Silverstone Classic 2009 - Comments/Suggestions

Ken Prichard Jones · 4 Aug 2009, 09:58 (Ref:2515290)

There will be a bigger and better Silverstone Classic in 2010. The gossip is put about by talkers rather than doers. We put on a very successful event this year and have learned a lot for next and subsequent years. Any suggestions for improvement will be welcome.

**John Turner** · 4 Aug 2009, 10:03 (Ref:2515296)

Ken, well done to you, Grahame and Nick for a first class event this year and thanks for coming on here to scotch the rumours.

john ruston · 4 Aug 2009, 11:21 (Ref:2515353)

The news that there will be a Festival next year is Superb and not much needs to be changed.Start the Sat evening race an hour earlier as it is the best race of the weekend ? Pre War 45/50 mins rather than hour and later in day ?

Colin McKay · 4 Aug 2009, 11:45 (Ref:2515372)

Good news about next year. Hopefully there will be a race for larger historic saloons next time around although U2TC put on a great show.

What would you drop from this year's lineup to make way for it?

James Murray · 4 Aug 2009, 11:54 (Ref:2515376)

Thought myself the u2tc was much better than the nascar style race last year, much more variety at the front and close racing. Choosing races for these events is very subjective and its been hammered out before. Personally I thought it was about right this year apart from the Super Tourers who are still too young and dont fit yet and the mini event was poor, but I guess a one off anyway. My 2 penneth would be to dispense with those and divide the pre 66 GP race into front and rear engine and have a race for pre 78 F2/Atlantic.

delta · 4 Aug 2009, 11:58 (Ref:2515380)

Any chance of a race for us grass roots racers. ie FF1600,FF2000. Classic F3 or just a Libre Race for Under 2 Litres No F2's. Sorry James.

Tom Walker · 4 Aug 2009, 13:19 (Ref:2515430)

The Classic is a superb weekend, lots of atmosphere. I think I've said this before, but do you all prefer these 55min 2 driver races ? And are they what the public wants to see ? (There were shorter races, I know. I'm talking about Pre-war and Woodcote trophy, U2TC).

I was brought up on 20-30min club "sprint" races, and prefer to both drive and watch these. Not the WSM, these cars have enough OOMPH to keep one's interest for an hour. Much that I love the cars, watching vintage stuff grinding round for an hour is not my idea of fun. (And I own and race one).

Personally I would prefer to see more variety, with shorter races.

BUT, I can hear you say, the race organiser will lose revenue, because he cant charge the same for a 25 min race. And no doubt someone will point out that there is more "down-time" with more, shorter races. Plus more machinery will take up already limited space. (Space partially taken up by, to me, some rather marginally interesting retail !)

My other minor issue is that as a "one-man-band" I do feel increasingly marginalised. I like to pop out of whose-ever motorhome I have scrounged a slot in (thanks Jussi), and tinker with the car while cracking a bottle and shooting the breeze under the awning. Thats (one of the reasons) why I like Spa. If you are not a "multiple car prepare" you can no longer do this.

midgetman · 4 Aug 2009, 15:11 (Ref:2515493)

As a marginally interesting retailer, can I put my oar in? On that point, "one man's meat etc" and just 'cos one person doesn't think much of something, there are others who do. Racers can be very blinkered and the Festival needs lots of marginal interests to cater for all comers. The more who come the merrier.

IMO there needed to be more retailers to create a buzz. TBQH the Copse runway was given over to a pointless Ferrari display, that would've been much more interesting filled with a working paddock, would've attracted more retail custom too.

We had a ball, both as retailer and spectator. Some say the numbers were down Sunday - that's as may be but the quality was still there. I'm putting the classic into my calendar next year in place of Autosports International.

As a whole, there are niggles which I'm sure they'll address. e.g. Not paticularly happy leaving £10k's worth of stock in a tent overnight without any sign of security.

