Hardly so. there were 408 starters this year, 400 in 2008 and 396 in 2006. Divided between six classes, there's no significant increase.
Would be interested if you knew how the visitor numbers compare to previous years - it certainly seemed absolutely packed with people in all the walkway areas - esp the bit where you come out from the tunnel on the inside behind the pits (where the tour buses were parked) - that was jammed with pedestrians, race cars, VIP transport, pit support vehicles (saw one guy getting his legs squished between two quad bikes which looked kinda painful in the traffic jam)etc.
There were certainly more campsites open this time too.
F
The relevant figures are:-
2002 30,000
2004 50,000
2006 70,000
2008 82,000
2010 103,000