Powertour @ Rockingham

[Carrie]

Anyone fancy a trip along to this? It's a fiver for Supporters Club members

[Lorna]

That's the 10th June if anyone was wondering.

[MichaelC]

Yep, put me down for that one. How much is it for non-members - the usual?

[Carrie]

Twenty Five I think - but don't quote me on that.
Anyone know if it really is true that Rockingham has no camping facilities?

[woodyracing]

i definatly fancy going to rockingham 4 powertour
apparently u can see all the track from any of the grandstands.

is Powertour still alive then ? with the full race support package and stunt bikes/planes etc?

Woody.

[THR]

dont know carrie

y dont u email um?

[Rob29]

Progamme said no camping on circuit but nearby facilities availiable,doesnt say where.Powertour is still on for rest of this season,will be remamed next year.
You can see all of the circuit from the TOP of the stands,but you will need binoculars or better eyesight than mine to see the numbers on the cars.A very popular place was at the bottom of turn 1 stand by the chicane on to the link.This may give a message to circuit owners. British fans prefer to be closer to the action than to see the whole course.

[SJ Spode]

Having been to the Rockingham Opening and first day of Coys at the weekend, I'd say the Powertour meeting would be definitely worth a look see.

Yes, you can see 90+% of the infield circuit from the higher parts of the grandstand, and you can literally see the race unfold in front of you; (time gaps between cars opening up / coming down; braking / accelerating) + the infield track rejoins the oval just after Turn 3 & the cars run the oval down that straight through Turn 4 and down the pit straight before braking for a chicane placed just before Turn 1. So the GT cars should be impressive on that section.

The infield has a good selection of corners / straights that mean there's good overtaking opportunities (and again for the GTO cars the opportunity to shine).

Overall it's a totally different way of watching racing (You can still get down close to the fencing in the first rows of seats if being up close and personal is your thing, but you won't see the whole circuit), but I think that's good and provides a good 'compare and contrast' to our more established UK tracks.

SJ

[woodyracing]

sounds good!

whats this Supporters club ? and how do you join ?

thanks.

[Les]

I'm thinking of going and trying to persuade hubby!!

What I want to know apart from how much etc etc is - can you get to the paddock cos I am in desperate need of a Maxi cuddle and he says he'll be there!

[Rob29]

Costs £25 to join supporters club,£35 if you want to include hubby.Must be a bargin if it then costs only £5 each,instead of £25 for the Powertour.Admission includes paddock,though it involves a lot of walking.I guess the F3s will be in the garages,GTs in the tarmac area behind (infield) and the rest in the suppoort paddock behind turn one stand (about a 15min walk)Via tunnel by turn 4 stand.

Rockingham Supporters Club
Unit 35A
Summerhouse Road
Moulton Park
Northampton
NN3 4WD

[THR]

is it still £80 for indycar race day tho?

[Rob29]

I think the girl who gave me the application form said there was a discount.Unfortunately no phone number,e-mail or website for supporters club,so we are going to risk sending our cheques to find out more.Also public prices for Powertour are more complicated than just £25.See ad in todays Autosport.

[bawbag]

why not try rockingham.co.uk and go to the supporters club section you will find all the details there . just an idea!! as for camping theres loads of places to pitch a tent nearby but i never told you that okay hope that helps anyone.

[Rob29]

Thanks bawbag,you must be psycic! I was sure I could not have been so stupid as to not have thought of that.So I hit Rockingham site again.No mention of supporters club.Then I noticed nine link buttons on the side of the home page.4 of them dont say what there for.First blank is the race calendar.Second ,lol,supporters club info,but still does not tell us what the discounts are,all you can do is e-mail for an application form,which I already have.Can anyone who is already a member help us out?
BTW blank buttons 3 & 4 say 'details to follow'

[bawbag]

http://www.rockingham.co.uk/pages/club.html and just apply whats the worst that could happen
take it easy buddy!!!!!

[Craig]

Right, i've got the hump. Tried booking a ticket today and had so much hassle from the prat on the end of the phone that I gave up. Don't think i'll bother now... i'll stay at home and do a spot of work, or maybe take in a meeting elsewhere...

Sorry Rockingham, you're really gonna have to improve your organisation and service

[Rob29]

I would have thought they would have sacked the ticket agency after the Coy's festival fiasco.i had to walk 1/2 mile from the nearest they would let a taxi drop me ,to the hut were we had to queue for our tickets,then another half mile to the stand.Left hotel 7 mls away 8.30am reached seat c.9.45 missing first practice.
Powertour is live on Sky TV Sunday.I shall stay at home,Canadian GP and IRL from Texas on later.

[nobjockey]

Anyone going to Rockingham on Sunday for the Powertour event should watch at the chicane at turn 1. Big outbraking moves from 140mph + and the FF cars are airbone in the chicane. Should be good. As for the rest of the facility take your boots and hard hat - its still a building site!

[Rob29]

Originally posted by Rob29

Powertour is live on Sky TV Sunday.

Seems this info was incorrect.

[Carrie]

Originally posted by nobjockey
and the FF cars are airbone in the chicane.

You're not kidding there, the F3 cars were amazing through there!!! I think I might have got a photo of one airborne F3 car, but really I just stood there in shock not really able to believe the way they went through there on the second lap. It seemed weird the way they went further round turn one on the first lap of a race and then it was coned off to send them through the chicane, but then I guess if you got the field grouped together going through the chicane on the first laps then you could easily have carnage.
It's probably easier to get your head round the track layout when you're watching from one of the grandstands, but I started off on the infield and I was confused as to where the track was actually going at first.
One thing that strikes you is how compact the whole place is and so from the pit roof you can see most of the circuit. The Paddock is also tiny, but Peter said there's another paddock on the outside of the circuit. However, even after saying it's compact, I still didn't get chance to wander everywhere.
Driving into the circuit you do sort of hit upon the place before you've really realised you're there. Sort of oh, look, big powerstation on the left, wait a minute, that's a grandstand straight ahead, this must be it. Drove straight in in the morning, took about 10 minutes to get out in the evening. Could easily be a problem at a bigger meeting though.
I think I like it, but I'm not really sure it's a photographer's circuit or maybe that was just the impression with it being a first visit.
I went into the turn 1 grandstand, looks good, but the lower staqnd is below the fence, so the higher you can get the better.
And you think Silverstone can be bleak and desolate, it ain't got a thing on the widn that was whipping across Rockingham today!!!!

[Carrie]

Nearly forgot to add, you could get the supporter's club £5 tickets on the gate as well, so needn't have bothered with the incompetent ticket agency

[Les]

Have to agree with you there - can't see many great photos taken through a 15 foot fence. The track was massive - so many twists and turns - maybe too many. I saw from the programme map there are endless combinations to the infield track.
That first bend was a nightmare. The Fiesta race was red flagged after one slid into it and rolled over twice badly. They thought it was not a good Fiesta track - with all the twists and turns they were only averaging 60mph.
Tim Harvey in the GTs also thought it was too much - very hard to drive.

On the whole it is going to look great when it's finished but access is a problem (sent us miles on the way out:confused.