But on the whole, yeah, we were happy. Good event.

simon drabble · 4 Aug 2009, 15:12 (Ref:2515494)

Working on the presumption that everyone is in agreement that we want it to happen next year I think it is important to focus on what was good and constructively what could be done to make it even better. To be fair this forum is generally taking this approach rather than the other place that seems to criticise as a knee jerk reaction. Interestingly most here are actually involved whereas the other place for the most part only want free entry to a noggin to discuss cars they have never driven!
The concerts were a good thing and having a contemporary band encouraged younger people - the future supporters and drivers. The super touring cars were disappointing but that was more a case of poor entries rather than poor management!the Pre 63 was a great success as was the WSM and the Woodcote all of which were appropriately longer distance.
It is all an improvement on last year and I for one will be there whether it be as a spectator or better still competitor.
The organisers would do well to listen to the compliments from competitors who were there not the web mongs who didn't even go!!

Steven Humphrey · 4 Aug 2009, 15:16 (Ref:2515495)

I really enjoyed myself this year, my first marshalling after 4 years as a spectator. My wife, kids & in-laws came on Sunday & we all spectated. General opinion was that the off track activities weren't as good as previous years. We definately missed Scarf & Goggles as that was a real focal point, especially with live music through the day. The air display was very good but there could have been more in the way of vintage aircraft fly pasts & displays. The funfair was good for the kids but why were some operators allowed to charge for rides when it was billed as free?

Racing wise, I thought it was a pretty good balance. My father-in-law missed the u2l touring cars as they only ran on Saturday so it would be good to see those on both days, maybe only 30min races. I'd like to see the big Galaxys & Corvettes mixed in with the Cortinas & Minis too. My personal highlight was still the WSM dusk race-definately worth the late finish! The pre war cars could have done with a later start & maybe 2 shorter races as they are a real spectacle but don't offer much of a race. Early days for the Super Tourers still so a bigger grid would help but maybe they are just a bit too recent.

How about a classic 2CV race? They always entertain! A Derek Bell trophy race or 2 would also be welcome. I remember a bike race a few years ago too, which I enjoyed.

All in all, a good weekend (especially Delta's BBQ!!) and still one of the highlights of my year.

andy97 · 4 Aug 2009, 15:32 (Ref:2515502)

Quote:

Originally Posted by delta

Any chance of a race for us grass roots racers. ie FF1600,FF2000. Classic F3 or just a Libre Race for Under 2 Litres No F2's. Sorry James.

Any of the above would be good & maybe a Derek Bell type race. Also how about CSCC Swinging Sixties? I'll get my coat but there's cars in that series that are more orginal than any of the "continuation cars" & its a series that gets huge grids.

I think that the Super Tourers should be there, along with the Group A touring cars of the previous era. They are definately classics (and again older than the continuation cars). OK, maybe not that old but a great many racing fans were brought up on spectating in the Sierra Cosworth/ BMW M3 era and the STs, There's actually a fair amount of them about & the grids could build very well as long as their participation was announced early & fixed.

Tim the Grey · 4 Aug 2009, 17:00 (Ref:2515566)

I felt there was more than enough to see and do, and I was there 3 1/2 days. I suspect that 30-45 minute races for most are enough? Keep the 1 or 1 1/2 hour stuff for the Group C and WSM, and have them close out one day each?

I think the Le Mans "Grid Paddock" works well. There seemed to be something like it at the Classic, but mostly the awnings were tied shut when I walked past?

Niggles, mainly, certainly no show stoppers!

redshoes · 4 Aug 2009, 17:20 (Ref:2515577)

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy97

I know that there are a fair few Super Tourers in captivity & they race in the LMA EuroSaloons and Sportscar series. Must be hard work to keep them going but it seems to be possible, although for some reason not that many of the LMA regulars were out in the DL Memorial race.

Most of the regulars were put off by the entry fee - significantly more than an LMA double-header for a similar amount of track time.

I suspect it may have been a similar story for the Mini race. Given the hundreds (thousands?) of race-ready Minis it was a disappointingly small grid.

terence · 4 Aug 2009, 18:53 (Ref:2515645)

Race entry fee's and gate prices really do need looking at.

LYNX · 4 Aug 2009, 19:00 (Ref:2515647)

[QUOTE=midgetman;2515493]
TBQH the Copse runway was given over to a pointless Ferrari display, that would've been much more interesting filled with a working paddock, would've attracted more retail custom too.

