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25 May 2015, 21:02 (Ref:3541189) | #51 | ||
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I guess the issue with pre booking is the same as raised earlier, if you are happy paying to print your own tickets fair enough. I am not. Wouldn't do it for gigs, racing or anything else. But you are right the prices were cheaper, and that is perhaps the best option now for this event, just annoying that what you save you then give half back doing their work for them lol!
The car park looked fuller than it ever has so the majority of people are quite prepared to hand over their hard earned. SO let's see what the price is next year eh guys? Best I have seen was a very long time ago sadly. And I have been going since 1985, but you knew I was going to say that. Apples and oranges eh? |
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25 May 2015, 21:50 (Ref:3541205) | #52 | |
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Had a superb weekend at Lydden, the quality of the racing, the machinery and the driving was top notch. Walking around the paddock was very impressive - the amount of money invested by so many (mostly Scandinavian) teams was also very impressive - contrasting with Julian Godfrey (current, four-time British RX Champion, let's not forget) working out of a Luton-bodied truck with a lean-to awning!
It was wonderful seeing so many Retro Rallycross cars racing both days. Seeing so many Minis and two TR7 V8s reminded me of playing with my Scalextric when I was a lad! Icing on the cake has to be the superb Spitfire demonstration whilst the Group B cars paraded around. Wonderful to see Will Gollop in a Silkolene MG Metro 6R4 again (driven by Dai Llewellyn, no less). The retro side of rallycross is definitely on the up! Several more Minis, RS 200s, a mk2 Escort and more are due to join in the Retro Challenge shortly. Can't wait. Pleased to say my rallycross model display (43 cars) received a superb response. I was in the VIP marquee over the weekend but will be back in the paddock for each of the remaining rounds of the British championship this year. Will have to see the TV coverage I've recorded to enjoy the action all over again. Delighted to see our sport on the up again. Long may it continue! Cheers, Steve |
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26 May 2015, 09:59 (Ref:3541326) | #53 | ||
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I think it's fair to say that Rallycross is still good
I think the event was on the whole better run than last years, I'd still like to see the S1600's as well as the other classes - I think there's room in the timetable if you drop the drifting (please ). The touring cars were much better than last year I thought with more entries and seemingly a more balanced range of performance in the field. The Lites are a class that I feel I should probably dislike on principle but they do provide entertainment - I guess they perform a similar role to the RX150's in the British championship (single make filler) and I have to say that I prefer them to the buggies. |
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26 May 2015, 11:19 (Ref:3541358) | #54 | |
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I went for both days and had a fantastic time. I did think it was expensive (£80 for two days/people) but being able to wander freely about the paddock and talk to the drivers made it worthwhile.
I did overhear a very interesting conversation between two people, one of whom was a photographer about how rallycross in its current form is unsustainable and how drivers without factory backing are being priced out. I don't want to go into too much detail but it really made me wonder what's going to happen down the line. The dust was pretty bad on the start of both days, but they were quick to water (and keep watering) so it was kept under control. The tyre smoke from the drift cars was much worse! Getting out on the Sunday was awful- cars everywhere, people struggling to get up the hill on the damp grass (my car included!). Someone in a big black pick up truck almost took my car out (and left a lovely set of tyre marks in the grass because he'd floored the gas and was just spinning his tyres!) Guy Wilks was easily the driver of the weekend for me- he did extremely well in the Mini! Really enjoyed seeing Petter win, though I was a bit disappointed that Tanner Foust didn't make it to the semis/final. (Heard something had gone wrong with the car?) Overall it was a really enjoyable weekend for me- and bear in mind I'm factoring in a 650 mile round trip into that! |
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26 May 2015, 17:29 (Ref:3541464) | #55 | ||
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Does anyone know why Will did not drive the car?
Does he not want to get the bug again! |
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27 May 2015, 10:53 (Ref:3541685) | #56 | |
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Will is more than happy playing golf but keeps an interest in the sport and is often in the paddock at Lydden meetings. He's achieved everything he wanted to in the sport so why would he necessarily want to go back in again near the bottom?
As an ex-works driver, David Llewellin was an obvious choice to drive the newly-repatriated and partially restored 6R4 which afforded Will the opportunity to dangle out of the car and wave to the spectators more visibly than if he'd been pedalling. This weekend was Dai Llewellin's first rallycross meeting and he was very impressed and enthused. Here's hoping he will be back, perhaps with the retro boys, on a rallycross circuit in the future. Having seen him throwing a Legacy around last year and an Octavia this year at Race Retro, he is a terrific showman and would suit the sport perfectly. Cheers, Steve |
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27 May 2015, 21:14 (Ref:3541885) | #57 | ||
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I'm curious to see where people think they could fit in 23 more races for s1600 the gaps that the drifters were in very small
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Why oh Why oh Why |
30 May 2015, 19:13 (Ref:3543010) | #58 | |
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30 May 2015, 22:51 (Ref:3543095) | #59 | |
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They fit them in last year! On the Sat especially there were a few long breaks without any racing. I really missed the S1600s. (Mostly because I enjoyed watching the Fabias racing!)
