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17 Mar 2018, 13:12 (Ref:3808528) | #26 | ||
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Didn't even know this was on this weekend
Utterly ruined by the weather I expect Cant imagine much of a miss to be honest Should have been cancelled in my opinion |
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17 Mar 2018, 13:54 (Ref:3808532) | #27 | |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YboNXPkXsGA
Goodwood MembersMeeting, live |
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17 Mar 2018, 20:08 (Ref:3808628) | #28 | ||
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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Normally I come on here and say I've had a cracking day at the races, unfortunately I can't say that this time. To think that Silverstone had the chance to come up with a brand new track from scratch, it really dose boggle the mind to think that's the best they could do! Its awful.
A few plus points from the day, Jack Thorne in the SET Promotions Renault Twingo was just amazing, no one could touch him all day and his commitment on the jump was stunning. Also too see the Works Peugeot & Audi squads there was great, those cars are just sumthing else and shows the difference between a Supercar and a full works Supercar. |
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17 Mar 2018, 20:20 (Ref:3808631) | #29 | ||
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What was the track like for spectating? Could you get all around the track or only specific areas? Are you close to the track or miles away?
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17 Mar 2018, 20:36 (Ref:3808639) | #30 | ||
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I was watching from the Stowe building close to the jump, from which we could see the whole track and were approx 20 metres from the action. Which is closer than I had feared. There were places that you could get closer, particularly along the start finish straight but the view of some parts of the track was compromised from there.
The track grew on me throughout the day and the joker merge created some close finishes. But it can't touch Lydden or the other old school tracks on the World RX calendar (and some of the new ones to be honest) and IMO there's too much loose / mud which limits the excitement in wet conditions, as it was for the early heats today. For the World round I would imagine the Stowe building we were based in will be used as some kind of 'Media Centre' etc and I'm struggling to imagine the existing grandstands and spectator infrastructure dealing with the crowd numbers Silverstone will be hoping for. The whole arena felt very underwhelming when you think it's supppsed to be hosting "Speedmachine" in a couple of months. And don't get me started on the costs of food and drink!..... |
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17 Mar 2018, 22:55 (Ref:3808676) | #31 | ||
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So, a few of my thoughts from today.
1. It was cold. It was colder than I have every been at any race event including any winter series. 2. Pretty awful organisation earlier in the day. None of the stewards seemed to know much about where we could go or how to get there. That needs to be addressed. 3. Some decent viewing to be had. There's a natural slope (the first corner being at the highest point) so even out the grandstand you could see a lot of the track and be close to the action. And you could get close to the track if you prefer proximity and speed to overall view (I prefer both, which is why I prefer Lydden). 4. The track had some good parts, being the first two tarmac corners, the joker merger and the final chicane on the main part of the track was quite cool too. But the track is too damn small! You come off a big jump and then turn immediately right despite there being lots of space straight on. Why not join up to the tarmac, take the tarmac chicane then back onto the dirt. Much faster and exciting for the fans and drivers. The second half of the circuit was like a muddy car park. It was Mickey mouse. 5, 6 and 7. This deserves its own 3 numbers. Putting a kink in a dirt section of the track means that there will only ever be one line. Either make it a corner or keep it as a straight. If you can't understand this, then please retire as a race circuit designer. A few times, a car took the right after the jump quicker than the car in front, then they approach the kink and becomes single File. If it were a straight, the car may have been able to stuff it up the inside. 8. The hairpin cut up too much and will do so much more in the world event. It needs to be sorted. 9. Some great individual performances. Jack Thorne and Paul Coney both very good. The World guys were fantastic and I enjoyed the Minis too. Good to see them all supercharged now. Obviously I want the world event to be a failure. Based on today, I don't hold out much hope for it. They need to redesign the circuit if they want it to be exciting. It felt like Loeb barely got out of their gear. That's just not a world class event for me. |
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17 Mar 2018, 23:52 (Ref:3808695) | #32 | ||
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Sadly as I feared, not a great reception.
