Programmes

[Paul Rayner]

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice that the race programmes for Brands Hatch and Oulton Park were done in very different ways. The Brands Hatch one was jam packed full of information and features on Touring Cars, F3, GTs and Superbikes, plus a little race card with all the driver and race meeting details on it, all for £5 (Or race card alone for £1).

Oulton Park's cost £4, and had nothing new from the Brands programme, except for one new page with details of the Historic Touring Cars and Legends. Race card idea seemingly out the window.

What does everyone think? Did you like the idea of a season-long programme, just paying £1 extra at every event, or would you prefer an up-to-date full programme, with new pictures and championship news at every race?

How much do you think they should charge for programmes?

[Les]

I was rather annoyed to get a rehash of the Brands Magazine - or rather part of it rehashed. And they had the cheek to have an advert for it inside the programe. It sounds to me as if the rest of the year will be 'normal' programs with reprinted articles from the magazine on paper that is aweful when it gets wet.

[Craig]

I don't really care how much they are as I never buy one! The only time I get a program is when they give me them for free!

[Carrie]

I've always made a habit of getting a race programme at every race meeting I go to. It was much nicer when BTCC programmes were free
I've flicked through the Brands programme, but all I've read of the Oulton programme is the timetable and then it was deposited somewhere into the depths of the car boot. The Brands programme struck me as rather odd, wasn't expecting the magazine style like that and I think overall I prefer something more orientated towards that particular race meeting rather than having a circuit plan of each Octagon circuit etc like in the Brands programme.
As for content, I think we're all used to programmes being a rehash of the previous one at each meeting and they can be very uninspiring.
The race card returning (weren't they around in '94 to '96 time) was a good idea, think of how often you just want the timetable.
At least there's one positive point, no silly radios a la Powertour style

[TimD]

From an archivist's point of view, the racecard is a horror. There are plenty of glossy programmes in my collection which have over the years lost their racecards, and then from a research perspective, they are very poor meat indeed, if for no other reason than the rest of the programme is generic fluff these days.

Good point about the Powertour radios. I turned out a box of assorted household gubbins yesterday, and out fell four dead Powertour radios.

Is this as good a place as any to put out a plea for people's discarded race programmes? If I haven't got it already, I'll turn your recycling material into pocket money...!

[Carrie]

I do worry that my collection of race programmes is getting a little out of hand. Of all the race meetings I've ever been to, there's only a couple that I don't have programmes for.
wanders off to try to find a life for herself

[TimD]

You think you have worries, Carrie. Here's me trying to get a programme for every British circuit racing event from club to international level, regardless of whether I was there or not.

1,864 and counting so far....

[KA]

Originally posted by TimD
You think you have worries, Carrie. Here's me trying to get a programme for every British circuit racing event from club to international level, regardless of whether I was there or not.

1,864 and counting so far....

....and I thought I was in trouble with just the programmes from the 15 years or so that I've been going to races!-

(Carrie, when you go off to find a life, would you mind bringing one back for me as well- right now I'm too busy sorting out my programmes to go myself)



I have to confess I'm not that thrilled with the 'Racecard' idea as it was done at Brands- having the entry lists and results (the most important bit of a programme!) as a separate bit does make them very easy to lose- and the kind we had at Brands starts to fall apart if you keep folding and unfolding it to fill the details in...

(to say nothing of not having enough grid boxes- what are the statistics addicts amongst us going to do in the future when we want to know who qualified 27th at a race 5 years ago?- what was that about needing a life?... )

[Rhys]

Myeah, the Oulton prog has gone downhill steadiy in the last few years. Can't help but feel we're being robbed blind at £4 a time! I like to read the features in the rest of the prog, not just the timetable, but there wasn't much to read last time! Lots of pretty pictures, with text as an afterthought. Maybe we could make our own fanzine and pedal it at race meetings! We could do a better job than we're paying for now!

[O'Schumacher]

Well, at least they don't charge the £8 that they do at the grand prix