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30 May 2015, 23:49 (Ref:3543100) | #60 | |
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Also bear in mind that the lower classes have (almost?) all their heats on Saturday...
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31 May 2015, 08:51 (Ref:3543218) | #61 | ||
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Nothing will change unless lydden is an ERC round aswell next year.
They knoew it was oging to be poor or they wouldnt have put on the Monster rubbish, drift cars and retro. But the crowd was big, so don't expect any changes, just make your own decision whether the probable 30 quid advance price is worth it. Speefest next weekend at Brands, cheaper than any ticket for Lydden, loads of races, club stands, entertainment, demos. NASCAR. No brainer. |
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31 May 2015, 14:16 (Ref:3543397) | #62 | |||
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Quote:
Speedfest has been really good the last couple of years, really looking forward to it next weekend. I expect it will follow the usual trend of new events at Brands though; cheap for the first couple of years, then the prices will start to creep up. |
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31 May 2015, 16:24 (Ref:3543446) | #63 | |
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I like rallycross.... so any other motorsport event is not an option...so no idea why to compare it with each other... retro is ok. Also rallycross and some history of the sport. And i take the driftcars as a moment to walk in the paddock . Problem solved!
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31 May 2015, 18:17 (Ref:3543494) | #64 | ||
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Any track owner does the same, you come up with an idea, see if it works then start pricing accordingly and see what the result is. It is the same with rallycross, big attendance this year, so let's see what the prices are next year eh? Some of you will go regardless, the rest have a decision to make, as was made by a few of us this year, I have also seen complaints about the pricing on other forums I am a member of so it's not a minority gripe.
I used to attend the Silverstone Classic and the NEC show until they priced themselves out of my bracket. So it doesn't always work, the product needs to match. AS for the paddock, at most rallycross meetings I am in and out of there all day, it is pivotal to my experience to be able to do so! So hopefull it will always be an area you can go in. |
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31 May 2015, 22:03 (Ref:3543552) | #65 | |
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1 Jun 2015, 14:02 (Ref:3543786) | #66 | |
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This is getting rather dull! Can we move on?? Please no more bleating about rallycross tickets being a certain price against other forms of motorsport! It's like comparing apples with pears!
Like Paul above, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend's rallycross. There are many of us who enjoy seeing, hearing (and smelling!) the retro cars and while the drifting makes me drift off (to the paddock), there are folks who do enjoy seeing (hearing and smelling) tyres being shredded. Different strokes for different folks, I believe the saying goes!! The 'Rig Riot' was quite short and involved a quad driving around and shooting Monster t-shirts into the crowd. For the many families there with small kids in tow, these parts of the programme would have been particularly welcome. Monster and others pay a lot to sponsor events (which would otherwise be even more expensive for us) and they have the right to do their coprporate marketing thing. It's nothing to do filling the programme. Yes, more S1600s would have been welcome, but didn't we have more supercars this year and thus more heats and rounds needed? Maybe there was a clash with European rounds - I don't know, but what I do know is rallycross is on the up again, the TV coverage is very enjoyable and 'Top Gear' has helped (again), so let's enjoy the on-track spectacle in person or on the sofa (or both!). Enough of the negativeness, please! Cheers, Steve |
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1 Jun 2015, 18:09 (Ref:3543896) | #67 | ||
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Monster pay a lot in all honesty to give the world diabetes! Have you seen how much damned sugar there is in it!!
Being serious, the reason they are heavily involved is obviously the link with Doran, and the reason the drift stuff is there is coz of their family involvement with other activities at the track that get big crowds and cars turning up. Rallycross is on the up in some ways and not others. It is on the up because a huge marketing company has decided to take a perfectly good product, wrap it up in a black and green coke can and market it to big cities, countries with no rallycross heritage and tracks that are new and not really that good. These are good things in some ways. Taking the sport to new places is good, taking the tracks to bigger cities is good too. European ralycross has been on tv for quite a while, but sadly the current coverage is strictly limited to an hour, that if you live in Europe and are busy when it is shown live you are left in the dark (and dare you even try and get it on Eurosport after the event), you cannot watch it on livestream anymore as you could before. That needs sorting. But what IMG want you to do is watch it on youtube of course to raise ad revenue for themselves. Fair enough. IMG have a good social media presence, they are doing things the previous people did not do, but would have got round to, IMG have speeded that all up. These are all good things believe me. They have also tried to make teams an important part of rallycross which is odd as they never have been as it is and should be a totally individual sport, not speedway. But at what cost, the cars are getting ever more expensive, budgets now are at their highest, and they are lucky or well planned in that they are exploiting the punters boredam with WRC very nicely. But they should perhaps be aware that there was rallycross before they came along with your riot rigs and single make formulas. It has support in existing places, and simply charging the earth for them to host rounds is not a great way to endear yourself to that heritage or fans, by then going to places with no interest who have massive budgets to spend on motorsport in their countries, like Turkey, Argentina and Canada. As I say a lot of what IMG are doing is good, very good. But it needs to be tempered a little. Is there a legacy? Do they even know what that means? Are they in for the long haul? Let's hope so. |
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1 Jun 2015, 19:45 (Ref:3543936) | #68 | |
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I didn't quote properly with my photo- it was more to show how everything fitted in last year. Someone asked how the S1600s would have fitted in and I was responding to that.