I do wonder who on earth came up with this speedmachine idea. But then if rallycross is only a bit part then does it matter if the place is not up to scratch. The vast majority of those targeted are not fans, they are music people, families, people with a vague interest in cars. that is what they are hoping to attract, not the rank and file. And it must be added how much of this is IMG and how much is Silverstone is not known. I fear a bit of both, it's an easy sell to a sports promotion group to tell them there will be hundreds of people there who have likely never seen rallycross before, think of the marketing opportunities,. Yawn |
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18 Mar 2018, 08:20 (Ref:3808810) | #33 | ||
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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Just a quick one from me, here's my vid from the days action at Silverstone if anyone interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWc...ature=youtu.be |
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18 Mar 2018, 10:25 (Ref:3808829) | #34 | |||
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Quote:
Reading through the previous posts on here I think a lot of my thoughts on Silverstone will echo the comments made by others. But here goes: I actually thought the viewing for spectators was better than expected. I initially feared that the grandstand area was the only place to view, but the top part of the track was all accessible... ...lot of high fences though, so very limited options for spectators taking pictures (unless you were packing big lenses!). Not the worst UK rallycross circuit for spectator viewing that I have been to, it struck me a bit of a mix of Blyton and Croft in many respects (better than the former for spectators but not the latter). The grandstand and top of the Stowe building gave a good overview for seeing the entire track and the standing areas were never more than two people deep yesterday, so finding a spot you wanted wasn't hard. If they hit the 30,000 spectator target they talked about for Speedmachine though, that would obviously be a different situation. (Be interesting to know what sort of numbers they had yesterday, purely to gauge how many spectators were round the track) If it was me I would modify the crowd line before the jump to allow people there to clearly see turn one and two. Just a minor change, but it would further improve that spot, which was my favourite of the day. It's a very twisty circuit. Seemed quite compact and slow, even when it dried out. I didn't think the Supercars really got a chance to stretch their legs. The track obviously had to drop into that area, but it seemed like there was unused space at the bottom end of the circuit (after the jump). Facilities were OK: at least they had the sense to open the Stowe building up as the cafe/toilets in the main building looked overwhelmed at times (though the weather was likely a factor there). Don't know if future events there will have the same accessibility (I suspect the Stowe building will be more restricted during the World Championship). There were also a lot of gaps in the fencing towards the bottom of the track which I suspect will be closed up in the future. Staff were helpful but, as the first event of it's kind there, it was obviously a massive learning curve for them. As others have said, they didn't seem to know where things were or where people could or couldn't go. Last edited by tbtstt; 18 Mar 2018 at 10:30. |
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18 Mar 2018, 10:29 (Ref:3808830) | #35 | |||
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Join Date: Jun 2010
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Silverstone Rallycross
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18 Mar 2018, 10:38 (Ref:3808835) | #36 | |||
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 47
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Nice to see a new rallycross track open up after years of closures, must be good longterm for the sport and future competitors and fans, organisation and stuff will improve,as they say its a learning curve for the track at the moment.
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18 Mar 2018, 11:02 (Ref:3808839) | #37 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 410
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Surprised nobody has mentioned having to be ferried in by minibus, that or walk 2 miles from the car park as some did probably unaware of the distance. Same going back, queues weren't long but not many there, they have to sort that out.
Have to contradict some of what others have said, spectating from the stand was good, in front of the stand ok, everywhere else i went to unless your against the fence, you will see bugger all. Even the stand, fine nearly empty but full will feel very cramped. Agree that they seemed little prepared for this event, no spectator signage that i saw, no programmes seemed to be available, new people to rallycross seemed to have little idea about what was going on. On track one truck with forks on to remove cars that would then take an age to get the stranded car back to the paddock with drivers forced to walk back! The track was tight but didn't mind that so much, but the joker section was too tight, needs opening up a bit. The thing is though that circuit could have been built anywhere, and in a better location would have spectator banks all round. In all honesty it all look very temporary and well a bit like Pembrey with random piles of tyres at the side and no kerbing that i saw. This place gets a world round due to name and money, nothing else. Had no intention of doing the world round due to the horrendous prices but this confirms it, Spain a far better and cheaper option. |
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18 Mar 2018, 11:09 (Ref:3808841) | #38 | ||||
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Quote:
Quote:
I thought that, I happened to notice someone with a program in their hand and asked where they got it from! There was a Silverstone merchandise stall selling them at the end of the garage. |
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18 Mar 2018, 11:18 (Ref:3808842) | #39 | ||
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Since when was Northampton in the South! lol
The criticism about parking and ferry buses are across the board with the Wing section, it is the most badly designed piece of track furniture I have ever seen, so bad only WEC and F1 use it, no-one else does. So that is not a rallycross fault. There was little or no promotion, and they will have suffered enormously because of the weather, most motorsport was cancelled yesterday and this should have been too really. |
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18 Mar 2018, 11:26 (Ref:3808843) | #40 | ||
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Fair point, let me reword that; a new rallycross circuit that is more accessible to those in the South.
