Fans back Silverstone.

Whilst the action on track, in the F1 race at least, may not have been quite up to the standards of the past couple of seasons, Silverstone still managed to impress the fans who made the trip to last weekend's British Grand Prix.

The hard work and investment that has been put into developing the circuit in recent years appears to be paying off, as the Formula One Supporters Association [FOSA] was inundated with positive messages about the circuit following its showpiece event.

FOSA is a global organisation boasting a membership of approximately 17million F1 fans but, following last weekend, president Georgio Zorbas admitted that he was staggered by the amount of good reports he received from fans that had attended the event over all three days.

"The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was, from an organisational point of view, one of the best rounds of the season so far," he reflected, "As an association that represents Formula One fans, we constantly receive feedback from supporters all over the world. Approximately 30,000 of our members were at Silverstone over the weekend and we only received one complaint - we are usually inundated after an event - and that one complaint had nothing to do with the circuit or its facilities.

"I was so impressed with the running of the event that I personally took time out to call [Silverstone Circuits MD] Richard Phillips and [BRDC CEO] Alex Hooton to congratulate them and their team on a job well done.

"The access roads are tremendous, the facilities are as good as most of the circuits on the F1 calendar, and the 100,000 sell-out crowd helped create a fantastic atmosphere. FOSA is delighted that Silverstone has remained on the F1 calendar. It has the support of the fans and we are looking forward to returning to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in 2006 and beyond."

The 'thumbs-up' will come as a relief to the circuit after years of being besieged by negative comments from F1's commercial head Bernie Ecclestone, and Phillips was delighted that the fans had enjoyed such a positive experience.

"To receive such encouraging feedback from the fans after all the work that's gone into organising this event, and securing the long term future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, means everything," he said.

"The fans really got behind us when the event looked in jeopardy, and it was essential we rewarded that loyalty by providing a British Grand Prix they would enjoy and be proud of. It sounds as though the vast majority left Silverstone on Sunday evening having experienced three fantastic days.

"The success of this year's event has given us a solid foundation to build on for the future. With the five-year deal in place, we can consider ways of developing the circuit as a venue, and adding further value to the fans' experience."