I wasn't a fan of the Rig Riot, I'm not a Monster drink fan so it didn't appeal to me. The drift cars were cool and I enjoyed those. I wish they'd used more of the track though. |
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1 Jun 2015, 23:57 (Ref:3544026) | #69 | |
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IMG needs a track and an organizer. Fans will come with the popularity up-curve it gets via new/interactive media and pay-tv coverage. They never aimed at the 'old' fans. They don't need to, the majority of them will come anyway and those who stay at home are replaced by new fans.
So, where the track is and who is picking up the bill doesn't interest IMG as long as they have 10 races, the track magically gets it's FIA approval and there's ground to call it a world championship rather then a European+ (plus) championship. The weekend needs to be filled just enough so that fans don't walkout right away, perhaps even come back a next time. With a growing fanbase through the interwebs and telly, they even don't need them (the same people) all back the next year to get a decent number of new spectators replaces them, for whom they aren't working anyway ,cos it's gone over to being a telly and interweb sport. Spectator numbers are just a marketing tool now to get in new sponsors, new pay-tv contracts etc. as are webclicks, facething likes, twitter retwattles.... It's not primarily for the fans, it has become a numbers game. If a track/organizer can't make the numbers for a 2nd or 3th year, no loss! There will be another one who will have a go as long as the sport is on the up. Perhaps on the same track, possibly on another one. Just the same as in MX. Rumor has it, the people who did the Valkenswaard MX for some years, never made much or any money and this year lost 200K on it. They're about done. The club 'owning' the track stepped out years ago cos they couldn't make the numbers work. 75 euro tickets, 15 for kids 5 to 15 by the way... So yeah, the RX looks more clinical, it lost it's moms and pops feel it even had with the top teams 5-10 years ago.. Might have lost a bit to much for us, the grey(ing) nostalgics brigade Anyone remember the 'Vitamine B' rallycross stickons Eddy sold? Richard Hicker drawings i.i.r.c.? |
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2 Jun 2015, 10:19 (Ref:3544143) | #70 | ||
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Good points all nl
Sad really that ralycross has now become a victim of this world of numbers! We managed to escape for a long time thankfully! Interesting points too about MX, I follow that closely and it is staggering the things you point out about Valkensward. The track has a great history with MX and you would think does very well. But Youthstream are just as bad as IMG when it comes to charging silly money for hosting events. Such a shame, the track is awesome and has a huge following in Holland. The thing with MX though is that it is still vibrant at club level. I went to the British MXGP last year, was rather overpriced at 40 odd quid but not bad for a world event, then you had to pay 15 quid to go in the pits and this was seen as normal, perfectly reasonable? Never seen anyhting like it anywhere I said when I wrote to organisers, and they basically said if you don't like it don't come back, so I didn't! So as fans we need to support club rallycross a bit more I think if we can. Something I will now try and do where possible. I guess until we as customers say enough is enough, stop watching, stop paying to go, stop watching youtube clips (I have never and will never click on a WRX youtube clip), these companies will continue bleeding it dry. So you either hand over your hard earned and turn a blind eye in the pursuit of your own happiness!, or abstain and say enough is enough. |
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2 Jun 2015, 13:50 (Ref:3544197) | #71 | |
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I don't say it's gone bad. I've said before, there were never more people involved in rallycross all over the world, people spectating it etc. So that's good. My former post was to comment on the dirty oily bits hidden under the green M decal-ed carbonfibre hood.
Yeah the mx track at Valkenswaard is one of the better ones. If the investor really pulls out, some other investor might step in if he thinks he can work the numbers better. But there is also the Dutch MX at the TT circuit in Assen (of MotoGP Dutch TT Assen fame) later this year. They might be left the only race in .nl in the future. Lierop track is still aiming at MX GP too afaik. Their business model is even more aggressive. Loads and loads of drivers/hopefuls come and pay to enter the selection rounds where far to much drivers are on the overcrowded track at once. Then only a couple of handfuls are selected to do the real races. But the number of hopefuls, even there still were 100's, were less then last year. Spectator numbers were way down, don't believe the official numbers, the parkinglot people sold less tickets, they know the real #. Might be the tail end of the crisis, might be shifting to other interesting things during the weekend. |
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5 Jun 2015, 09:36 (Ref:3545129) | #72 | ||
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Few shots from Lydden...
Few more here... https://www.flickr.com/photos/229616...57653641103048 ...for those who are interested! |
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5 Jun 2015, 21:20 (Ref:3545345) | #73 | |||
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5 Jun 2015, 23:10 (Ref:3545375) | #74 | |
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Fab photos, tbtstt!
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8 Jun 2015, 08:20 (Ref:3546043) | #75 | |||
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Cheers! |
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