Silverstone is about two hours drive for me (which is only double the distance to Lydden). Any other UK rallycross circuit is easily over four hours drive. It was hard to gauge given that there were multiple car parks, but I am curious to know how many people were there yesterday. It seemed like a pretty decent turnout, especially given the conditions. |
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18 Mar 2018, 11:52 (Ref:3808846) | #41 | ||
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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Ah i was wondering how long it be before sumone mentioned the mini busses. I got there at about 8:30, expecting to see a shuttle bus system similar to other events like the WEC, Classic and Ferrari Race days in place were it picks you up just inside the main gate and goes to the wing and then back.
But what i found was nothing! when i asked the lad who was selling tickets on the gate what was going on, he was told that the bus would only run once the internal car parks were full and not until then. So I was the first or certainly one of the first who had to walk round the bottom half to the circuit and over the hanger bridge to get there! Once i got to the Stowe building, I asked a women who was in there who was in charge and when I explained what had happened she was genuinely sorry and got me sumone to speak too. I wish I had got his name as he was the most unhelpful and arrogant person I have spoken to in a long time. After again explaining the problem, his response was " Well most people turn up in cars" ! Then I asked what happens when the car parks are full, he then admitted that the plan I was told by the lad on the gate was correct. During which time he also said the busses were running but from internal car park to the wing! My next question was what happens at the end of the day, I would i get back to the main gate and he said to come and find him and he would organise transport. When i pointed out that would be fine for me, but what happens if 10, 100, 500 people needed the same he said that it would be sorted! So that was how my day started. Also when the World RX arrives, i would suspect that the Stowe building will be closed to the public as the TV camera for yesterday was on the open balcony and they wont want too many people near it, also the open balcony would be a very nice place for the VIP's to have the champagne and fancy food while having the best view for the jump. |
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18 Mar 2018, 11:52 (Ref:3808847) | #42 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 410
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Certainly wasn't necessary to cancel it, yes it was bloody cold but wasn't rallycross once a winter sport?
Yes great to have a new circuit and spectating wise fine with just a a few hundred spectators at a British round but 25000? Not that I believe there are 25000 dumb enough to pay the extortionate prices being charged but there's no way even quarter that number will see anything. And they say WRX has out grown Lydden? Maybe from a facilities side but not for actual viewing side. And for sure the Stowe building will be out of bounds, either vip or spotters tower. As far as the racing was concerned it was actually quite good, the tight nature of the track giving those with less power a chance to shine. Great drive by Jack Thorne, got quicker and quicker as the day went on. Thought the circuit suited the buggies and retros, both helped by not using the joker section,and Roger Thomas looked promising in his focus. Somethings don't change though, too many back to back races for swifts and minis, no luck for Mad Mark and Kevin Procter still cant get it off the line! |
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18 Mar 2018, 12:58 (Ref:3808859) | #43 | ||
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My point was not that rallycross is not a winter sport, just that it would be better to ahve dropped ti last week sometimes when they kneow the weather was going to be bad.
But then, I am sure calendars dictate that to some extent. it would be a better gauge if it had been nice and I am somewhat annoyed coz I thought it was in April so missed it completely |
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18 Mar 2018, 15:03 (Ref:3808882) | #44 | ||
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Annoyed to not get a programme, if they were available.