There was plenty of room for car clubs in the brown park on the otherside of the footbridge where Club Lotus Elite, Historic Lotus, Triumph etc were placed. The infield could be opened up for Midgetman's suggestion. Formula Junior were allocated spaces for 30 cars yet had fifty-three cars to accommodate. How can you put on a good show in such conditions. Congratulations to Kevin Musson for his £1,000 prize for his meritous presentation oh the Lola in FJ.

simon drabble · 5 Aug 2009, 07:56 (Ref:2515938)

Were the entry fees high for a premium race? The pre 63 race was 700 from memory for a 30 Min qually and 60 min race. The grand prix support race is the same for a 20 minute race with no hospitality.
I think the super tourers and mini owners were missing the point - how often do they get the chance to race on the GP circuit and at this calibre of meeting?
It is all down to personal choice and if you want the lowest entry fees then I suggest a 750 motor club at Ltdden Hill - personally I will pay a little more and race at a nicer meeting!!
In respect to speccy costs I would be interested to hear what the critics expected to pay and more importantly what they expect in terms of infrastructure for their ticket. Video screens etc all cost money.....

midgetman · 5 Aug 2009, 08:59 (Ref:2515978)

There was a video screen in the eating area in the Becketts infield. Very useful too.

Re Simon's comment on prices, there's two camps on this. TNF seems to be populated by dyed-in-the-wool petrolheads who resent anything not related to the cars thus think the price is high. SC wants to attract the wider market, where a day out should be ranked alongside eg Alton Towers with more to attract the whole family and the price reflects that - having said that, Thorpe Park is only £35(?) so perhaps SC needs to revisit the pricing. The world is changing and event promoters need more than just us hyper-enthusiasts to make money.

Have just watched the video on the SC site. I was there for 3 days and never saw any of that! Bummer, it looked a good event.

KA · 5 Aug 2009, 09:46 (Ref:2516011)

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy97

I think that the Super Tourers should be there, along with the Group A touring cars of the previous era. They are definately classics (and again older than the continuation cars). OK, maybe not that old but a great many racing fans were brought up on spectating in the Sierra Cosworth/ BMW M3 era and the STs, There's actually a fair amount of them about & the grids could build very well as long as their participation was announced early & fixed.

As a couple of people have suggested, maybe it's a bit soon for the ST cars to really take off as a historic category- though thinking back a few years to the early years of historic Group C, as I remember the grids were often small and padded out with 70s Chevrons, 90's GT cars, ProSport 3000s etc. As the old saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day....

redshoes · 5 Aug 2009, 12:46 (Ref:2516101)

Quote:

Originally Posted by simon drabble

I think the super tourers and mini owners were missing the point - how often do they get the chance to race on the GP circuit and at this calibre of meeting?

Is racing on the GP circuit really that much of a big deal? Brands GP maybe, but not Silverstone.

Quote:

It is all down to personal choice and if you want the lowest entry fees then I suggest a 750 motor club at Ltdden Hill - personally I will pay a little more and race at a nicer meeting!!

It's not about being cheap, it's about value for money. Many would rather take a hard fought battle with a full grid of similarly competitive cars on a lesser circuit than pay more to be spread out over a 'premium' circuit. Don't compare with a GP support race, which I'm sure was similarly overpriced, but with where there cars would otherwise be raced.

Quote:

In respect to speccy costs I would be interested to hear what the critics expected to pay and more importantly what they expect in terms of infrastructure for their ticket. Video screens etc all cost money.....

All the video screen were in the paddock or display areas so for a spectator actually watching trackside they were irrelevant.

MG Live meeting a few weeks earlier - similar 3-day race meeting cum classic car show - a weekend ticket was £40. 3-day Master meeting at Brands GP in May, also around £35-40. 3-day SC09 ticket was £79 + booking fee. Apart from video screens that I couldn't see and concerts that I didn't want, how do you explain the difference?

**Peter Mallett** · 5 Aug 2009, 15:18 (Ref:2516178)

Quote: