British & Retro Rallycross - Lydden Hill August 26/27th

[MG Rover Sport]

After attending this weekend's Mallory Park rallycross meeting - my first in 10 years as Rob (Gibson) kindly reminded me! - I am positively hooked on this fine multi-surface sport of ours once more.

I am looking at the Lydden Hill meeting on the 26/27th August Bank Holiday weekend, and wanted to ask you lot a few questions to aid my plans.

What is the format of this two-day meeting? Am I right in thinking that it will be the Heats on the Sunday, and the Finals on the Monday?

Does Lydden Hill have any camping facilities within the circuit? If not, is there a private one nearby that most people tend to use instead?

If I think of anything else, I'll ask - many thanks.

[Hickey]

Is it definitely going to be a two-day event at Lydden? It only needed one day in Easter, and hopefully will only need one day in August. So much better when it all gets done on one day.

Oh but if it is two days then it's usually warm-up, timed practice and Heat 1 on Sunday. Heats 2 and 3, then the Finals on Monday. If ERC is anything to go by, there will be camping at the circuit.

[MG Rover Sport]

Many thanks for that 'Hickey' - most helpful.

Well, www.lyddenhill.co.uk , www.rallycrossuk.com and www.retrorallycross.com ALL list it as a two-day meeting, so it looks like it might well be true.

[AlamakiRX]

My guess would be it will run like an ERC event with practice, and 1st heats on the Sunday and the rest on Monday.

Sure they could fit it all in 1 day though, so maybe they planning something else, as there is NO btrda classes at the event, so less drivers, but one additonal day??

[Stephen H]

Can't remember which year, but this meeting has been listed as a 2 day event before and reverted to a 1 day meeting.

Think the last time it was a two day we had the Belgium rallycross championship on the Sunday and the British on the Monday.

Hopefully it will revert to one day, as the 6hr WEC at Silverstone has now moved from the Saturday to the Sunday of that weekend

[mivec]

i also hope it 's changed in a one day event.
With no btrda drivers, one day would make a fine race-day.

[Stephen H]

Red Bull did something similar with motorcross and their ProNationals last year, by adding BMX and FMX displays plus children characters. (no drifting of course)

They kept admission low last year, and got a good crowd at canada heights and the displays didnt interfere with the racing.

Guess the drifters will need the circuit though

[porky]

What a shame, Rallycross on the same bill as push bikes.
Call me old fasioned but it's not my style of rallycross i'm afraid, whilst i applaud the effort made by the organisers i don't think this is the direction most people in rallycross wish to go. they'll be having us wearing silly hat's next

[ebby]

The facebook site has been taken down, the plot thickens

[rs 200]

It all sounds like we got what we want now we do as we like.
how i wish we could all see the 90,s cars so much more fun to watch and i bet so much more fun to drive ,i know when they came out after the gp b i thought i don't like them but looking back they were still very good alot better than today's tosh ,and now what there doing is a joke ,bit like the ERC joke thats just came out where is this all leading to.
This springs to mind of rallycross now,the END

[Thundersports]

Originally Posted by rs 200

It all sounds like we got what we want now we do as we like.
how i wish we could all see the 90,s cars so much more fun to watch and i bet so much more fun to drive ,i know when they came out after the gp b i thought i don't like them but looking back they were still very good alot better than today's tosh ,and now what there doing is a joke ,bit like the ERC joke thats just came out where is this all leading to.
This springs to mind of rallycross now,the END

Agree. Sadly I feel some of all this coming 5 or so years ago as posted on here. The sport seems to have imploded on itself like it did in the mid 90s......

[yesnomaybe]

interesting that the mayhem page has gone, without the BTRDA drivers how many entrants are there likely to be in each class?

ive been planning to go to this event on the bank holiday monday for months, hopefully all the extreme sports stuff, which is obviously just to pad out the meeting, wont bump up the entrance price

looking at the opening times on this page http://www.lyddenhill.co.uk/2012-calendar.html its only 1 and half days rather than a proper two day event, which makes the sunday ticket price very expensive IMO

part of the appeal of a rallycross meeting for me is the non stop action, cant see how they'll keep the momentum going without stuff on the track all the time, i do like the spectacle of drift cars though

[Stephen H]

So is Jamie Squibb son of Barry?

Didn't Vic Moyce, Steve Palmer and Julian Godfrey all come from motorcross

And Foust came from drifting. So these sports/activities do have connections to rallycross

Guess the BMX will be able to run Sunday morning, when noise is prohibited?

Even the Festival of Speed these days has its GAS arena featuring BMX and FMX.

From the description, sounds as if all the heats and finals will be on the Monday.

[WJM]

Originally Posted by Stephen H

So is Jamie Squibb son of Barry?