Good to have a new circuit, after the loss of so many over the years, Brands, Cadwell, Swindon, Oulton, Snetterton, Blyton from the British, Knockhill, North Weald, Ty Croes, Mallory, the one near Middlesborough that name escapes me, and the unsuccessful tracks at NIR and the one that never happened at Red Lodge. So hopefully it will make others sit up and take note. Obviously we are all bitter about Lydden loosing the World Round, but still need to celebrate a new track, that they allowed the British Championship to use, and was not a one off for the money grabbing world round. Though guess this round was a good test for them. Opening rounds on a Saturday are nothing new, remember Croft running on a Saturday and catching the opening Stock Car meeting at NIR on the way back, that broke the journey nicely. Have to say I needed a Sunday after to recover from the cold. And mid week the initial weather warning I saw was for Sunday not Saturday, so I was pleased it was on Saturday, else I would of given up on going. Though the amber weather warning for Sunday in my area has just been dropped. Viewing better than expected, but fear, but for a lucky few you could end up seeing not a lot if they get a big crowd. I would go to the World if not for the plain stupid marketing or pricing. WEC 3 day ticket £50, WRX 2 day £95, just doesn't make sense, should be less than WEC which is a far more established World Championship ( though I know it has come and gone over the years). The error ridden emails, say down to the last few stand seats free with advance sales, which they have been saying for months. Guessing 2500 to 3000 stand seats, so at most that gives an idea of advance ticket sales so far. I will be gutted to miss my first Euro/World UK round since 1980 (other than those in Wales and the one that clashed with the GP of E at Brands) Having seen the track layout, that wouldn't stop me going, it's just the prices and the whole "speedmachine festival" concept... |
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RIP - WIMBLEDON STADIUM, and OVAL MOTORSPORT in the CAPITAL.... |
18 Mar 2018, 16:40 (Ref:3808905) | #45 | ||
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We clearly got there early enough to get the Stowe complex parking, which was nice. Then we were told we needed a minibus to get to the circuit. Which seemed odd as the circuit was in front of us. We may have had the same steward, I've never met someone know so little about the subject matter that he was there to help with. Ended up just heading off to find our own way and was pleasantly surprised how accessible most of the circuit was to spectators. Though I completely accept the point that if there are 15000 people there it will be busy and the views will be terrible (owing to the flat circuit).
Honestly, I have no idea how they will cope with the WRX. The minibus system must be awful, particularly if it's raining. The car retrieval system made Lydden look advanced. The paddock was awful and chaotic with cars heading in every direction. The track was dull with one main overtaking place. So it will encourage banger racing. Of course it's great to have a new venue in middle England. But this was akin to a car park (to use Chunder's turn of phrase). Not just the pokey track but also the feeling of the outside of the circuit just didn't feel like a proper race track, but a Car park with a grandstand and a few outbuildings. Compare to the other F1 track cum rallycross venue, Catalunya, and it's chalk and cheese. That's the difference between using the existing infrastructure or just dumping a track in the infield (see also Brands Hatch). With the former, you can use the established grandstands and facilities. The circuit should have been in the infield of the Nuffield complex. That would have been awesome, using the old pits as the paddock. This track will work well as a British rallycross venue as it will never attract the support of a WRX event, and the facilities are fine for a few thousand fans. But this is categorically not a step up from Lydden in terms of excitement or facilities. Significant infrastructure improvement is required or they will have a lot of very unhappy (and significantly poorer) punters in May. |
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18 Mar 2018, 17:09 (Ref:3808910) | #46 | ||
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I think the point is being missed.
Silverstone made the MINIMUM investment here. The track is built on the Stowe area, which is never used at any race weekend, it is only used for experience days. So no impact on any other events. Only some minor clean up fir the tar areas used for paddock and start and bits of the track, that is minor cleanup that does not affect testing, experience days or anything else. So, they simply built into grass. No tar was laid, they simply dug down and laid aggregate they can sell easily if needed, then grass it all over again. No tar to rip up, nothing to dig, just remove the gravel, sell it and re lay the grass. Easy. The event this is built for is a festival, a sort of Glastonbury with a few cars, the track and WRX are a bit part of that, it will blend in with shops, street food (WTF) stalls, music areas etc etc. It will work fine in that arena. As a standalone circuit it is always going to be awful as it is basically in a field within a race track. But you have to understand this is a track built to the lowest possible cost. Because Silverstone are not flush and this way is the easiest to get out of it. |
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18 Mar 2018, 17:49 (Ref:3808918) | #47 | ||
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But that's not really the point is it. Spectators don't care that they managed to do it on a shoe string. In fact, it makes it worse as they are charging lots of money for poor facilities. So I can understand that they didn't spend much and have kept it away from the circuit (and believe me it is obvious that this has happened when you go there), but that doesn't make it ok or stop us grumbling. Would be a different story if the tickets were a tenner. Then you'd be getting what you paid for and that's fair enough. This was billed as a circuit that could outdo Lydden as lyddens facilities are creaking. This place was worse.
