Frequently Asked Questions

Information to learn more about Motorsports Tours travel packages and trip details. 

CONTACT US

LEARN ABOUT MOTORSPORTS TOURS

The Tour

Not even close. A Motorsports Tours guided tour is a fully curated, end-to-end experience that combines premium race access with genuine cultural immersion in the destination. We handle everything from the moment you land: 4-star hotel accommodation, race tickets (the right grandstand, properly selected), factory and museum tours, most meals, all in-country transportation by passenger van, local guides who love racing as much as you do, and a swag bag that’s actually worth opening.

The 2026 Italian Grand Prix tour, for example, is seven days: four days exploring Italy’s Motor Valley (Ferrari and Lamborghini factories, a private balsamic vinegar producer, wine tasting at Quintarelli) before three days of race action at Monza from covered Grandstand 26 seats on the main straight.

Note: What we are not: a ticket reseller, a travel agent, or a bus tour. We are a small-group tour operator with thirty years of experience putting sports fans inside the experience of their sport.

We curate and operate every tour in-house. We are not a tour wholesaler, travel agent, or booking agent. Before and during your tour, you will always have direct access to us, Jamie and Joy Gilpin.

We work with carefully selected local guides and partners at each destination: people who live there, know the racing world, and have developed relationships with the venues and producers that make our access possible. But the tour design, the logistics, the quality standards, and the guest relationships are entirely ours.

The core differences are group size, access, and cultural depth. Large F1 hospitality packages typically move guests in large coaches of 60+, provide standardized race weekend access, and offer little to nothing beyond the circuit. They are corporate in feel, efficient in delivery, and largely interchangeable from one operator to another.

Motorsports Tours caps every departure at 24 guests or fewer and travels in passenger vans. This means access to restaurants, venues, and experiences that simply cannot accommodate larger groups. For example, our Italian GP tour includes the Lamborghini factory tour and a private visit to a family balsamic vinegar producer, neither of which is available to large groups, full stop.

Our itineraries also begin with days before the track action, allowing us to enjoy the region that embodies the culture and essence of our destination. We are built for fans who want the whole experience, not just the race.

No. Motorsports Tours is an independent travel company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Formula 1, Formula One Licensing BV, the FIA, or any Formula One group company. We are an independently operated sports event tour company operating under Outfitter Bicycle Tours, LLC.

We attend Formula 1 races as fans and tour operators, purchasing tickets through official channels and building our itineraries around publicly accessible events and activities.

Note: The F1 logo, FORMULA 1, and related marks are trademarks of Formula One Licensing BV. All rights reserved.

On a non-race day: we load into passenger vans after breakfast, spend the morning at a factory or museum, have lunch at a local restaurant, visit an afternoon producer or cultural site, and gather as a group for dinner. The pace is full but not rushed. We’ve refined the rhythm over the years of running this type of sports and cultural tour.

On circuit days: we transfer to the together, attend sessions from our shared grandstand, and handle post-session transport collectively. On Race Day, we watch the race and then have dinner that evening.

RESERVATION COSTS

Booking & Payment

As early as possible. And we mean that genuinely, not as a sales tactic. Our tours are capped at 24 or fewer guests and fill through personal outreach before we advertise publicly.

For a typical tour, we encourage booking at least 6 to 9 months in advance. The Monza race weekend is one of the most popular on the F1 calendar, and hotel availability in Milan and Modena at race-week pricing becomes very limited after the calendar is announced. We plan early, and so should you!

A deposit secures your spot on the tour. The $2,000 deposit amount and full payment schedule are detailed in our Terms & Conditions. The balance is due 60 days before the tour departure date.

Contact us at boxbox@motorsportstours.com, call 1.877.275.9241, or visit the tour pages on our site for current pricing and deposit information for the specific tour you’re interested in.

Our full cancellation and refund policy is contained in our Terms & Conditions. In general terms:

  • Deposits are refundable up to 60 days prior to the tour less a $800 cancellation fee.
  • Final payment is due 60 days prior to the tour.
  • Between 60 days and 30 days before the start of your tour 50% of the tour fee is refundable.
  • After 30 days prior to the tour no refund is given.

Note: We strongly recommend purchasing comprehensive travel insurance, including trip cancellation coverage, for any Motorsports Tours booking. There is an insurance purchase option within the tour booking process.

Yes, we strongly recommend it, and our booking platform provides a trip insurance purchase option. A good travel insurance policy should cover:

  • Trip cancellation and interruption (medical emergency, illness, family bereavement)
  • Medical evacuation and emergency medical treatment abroad
  • Missed or delayed flights and connections
  • Lost, stolen, or damaged luggage

Travel insurance is not included in the tour price. We recommend purchasing it at the time of booking, as many policies only cover claims if purchased within a certain window of your initial deposit. A travel insurance purchase option is in our booking process.

Yes. Our tour pricing is based on double occupancy (per person with two guests sharing a room). Solo travelers are welcome, and a single supplement applies to cover the additional hotel cost. Pricing is listed on the tour itinerary pages.

If you are traveling solo and would prefer to be paired with another solo guest of the same gender to share a room, let us know at booking and we will do our best to arrange it, subject to availability.

