lost, while Campbell-Walter ranted that the designers had done nothing more than add a "stop-start chicane", calling the new layout a "compromise".
"I've got very mixed feelings simply because I really liked the old layout," Hughes whined, "If I was driving here for the first time then maybe I would have a different perception.
"But for me they have taken away two really challenging corners at Bridge and Priory and replaced them with some good kinks but also a slow-speed section which is very frustrating."
He added that: "I'm not sure what that brings to the whole thing. It spoils the flow of the rest of the track. Abbey and the left kink afterwards are nice, you can get your teeth into them. The kink onto the national straight is nice as well, and Brooklands is good because you arrive at good speed – it's just that fiddly bit really breaks up the flow."
Campbell-Walter, meanwhile, ranted that: "They have got no excuses. They had an open field and they could have done what they liked, but they chose a stop-start chicane.
"I know they have compromised for the bikes, but what's to stop us using the old Bridge section and keep the new bit for the bikes? Basically the new home of the British Grand Prix is a track suited to bikes and I don't think that should be the case."
Just when it seemed like nobody was happy with the new track, though, there were some positive voices. Darren Turner, the former McLaren test driver now racing for AMR Aston Martin said that he liked the new corners.
"It's good," Turner grinned, "It will be even better when they get rid of all the mud, because at the moment it's quite easy to drag that back on the track. But I like the corners and it's got bumps – which is a good thing.
"There are a few on the entry of Abbey at the part of the track that you'd want to turn in, which makes the corner difficult."
Ex Pacific F1 test driver Oliver Gavin, driving a Chevrolet Corvette for the excellently-named Mad Croc Racing team, backed up Turner's views, saying that the was "very happy" with the new Arena layout.
"I think the circuit flows very nicely I'm very happy with it," he rambled, "It's got a nice combination of corners and some nice challenging stuff for us. There are two are three corners that are nearly flat and one or two that you have got to have a lot of commitment.
"The style of Silverstone has been carried on. The first right of Abbey and then the following left is a good combination and then heavy braking into Village."
He added: "Surprisingly the tarmac has got good grip, great for getting the power down and it is really unusual running on the national straight! You have got so used to racing under that Bridge. They have done a cracking job with it, I'm really very happy with it.
"I think that it is going to be a fantastic track not only for us, but for Formula 1, for MotoGP, they have really ticked all the boxes."
The British GP is scheduled to take place on the new Arena layout on July 11th.
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