And they did seem to have some tarmac down on the right hander after the jump and on the left hander before it. By the end of the day the mud had worn away and exposed the tarmac. If it was dry, this would have happened by the end of a WRX practice session. |
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18 Mar 2018, 18:55 (Ref:3808934) | #48 | ||
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I suppose in fairness we don't know how much of the unacceptable ticket price, is down to Silverstone or IMG. If its down to what IMG are charging for new contracts, and Silverstone added the Festival to try to add value to what they would have to charge anyway. Or if Silverstone have inflated the cost to try to pay for the Festival. Or if they have just looked at Festival Ticket prices and said lets try to get away with that! We don't know what Lydden would of had to charge this year. Many French Fans think Loheac prices are too high, and they did warn fans last year or the year before that they would have to put prices up. But they were talking 10euro increases, not double. The cost of attending Belgium seems to steadily rise too.
The sad thing is, that if Silverstone had matched or bettered last years Lydden prices, they could of no doubt attracted the "Crowd" Lydden had. Now we know Silverstone is pretty much only geared up to providing Grandstands with 2500 to 3000 seats and haven't sold that number of advance tickets yet, despite promoting "Speedmachine" to the largest Rallycross Crowd of all, at Loheac. Now they have added Run to the Beat to Speedmachine with the following prices! Run to the Beat: The Relaunch General Entry Adult - 10 km £ 40.00 Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Adult - 5 km £ 30.00 Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Junior Entry £ 10.00 Ages 5 to 15 as of 31/12/2018 Run to the Beat: The Relaunch Weekend Non Camping Adult - 10 km £ 120.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Adult - 5 km £ 115.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Junior Entry £ 70.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday Ages 5 to 15 as of 31/12/2018 Run to the Beat: The Relaunch Weekend Camping Adult - 10 km £ 165.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday -Access to camping across the weekend Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Adult - 5 km £ 160.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday -Access to camping across the weekend Ages 16 and over as of 31/12/2018 Junior Entry £ 90.00 -Access to the Run to the Beat -Access to Speedmachine Friday, Saturday and Sunday -Access to camping across the weekend Ages 5 to 15 as of 31/12/2018 Run to the Beat: The Relaunch SM Exisiting Ticketholder Adult - 10 km £ 25.00 -Uprade you Speedmachine ticket to get access to the Run to the Beat: Relaunch Ages 17 and over as of 31/12/2018 Adult - 5 km £ 15.00 -Upgrade you Speedmachine ticket to get access to the Run to the Beat: Relaunch Ages 17 and over as of 31/12/2018 Last edited by Stephen H; 18 Mar 2018 at 19:02. |
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18 Mar 2018, 19:38 (Ref:3808946) | #49 | ||
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Wow. Maybe I'm wrong but that sounds like they're getting desperate to sell the tickets.
We've paid 25 euros to watch the rallycross in Barcelona. And that comes with free grandstand tickets. If tickets for Silverstone were 30 to 40 quid for the weekend, and greandstand capacity for 10000, I think you'd have a sell out. And PS, Barcelona ticket prices have stayed the same this year so there's some hope for Loheac |
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18 Mar 2018, 20:14 (Ref:3808955) | #50 | ||
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Again.
You don't get it guys really. Silverstone don't want a rallycross crowd, do you honestly think the people running the event have not done any research? They MUST have known the prices would put off a lot of regulars. If they wanted a rallycross crowd they would be doing more marketing to get it, and they are doing no marketing towards RX fans,m it is all towards others. So they ave marketed the event entirely away from any kind of race fan, and at car fans, enthusiasts and people who want to mix that with music. It's a good idea in principle, kind of what Rockingham did with ASCAR years ago, and that got big crowds to see bands. But no-one gave a toss about ASCAR. This is NOT a motorsport event. I wasn't sticking up for Silverstone earlier, merely pointing out that it has been built with the ease of getting rid of it cheaply in mind. I rarely go and watch rallycross anymore, mainly because I live miles from any tracks and it simply does not offer value for money at any price, other race series and events do. Silverstone is very close so I will go to club meetings there and stuff like this. But again, not expensive stuff as it is a crap place to watch, especially on the big track. |
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