TOUR DETAILS

What's Included?

Accommodation: Hotels throughout, all nights from arrival day to departure day

Race tickets: Qualifying and Race Day at Monza — Grandstand 26, covered, on the main straight with pit lane and podium views

Select factory & museum tours: For example, for our Italian GP Tour, both Ferrari Museums (Maranello and Modena), Lamborghini factory and museum, Parmigiano Reggiano producer visit, and more.

Cultural experiences: For example, for our Italian GP Tour, private balsamic vinegar producer visit, wine tasting at Quintarelli

Meals: All breakfasts and several dinners. On evenings without included dinner, we provide specific restaurant recommendations

Transportation: All in-tour transport by passenger van, airport/station transfers on arrival and departure day, hotel-to-hotel luggage transfers throughout

Local guides: Expert local guides who love racing and know the destination — for the full duration of the tour

Guest swag bag: Ear protection, sunscreen, hat, shirt, backpack, and additional items

Note: Items NOT included are Flights to/from the tour start location, travel insurance, and some meals (intentionally, to give guests freedom to explore on their own on certain evenings).

No. Flights to and from the tour start location are not included. This is intentional. Our guests come from different cities and countries, have different airline loyalties and frequent flyer programs, and benefit from the flexibility to arrive early or depart late based on their own schedules.

For example, with or Italian GP tour, guests typically fly into Bologna (BLQ) or Milan (MXP or LIN) and we arrange a transfer to the group hotel from the Modena train station of Bologna airport or train station. We provide full pre-tour logistics information including recommended arrival airports and suggested timing.

For example, our Italian GP tour includes tickets for Friday FP1 & FP2, Saturday FP3 & Qualifying, and Sunday Race Day.

We book Grandstand 26 on the main straight at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. This is a covered grandstand with:

  • Direct view down the pit straight.
  • Full view of the pit lane and pit wall
  • Clear sightline to the podium
  • Covered seating providing protection from sun and rain.

Grandstand 26 is, in our opinion, the best combination of race action and pit & podium viewing available. It is the grandstand we would choose for ourselves, so it is the one we book for our guests.

All breakfasts are included throughout the tour. Several dinners are included including the welcome dinner and race day dinner. On other evenings, guests are given the freedom to explore the area and discover their dinner. The local guides will have recommendations, rather than being left to navigate completely independently.

The decision not to include every meal is deliberate: on some evenings, the best experience is discovering a small restaurant at one’s pace, and with a few other guests from the group, rather than everyone dining together as a large party.

We accommodate dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and common allergies. Please specify your needs clearly at the time of booking.

RACE INFORMATION

Race & Circuit

Not at all. Motorsports Tours is designed for fans who love racing and want to experience it properly, whether they’ve been watching F1 for thirty years or started watching after Drive to Survive, starting last month. Our local guides provide context, explain what’s happening on track, and help guests understand what they’re seeing.

The cultural component of our tours; the factory visits, the food, the history of the region; is independently compelling for anyone, regardless of their racing knowledge. We provide a tour packet with recommended viewing and reading that helps guests arrive with the right context for qualifying and race day.

Absolutely. We have taken guests to race weekends who were not, by their own description, motorsport fans: people accompanying partners or friends. Without exception, they have found the circuit experience more compelling than they expected.

Formula 1 cars in person are a genuinely different experience from watching on television. The speed, the sound, the precision visible in how each driver threads the car through a chicane. None of this requires a knowledge of the championship standings to appreciate. The atmosphere at the track is an experience that transcends the sport.

Ear protection is essential. Not optional. Formula 1 cars produce approximately 130 decibels at circuit-side proximity, which is physically uncomfortable and potentially damaging over extended exposure without protection. The hybrid era has changed the sound profile but not the volume.

Ear protection is included in every guest swag bag. You do not need to bring your own, though guests who prefer higher-specification ear defenders are welcome to do so.

On circuit days, the group loads into our passenger vans from the hotel and transfers to the track together. We manage the transport logistics and arrival timing to ensure guests reach their grandstand comfortably before the session begins.

Post-session, we navigate the circuit exit together and return to the hotel or next destination as a group. On Race Day (Sunday) we transfer to dinner, which is included.

Note: One of the significant advantages of a guided tour on race weekend days is that you never need to think about transport. The logistics of getting to and from the track during race week, particularly on Race Day, are genuinely challenging for independent visitors. They are ours to manage.

GUEST & PARTY DETAILS

Guests & Groups

Our guests come from across the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and beyond. They range from first-time Grand Prix attendees to fans who have been attending races independently for twenty years and want a different experience.

The common denominators are a genuine love of motorsport, an appetite for good food and cultural experience, and an appreciation for quality travel. Most tours have a mix of couples, solo travelers, and small friend groups. By Day 3, the group consistently has a character of its own that persists well beyond the tour itself.

Twenty-Four (and sometimes less) is a deliberate design choice, not a logistical limitation. It is the maximum that allows us to: operate in passenger vans rather than coaches; access venues that cannot accommodate larger groups (private producer visits, for example); book restaurants that only a limited number can access; and maintain the intimacy that makes the group dynamic part of a positive experience.

