Silverstone 24 hour team relay

chrisirving

Hi everybody,

I have had an idea today and contacted silverstone about it.
obviously it is still extremely early but i would like to generate a bit of interest and get some input on how things would work.

My idea is to stage a 24 hour team relay say 5 laps each and swap through the pits of silverstone.

I am looking to get this all setup by summer 2013. I have two charity's i would like to raise money for.
The first is Christies, the second is Neumann pick type c. both are close to heart and realy need donations.

Any input about how much you would be willing to pay for the event and if you would prefer to raise a minimum for my charity's and then you can also raise extra for your own. I also need some help with the logistics of organizing an event like this as i know it isn't going to be easy.

Anyway i could ramble on forever about it please if you would be interested in joining in or have any ideas to put forward don't hesitate to reply. even if its to say daft idea lol

willy b

Think it's a good idea and i'd be interested. Assume you know about this event already; http://www.action.org.uk/ride24

I'd maybe no restrict it to 5 laps each, but how many each team member/team would want to ride.

I'd also have a chat with some of the big Mountain bike 24 hr events: Mountain Mayhem, Sleepless in the Saddle (both pro velo Support) Bontrager 24/12 etc... see if they want to help?

bigpikle

dont see people wanting to come all the way for 5 laps?

I rode the circuit a few weeks ago as my club is local and running a huge 9up TT there later in the summer, so we had a chance to ride the closed GP circuit. 5 laps isnt really very much, and if you look on Strava you will see a segment for the GP circuit, so you'll see how long it takes typically - not very long even on the full circuit.

Its a good idea and has been used in a few cycling events recently - worth noting its an airfield originally and VERY windy. Turn into the wind on 1 of the straights and you pretty much stop if its blowing a bit!

Good luck with your event and raising some funds.

Edward H

Check out LancasterCC. They had a group ride coast to coast to coast in 24 hours in June.
Your idea seems ok, but it leaves me a bit flat. Challenges have moved past this, it seems a bit easy. How about an
End to end relay - non stop? For 4 riders?
Most rides leave me a bit flat after the rides that I have had this year!

Peter HY

It has been suggested to me by Andy at Cycle Touring Club to post my experiences here, since the "will they/won't they?" cancellation notice by Sportworks and British Cycling. I write as a former corporate audit partner and Assistant Director at the Serious Fraud Office and court appointed forensic accounting specialist, but more to the point I entered this event with my son, his half brother and a young friend of theirs. For all of us, the loss of £150 is not petty cash.

Having studied the T&Cs carefully, several things struck me:
a) the presence of the British Cycling ("BC") logo at the top of the page,
b) the references to BC's website as the conduit for entry forms and our money and
c) the very nebulous references to the Event Organiser (as being "The Silverstone 24 and its appointed staff and agents",

From this it seemed to me that BC was acting as quasi-principal in this transaction and that (what seems now to be) unscrupulous care had been taken both in the T&Cs, the S24 Website, and also the emails from Tom Wenham, not to divulge the name of their agent, Sportworks Logistics Limited (SLL). Incidentally, it was Sportworks Events Limited that went into liquidation in June and when I spoke last Wednesday to the liquidator (0208 661 7878), they were hoping imminently to be appointed to its sister company, SLL. I registered my name as a creditor, in case my credit card, through whom I paid, refused to repay our £602 entry fees. Early discussions on Friday with Barclaycard, sounded optimistic, as we have not received the goods and services we paid for. At the time of writing though, I am still waiting for Barclaycard Disputes Dept to send me the claim forms, which they want filled in and accompanied by the BC and S24 web cancellation pages and the T&Cs.

Throughout this process, I've been in regular contact with Ian Phillips, Sportives Manager at BC, after several failed attempts to speak with Tom Wenham. Ian has been very fair, but naturally trying to protect BC's interests and therefore there is a limit to what he can say to me. However, after several exchanges, it is clear that:

a) SLL had never run a cycle sportive before
b) perhaps BC's due diligence did not extend to a full credit reference on the company
c) it seems that BC exerts no financial control over the entry moneys once they have passed them over, so the promise in 5.1 of the T&Cs is a rather empty one. This is why Ian is unable to write much more to me on Thursday than "It is now understood that a company acting on behalf of Sportworks will be making an official announcement at the end of this week or early next. They are also due to provide a point of contact for all future correspondence. This for the time being is all we know and we will endeavour to keep everybody informed where possible."

We must watch this space. But to all who paid by credit card, get in touch with your card company and make a claim. Hope this helps. Peter

rich_e

Was the OP of this thread actually creating what became the failed Silverstone 24? Or is it just a coincidence?

Either way, Peter it sounds pretty terrible, I didn't realise people who had entered weren't getting their money back. I would think with regards to British Cycling, they probably don't get too many cases like this where the organiser runs into serious trouble. If a Sportive gets cancelled, most likely due to severe weather, they can probably reschedule it and easily give refunds. I suppose with this, they just couldn't afford SIlverstone's fees and whatever was already spent isn't being refunded by them.

Hope you get your money back.

dsoutar

see this topic in Road General http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12937910