OULTON PARK FF1600 "FESTIVAL" 2006

[diz]

I have often thought about having a Festival type affair in the North and now - I believe - the BRSCC NW Centre have even floated the idea at one of their committee meetings.

So how does this sound?
1. A Festival at Oulton in Spring / Early Summer 2006. The Carnival, Brands Festival and WHT make the Autumn / Early Winter a bit top heavy with feature events.
2. Use the Oulton Park Fosters layout - more suitable for a Festival format.
3. Maybe run four Heats, two Semis, a Last Chance and a Final
4. Attract the Irish by having a round of the All Ireland Championship on the same bill.
5. Convince BARC to allow a Classic round
6. Similar with HSCC for Historics
Irish, Classic and Historics could also do the Festival

That gives eleven races, which would easily fit into a one day format.

So how many would enter. Here I go into guesstimate mode.
NW Championship 50
Other regions 20
Irish 20
Classic 20
Historic 20
Total = 130 cars, so there might need to be five heats, as Fosters only starts 26 cars

Maybe some could make a weekend of it and - if a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK or Eire was chosen - do a bit of testing in Ireland on the Sunday and a bit more FF1600 racing on the Monday.

All I am short of now is a name for the event. Festival; and Carnival are out. I have already used Formula Ford Fiesta in 1976 and I can't spell Extravaganza. So over to you folks.

[runshaw]

I don't race in FF1600 or have anything to do with it, but seen as Oulton Park is my local circuit and I have seen some fantastic NWFF1600 racing several times there, that sounds like a brilliant idea. Hope it goes ahead, and I will most likely be there to watch the wheel to wheel action!

[GolddustMini]

id definetly attend something like that as a punter"


i think you should call it dizfest

[jminsh]

Really couldn't be bothered to get out of bed for the Fosters layout but on the proper track no prob's Diz another masterpiece

J.

[JustinDawkins]

Fosters would be much better for a festiva IMO no least because spectators can see the whole track not like inter.

dizFEST20006 is born!

[Ian Sowman]

Agreed, if you are going to do it - presumably with the intention of making it attractive to a large number of spectators - you have to run it on Fosters. That is why the Festival runs on Indy rather than Brands GP, and the WHT on Silverstone national and not the full layout.

There was a good article in MN yesterday by a writer commenting on how the Silverstone GP circuit really didn't work for spectators. Same goes for Oulton International I'm afraid - and we know from other views posted on these forums I am not alone on that.

[Cleggie]

Couldn't you make up an extra wings & slicks class, or single seater class like at Anglesey last year, I'm sure there are a few Masters F3 owners who would do it, now that thier cars are becoming obsolete with changes to ARP regs allowing newer A cars to run quicker in 2006. I have a spare Reynard 863 sitting in my workshop begging for a dead cheap drive, if anyone is interested for the August double header at Oulton!

[sprocket]

Great idea Diz, it should have happened ages ago.
Has to be on Fosters to make the spectators enjoy it. (jminsh will get out of bed!! unless he can find a historic exscuse !!)

If you ran it at Anglesey you could call it "eistetfest"

[EvilPumpkin]

So FostersFordFest then!

[jminsh]

Originally Posted by sprocket

(jminsh will get out of bed!! unless he can find a historic exscuse !!)

What something along the lines of can't do it on the 7th of the 7th month coz i've only got seven toes/fingers left ha ha

[Walshy]

I seem to recall somone bringing this up a couple of years ago at a BRSCC NW AGM and it was completely dismissed. Now with the growing popularity of our beloved category, it turns out it's a great ideal.

I think it originally went somewhere along the lines of:

The Mid-Summer Carnival.

I dispair

[Mark Mitchell]

Bugger! And I was going to retire at the end of this season!
Stonking idea Diz........why should all the fests be down south?

Fosters would be best IMO (I'm just a marshal though!)

The Oulton FFord-Fest Spring Trophy

[Redracer77]

There are too many festivals at the moment but I think an OP would be good.

Maybe we start the year with the WHT then have a mid season Festival at OP and then finish with the Brands Festival. That would be a nice short KOK championship in itself.