If you have a larger group such as a corporate incentive trip, a club trip, or a large friend group, contact us to discuss a private tour. We can design and operate private tours for groups of the right size, with itineraries tailored to their interests.

Not at all. Solo travelers are a regular and welcome part of our tours. By design, the tour creates a community: shared vans, shared meals, shared grandstands. Solo guests consistently find that the group format makes solo travel more enjoyable, not less. You arrive alone and leave with a group of people who share your interests and have shared an extraordinary week with you.

Note: A single room supplement applies for solo travelers. If you’d like to share a room with another solo guest to reduce costs, let us know and we’ll facilitate this where possible.

Absolutely! And they will almost certainly enjoy themselves more than they expect. For example, our Italian GP tour is four parts Italy and three parts circuit. The partner who comes primarily for the Ferrari Museum, the balsamic vinegar producer, the Lamborghini factory, and the restaurants of Emilia-Romagna will have an extraordinary week regardless of what happens on track.

The Tifosi at Monza, the sound of an F1 car at full speed on the main straight, the podium ceremony: none of these require a knowledge of the championship to be genuinely moving. We have yet to have a guest who joined us and left indifferent to the racing.

Yes! For example, the Italian Grand Prix is one of the finest corporate incentive travel experiences available. Seven days in Italy’s Motor Valley with the Ferrari museums and Lamborghini factories, Monza race wekkend, 4-star hotels, exceptional food. This all represents a category of executive reward travel that is genuinely difficult to match.

We work with corporate groups, HR departments, and incentive travel buyers to create private or semi-private departures customized to the group’s size, interests, and budget. Contact us at boxbox@motorsportstours.com to discuss corporate group options.

WHAT TO KNOW

Practical Information

We provide a detailed pre-tour packing guide to all confirmed guests. Key items:

  • Layers: Depending on the destination, temps can range from warm sunshine to cool evenings and occasional rain. A compact waterproof jacket that packs small is essential.
  • Comfortable shoes: Circuit days involve significant walking. Comfortable shoes that also look reasonable at a nice dinner are the sweet spot.
  • Smart casual clothing: Some tour dinners are at very good restaurants. Clothing that transitions from factory visit to dinner without a full change is practical.
  • Sun protection: Sunscreen and a hat.
  • Ear protection: Included in your swag bag. No need to bring your own unless you prefer a specific type.
  • A small day bag: Something that meets circuit bag restrictions (typically nothing larger than approximately 30x20x15cm).

No. Our local guides are fluent in English and handle all communication with local vendors, restaurants, and venues. English is widely spoken in the hotel and tourist infrastructure of our destinations.

That said, a few basic phrases of the local language can go a long way in building rapport with locals, and our guides are happy to help with this.

Motorsports Tours is not a physical activity tour. There is no cycling, hiking, or strenuous exertion involved – unless you want to talk about extra excursions! We welcome that. The basica physical requirements are those of any active travel experience: comfortable walking for several hours on circuit days, standing for sessions, and moving between locations.

Guests with mobility considerations should discuss these with us at booking so we can plan accordingly.

We recommend:

  • Notifying your bank and credit card companies of travel dates before departure
  • Bringing a small amount of cash for tips, street vendors, and smaller purchases
  • Using a credit card with no foreign transaction fees for most purchases, which are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants, and venues
  • ATMs are available in most areas for cash withdrawal

Note: Most meals, activities, and transport are included in the tour price, so day-to-day spending money is primarily for personal purchases, souvenirs, and optional additional food and drinks.

LEARN ABOUT THE COMPANY

About Us

Jamie and Joy Gilpin are the owners of Outfitter Bicycle Tours, LLC, a sporting event tour company founded in 1996 in Los Altos, California.

Jamie has been a passionate F1, IndyCar, and endurance racing fan since childhood. He also has on-track racing experience. Joy is a former collegiate bike racer and a pediatric occupational therapist.

Since 2011, when they bought OBT from Dick & Marilyn Powell, they have operated Tour de France and Giro d’Italia spectator tours and run their first motorsport tour, a combined F1 and Giro d’Italia experience in Emilia-Romagna. Motorsports Tours is the natural next chapter of that history.

Motorsports Tours is a division of Outfitter Bicycle Tours, LLC. We operate under the same company, the same values, and the same team that has been running world-class sporting event tours for thirty years. The same operational approach that produces exceptional Tour de France tours, small groups, local guides with genuine expertise, cultural immersion alongside the sport, is applied directly to our F1 and motorsport tours.

Note: When you book with Motorsports Tours, you are booking with an operator that has three decades of track record in exactly this category of experience, not a startup that noticed a market opportunity.

Please reach out to us directly! Every inquiry is answered personally by Jamie or Joy, not a booking system, sales person, or call center. We enjoy talking about motorsport and travel, and answering questions is genuinely part of the service we provide.

Note: If you are seriously considering a tour, the best next step is a conversation. We will walk you through the itinerary, answer every question you have, and help you decide whether it is the right fit — without pressure.

Scroll to Top