I was thinking about that too. Barry's son was called James or Jamie, and that Jamie Squibb drove Rallycross in the mid-90's in a Rover Metro in the -1400 class.

[bigdick1977]

Barry's son is Jamie but I don't think it's the same one.

[AlamakiRX]

Rallycross:

Practice and first heats in on Sunday for all classes from 12.30.

2nd/3rd heats and all finals is on Monday from 9am.

MSA British Rallycross Championship Round 4. This popular 2 day event, that takes place at Lydden Hill Race Circuit on 26/27 August will see Rallycross topping the bill, whilst playing host to support races under the heading of Mahem Actions Sports event. The weekend’s main event; Round 4 of the MSA British Rallycross Championship will get underway on Sunday with practice and heats. The remaining heats and finals will be the main feature on Bank Holiday Monday

[yesnomaybe]

the URL of the facebook mayhem event page has been changed, hence why the link originally posted on page one of the thread isnt working

the URL is now
http://www.facebook.com/#!/Mayhemactionsports

the poster on that page says weekend entry is £30, where as the lydden hill website says £25, so i would assume a single day ticket is now going to be more than £15, probably £20, so all the extreme sports 'padding' has bumped up the ticket price

so they'll will be less rallycross action going on, but ive got to pay more to get in then usual!? doh!

i had a look at some of the videos on the mayhem facebook page and all credit to them theres some talented guys there doing tricks/stunts and leaping through the air, but im much more interested in the rallycross, hope they get the balance right, we wait to see the timetable

[chunder]

Just a big load of marketing spiel if you ask me, probably to do with Dorans exposure in the USA, just looks very PR orientated.

I cant blame them for trying this out, but Lord only knows how much an agency like this costs.

Let's face it, UK rallycross cant be at much of a lower ebb than it is now, so you might aswell try something as so far the racing hasnt really got the sport anywhere in the last few years other than Bank Holiday Monday and the ERC rounds, everywhere else is a disaster!

[chunder]

The issue seems to be dilution.

I dont think peopel have a problem with there being other stuff on aswell as rallycross. Let's face it the sport is dying in the UK, there are fewer and fewer car numbers and more and more sort of supports bought in to try and make the meeting worthwhile.

These events need entrants to pay the fees let's be ruthless, and if they are not getting entrats, they need punters, it's a bank holiday and you need people who dont normally watch out there to fiull up the car park.

What you might lose in real fans who are not interested in sideshows, you will gain abck in punters with nothing else to do and a car full of kids who need entertaining.

They are targetting the family, as most sports do these days, as most people have one, and that means dilution and making it appeal to more than fans.

The sport as it stands will not survive any other way, it ruins tracks, makes a lot of work for track owners on dual purpose venues and doesnt bring in enough punters or money for clubs.

Either find somehting else to watch as I have done or put up with it, or, develop a new series that uses cheap, quick, exciting cars that will ensure a flood of new competitors, as mosr right now are drifting away

[Stainless Steve]

I circuit race with SEMSEC and our main venue is Lydden, unfortunately grids have been low for the last few years, we had a meeting earlier in the year where the VW fraternity shared the weekend with us. I'd rather that than watch Lydden fail to pay there bills and have to close... good luck in any venture Miss Dorran gives a go, I'm sure she's working hard for the right reasons.

[leonidas]

Hang on chap - its not like the south east of England is overrun with race circuits! This is the most prosperous region in the country with probably the largest number of licence holders in the country and yet Lydden are still struggling?? That suggests to me they have got the business model completely wrong - going for gimicks rather that building up their core market of drivers. Look at rallycross alone - the Dorans effectively have the rights to both the MSA championships and the ERC round. They have all the cards in their hands so why can't they make it work?

[Belgian Blitz!]

quite easy,why driver numbers are down,national racing follows eu type rules for cars,except supernationals.Cars are way over budget for the keen amateur,only thing i don't understand is why BTRDA does'nt have more entrants.
Even the entry fee is a bit on the high side,something i have never understood,how many actors pay to be in a movie?
Now if all this sideshows mean that at some point drivers get to race for free,i say hallelujah.If entry fee goes up,to pay for these activities,that would kill the sport completely.
Only thing we can hope for is that they know what they're doing.
Meanwhile i suggest,we all support our favourite sport to the max.
Having said that,i will be back out in the yellow swift (bit of foreign support for the uk-scene )

[Guffy]

Current entry list here

http://www.rct-entry.com/entries_BC_20120827.php

[FIRE]

The Ford Fiesta in Supernational is that Turkisch silhouette car?

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by FIRE

The Ford Fiesta in Supernational is that Turkisch silhouette car?

No that's Silver Bullets Mk3 (Star of Top Gear ) - the Turkish one is a Mk7