"GP Live" Donington 18-20 May (and is the price extortionate?)

[Redneck Rocket]

Originally Posted by Finn

yes I agree especially when you have Masters and HSCC at brands coming up for 16.00 pounds in advance. Goodwood is successful because of the nature of the event, having famous cars and drivers. Also helps that is the only circuit event all year.
I personally would love someone to open Crystal Palace once a year and have a 70's revival, flared jeans with formula 2's and f3 screamers on the bill. What an event that would be although I think have built on the old track. What a shame!!

Unless I'm very much mistaken(to quote Murray Walker), there was a once a year sprint meet on part of the old circuit in the late 1990's. What ever happened to that? Any ten-tenthers out there want to band together and reorganise it???

[Rob29]

Originally Posted by Redneck Rocket

Unless I'm very much mistaken(to quote Murray Walker), there was a once a year sprint meet on part of the old circuit in the late 1990's. What ever happened to that? Any ten-tenthers out there want to band together and reorganise it???

There certainly was and I went to it.Used the Glade section plus part of the pre-war loop.Certainly all of the 1952-72 circuit still existed then,but I guess safetly needs would prohibit using it without a lot of expensive work? Certainly a better venue for Historic action than Donington which has been steadly ruined for spectators.

[Sheila M]

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

The ONE thing that has me still intrigued...
Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79??? Really?
I'd ALMOST spend the money to see that...

Almost.

Well he sat in it in the pit lane for a photoshoot ...

[skid mark]

I am going tomorrow. I got two tickets for the price of one through Redliners, they then got upgraded to grand stand tickets for free.
I have one spare, face value £80, you can have it for £40!

[Sheila M]

Originally Posted by skid mark

I am going tomorrow. I got two tickets for the price of one through Redliners, they then got upgraded to grand stand tickets for free.
I have one spare, face value £80, you can have it for £40!

Saturday's face value tickets are £40.

[redshoes]

£40 is general admission only. Skid mark said they were with grandstand which would be £80.

[Sheila M]

Originally Posted by redshoes

£40 is general admission only. Skid mark said they were with grandstand which would be £80.

In that case I sit corrected!

[allenbrown]

I've just got back. I won't spoil it for you by saying what I think of it.

[skid mark]

Thanks for that Allen. I am just about to leave home to go, I will be ponderring your comment all the way there! At least I only have about an hours journey and do not have to travel to Hampshire. I hope it wasn't a complete waste of time for you.

[Ted Walker]

WHAT did you think of it Allen.???????????

[allenbrown]

It's hard to be sure Ted, Friday's always likely to be a bit quiet. Seemed very quiet to me though.

Some great cars to see: the 1967 F1 Serenissima V8 and two F1 Tecnos for example. The EuroBoss guys put on a good show and TGP had a pretty good turn out. The Exhibition centre looks a bit empty but I'm sure it will be better today and tomorrow.

[Ted Walker]

Allen I understand that the "tented villiage in the paddock" wasnt,and that a lot of cars went home on Thursday !!!!!!

[allenbrown]

The gossip in the paddock was that the men with the awnings turned up on Thursday, found that they weren't being paid and left again. As the exhibition cars turned up and their owners heard this story, they realised they ween't goung to get their money so turned round and went home. There were about 20 cars in the exhibition centre and the Italians had little choice but to stay but apart from that the planned exhibition fizzled out.

I heard a rumour that a sponsor had pulled out and that might have caused the financial pinch.

The Irish A1GP car was rather impressive, the EuroBoss people put on a great show and the FORCE/TGP fields still contained some good cars even if they were a bit down on numbers. It could have been a really good event.

I'll be interested to learn how many people turned yesterday and today.

[dazbaz_99]

I went Saturday, arrived about 8.30 and honestly thought the event had been cancelled judging by the lack of spectators. I would of said that the crowd during its peak was on a par with the BGT/F3 meeting a month ago. The races were good, but the demonstrations that I saw were a bit of a farce. The tribute to Senna for example ended up a tribute to Schumacher as well. One car for Senna, the Toleman, and one 1997 Ferrari that expired on i think its first lap. The second time this demo ran they had to get the 1993? Williams to join in. So we had two cars going around for 15mins.

There was alot of time where there was no track action at all, and this was made worse when for example the first planned A1GP demo didnt happen due to an ECU problem, so we had about 25mins of nothing. And of course apart from the Paddock and the Exibition centre there was very little else to keep us entertained. I was very suprised to see that Donington Park had forked out on Big Screens and Matt Lowrenzo for the weekend, but at least he did provide some entertainment with his pit lane interviews.

Certainly didnt provide value for money in my view. Perhaps had the event gone to plan it would of done so. It seemed to promise alot and not really deliver. Also, £7.50 for a programme! I didnt bother wasting my money.

[Rob29]

Thanks,sure am glad I gave it a miss! Whoever organised this fiasco needs to go to Goodwood to see how to do it?

[John Turner]

Well, just got back; went yesterday as well. Frankly, not sure what to make of this event or work out what market it was targeting. Might have composed something constructive to say by tomorrow morning I suppose, but I can say that I should have gone to Silverstone yesterday!

[allenbrown]

Press release just received:

GPlive RIGHT ON TRACK

Despite rain showers sweeping the track on Friday and Saturday, the inaugural GPlive weekend was completed in fine style with bright sunshine on Sunday adding to the spectacular series of races and demonstrations by some of motor sports’ most exciting cars and drivers, enjoyed by a little over 10,000 race fans.

Highlights of the Saturday demonstration programme included reuniting Mario Andretti with the Lotus 49B in which he claimed pole position for his first-ever Grand Prix start at the 1968 US Grand Prix. Mario celebrated with a 360-degree spin on his opening lap, continuing undaunted to comment “Well I did want to give you guys something to write about!”

Another spectacular display was a spirited demonstration by the Red Bull Racing RB01, driven by Michael Ammermuller, while the demonstration of pre-war Brooklands racing cars was given added drama when one car burst into flames. Amazingly the 1938 Frazer-Nash driven by Dubliner Tony Colley was repaired and back on track by the end of the day.

On the Sunday, Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their historic victory at Aintree, when Brooks handed over his Vanwall to allow Moss to become the first British driver to win a British Grand Prix in a British car. Both drivers sharing one of the British Racing Green cars once again.

Among the many celebrities at the track, Moss and Brooks were joined by contemporaries including Tim Parnell, John Campbell-Jones and David Piper. Clemar Bucci from Argentina, who first travelled from South America in the late 1940s, was perhaps the last person alive to be able to personally recount experiences of racing with the legendary drivers such as Nuvolari and Varzi, as well as his compatriot Fangio.

In addition to GPlive Featured Designer Adrian Newey, to engineering figures from the sport included McLaren and Williams designer Neil Oatley, Tony Southgate and the legendary race engineer, Jo Ramirez.

Another special moment came during the celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine on Sunday morning. Freddie Hunt, the 19-year-old son of 1976 World Champion James Hunt took the wheel of his late father’s Hesketh 308C.

Freddie gave a flawless performance on his first experience of driving a Formula One car, despite having made his Formula One debut just a month ago! Another “young gun” making his mark was 16 year-old Alex Brundle, who accompanied his father Martin Brundle and confessed to gaining a new respect after meeting some of his dad’s heros!

GPlive Race Summaries

Saturday
RACE 1. Force F1.
Victory for Nico Bindels in the Lotus 77, from Abba Kogan’s Williams FW06, but only after race leader Peter Wunsch spun into retirement after making contact with a backmarking Tecno. Steve Allen in the Fittipaldi F5A was another casualty, retiring with gearbox failure, allowing the Hesketh of Steve Hartley to take third place.

RACE 2. FIA Historic Formula One Championship
Joachim Folch in his Brabham BT49 claimed victory ahead of the Arrows of Hubertus Bahlsen and Steve Hartley in a race enlivened by a heavy shower which soaked Coppice Corner.

RACE 3. Stirling Moss Trophy
A stunning battle between front and rear engined cars saw the Cooper Climax of Nigel Bancroft emerge victorious ahead of the Lotus 21 of Dan Collins while the Cooper Bristol of Patrick Walker, claimed third ahead of the BRM of Andrew Wareing and the Emeryson of Mike Windsor-Price which battled for every inch of the 18 lap race.

RACE 4. EuroBoss
A startline accident which eliminated the G-Force Indycar of Joachim Ryschka, the Arrows of Eddie McLurg and the Reynard of Roger Kiltty, forced a restart. Klaas Zwart took advantage to forge from the tail of the grid to victory ahead of his Ascari team-mate Pierre Schroeder and the Jordan of “fast lady” Jodie Hemming.

Sunday
RACE 5. Stirling Moss Trophy
Nigel Bancroft repeated his Saturday performance with a second victory in his Cooper Climax, ahead of the Lotus 21 of Dan Collins and the Emeryson of Mike Windsor-Price. A highlight of the race was the fight back by the Cooper Bristol of Patrick Walker, who made a slow start yet still was able to reclaim fifth place.

RACE 6. Force F1.
Nico Bindels claimed his second victory of the weekend in his Lotus 77, after race-long battle with Steve Hartley in the Hesketh 308C. Abba Kogan claimed third place in his best performance yet in the Williams FW06C.

RACE 7. FIA Historic Formula One Championship
A multi-car incident eliminating the pole position Williams of Peter Sowerby and the Arrows of Hubertus Bahlsen forced a restart, which was initially let by Katsuaki Kubota until his Lotus 88B suffered engine failure. That allowed Joachim Folch in the Brabham BT49D to repeat his Saturday win, ahead of the hard-charging Williams of Richard Eyre and the McLaren MP4C of Aaron Hsu.

RACE 8. Euroboss
Perhaps the star drive of the entire race weekend came from Nigel Greensall in the ex-Michael Schumacher Benetton. After starting from the pit lane, he forged his way through the entire field, setting a fastest lap of 57.697 seconds (122.13mph) on his way to victory ahead of the Ascaris of Klaas Zwart and Pierre Schroeder.

[Thundersports]

When i've digested what I have seen the last two days i'll post but it will be UGLY!

[brands]

10,000 fans, 8 races with 101 starters over two days....the Silverstone Classic has no need to worry then.

[dazbaz_99]

Originally Posted by brands

10,000 fans, 8 races with 101 starters over two days....the Silverstone Classic has no need to worry then.

It really was a complete shambles in comparison to what was promised wasn't it.

[Red Baron]

dazbaz_99 - the Senna tribute was actually entitled 'Simply the Best' and was supposed to be a tribute to Senna and Schumacher; it was pretty poor all round.

The demo's were mostly terrible, although some of them (the Brooklands tribute and Costworth 40) would have made great races.

The A1GP demo was ok, when it ran, but why only one of them?

Red Bull gave up and went home becasue they were double booked. How disappointed must some of SUnday's spectators been!

Mario Andretti wasn't there on Sunday either and I thought he was supposed to be the headline act, well according to the program he was!

That said, the program bore very little resemblance to what actually happened during the weekend.....and that cost another £7.50!

The Vanwall demo may have been redeemed by the 're-enacted pitstop' but precious few people could actually see that happen (I couldn't see it). In any case it was a modern Vanwall

.....and as for the Alfa/Bugatti parade......least said the better!!


I appreciate that it was the first time the event had been run etc etc, but it would have been better to have given the tickets away instead of charging extortionate prices.

That said, I got in for free and I still think it was terrible.

Rosie

PS: TGP and Euroboss race were excellent

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Frankly, not sure what to make of this event or work out what market it was targeting.

From the marketing and press ads I assume it was aimed more at the F1 fan and less at Classic/Historic enthusiasts. They were certainly trading on the "Grand Prix" name quite heavily.

It's a shame because there was obviously a lot of money into promotion, and on the face of it it sounded like a good idea.

[dazbaz_99]

I agree Rosie, the races for the TGP and Euroboss were good. I only knew about the Senna tribute being called Simply the best and catering for Schumacher when I got to the track. All the timetables I had seen prior to the event referred to it as a Senna Tribute. It was what swayed me to go on the Saturday, as I didnt see it scheduled for Sunday on any timetables. Never mind. I hope the organisers can learn from this weekend and produce a better show next year.

[Sheila M]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

On the Sunday, Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their historic victory at Aintree, when Brooks handed over his Vanwall to allow Moss to become the first British driver to win a British Grand Prix in a British car. Both drivers sharing one of the British Racing Green cars once again.

We pulled out all the stops on that one. Special thanks must go to the two Minardi mechanics who dressed in Vanwall overalls, one donned a cloth cap and it was only later that we thought that they should have had lit fags dangling out of the corner of their mouths to make it TRULY authentic!

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Another special moment came during the celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine on Sunday morning. Freddie Hunt, the 19-year-old son of 1976 World Champion James Hunt took the wheel of his late father’s Hesketh 308C.

Yes, a very special moment, I had a huge lump iin my throat and tears flowed. Young Freddie is so much like his father

[gachjoel]

We must say a big THANK YOU to the St.Johns boys for taking the time out and delivering the lunches to the Marshals around the circuit.
Euroboss on sunday was an oustanding race1st & 2nd lapped everyone on the circuit,but it kept my blue flag well active.
No redbull on sunday,this was one of the many highlights promoted..Big Disappointment.
Next year will check the programme before even thinking bout putting my name forward,