[darcym]

just whats needed another blue ribbon event, sorry Diz - not this time. Edwina struggled this year, Festivals not had a good public image this year, the others have been "fine"

too many one of events take away from the regular racing, There is nothing "special" about the Oulton carnival, and to a degree the combe one either, however the combe one only stepped in to cover the possible loss of the brands festival.

[gixxer]

Originally Posted by darcym

just whats needed another blue ribbon event, sorry Diz - not this time. Edwina struggled this year, Festivals not had a good public image this year, the others have been "fine"

too many one of events take away from the regular racing, There is nothing "special" about the Oulton carnival, and to a degree the combe one either, however the combe one only stepped in to cover the possible loss of the brands festival.

exactly if there's too much choice then something will suffer in the long run,i want to see full grids not half full due to one off's clashing with regional championships.it just means circuits will tend to get greedy and could spell the end of some of the weaker regional chanmpionship rounds due to lack of support.

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by gixxer

exactly if there's too much choice then something will suffer in the long run,i want to see full grids not half full due to one off's clashing with regional championships.it just means circuits will tend to get greedy and could spell the end of some of the weaker regional chanmpionship rounds due to lack of support.

Good point gixxer.

This year, if you wanted, you could do:

Golden Helmet at Silverstone,
Jim Walsh at Silverstone,
Edwina Overend at Mallory Park (was cancelled I know),
Spa (with the MRC),
Moose Trophy at Oulton Park,
Carnival at Castle Combe,
Festival at Brands Hatch,
Walter Hayes at Silverstone.

You've almost got a full season there without supporting ANY regional championships AT ALL.

In fact, thinking aloud, with the likes of JEB profess to be very loving of FF1600 as a whole (and I know they really are), maybe there should be a rule that you have to have entered, say, three regional meetings (inc. Irish) in the previous six months to qualify to enter - with exceptions only granted to bona fida Johnny Foreigners.

[diz]

Originally Posted by darcym

just whats needed another blue ribbon event, sorry Diz - not this time

Ah well, that's the end of that idea then with no positive vibes from the South West

Do you think that the world and his wife will want to do the 2007 "DizFest"?

Expect postings on here like "Everybody has been talking in WHT terms about this meeting in 06, what a cracker, I won't miss the 07 version"

[Cleggie]

No Blue Ribbon! and I used to like those chocolate snacks...

[heel'n'toe-no]

Originally Posted by Mark Mitchell

Bugger! And I was going to retire at the end of this season!
Stonking idea Diz........why should all the fests be down south?

Fosters would be best IMO (I'm just a marshal though!)

The Oulton FFord-Fest Spring Trophy

There is another festival in the North Mark. The MRCI formula ford festival in Northern Ireland. For some reason only attended by Northern and Southern Irish drivers with the only exceptions being myself and Simon.

Superb idea Diz......Like the Dizfest name, I expect the stickers and patches will follow on from here. It would be a great way to try out the cars before the season stats and blow away any cobwebs.......btw, yes I'm still in USofA. Flying back tomorrow.

[JustinDawkins]

Originally Posted by darcym

just whats needed another blue ribbon event, sorry Diz - not this time.

But you will do a championship round? So why not a large knock out one?

BS I am afraid, Carnival has always got very strong entries , and will continue to do so - this year promises to be the best yet.

Festival will be the same, and apart from stuff about entries nothing too neg has gone around - it was great last year.

Golden Helmet = Sucess
Jim Walsh = Huge
Moose = Set to be a massive sucess
WHT = will be great again.

Sure the Edwina failed, it was at mallory for **** sake!! It failed the year before really, and with SOM on its knees its no suprise that it was cancelled.

I say roll on the spring dizfest, it would be perfect, particularly as Som will be canned next year and so there will be less races over the course of the year for FF1600s.

[foreversideways]

Originally Posted by JohnMiller

Good point gixxer.

This year, if you wanted, you could do:

Golden Helmet at Silverstone,
Jim Walsh at Silverstone,
Edwina Overend at Mallory Park (was cancelled I know),
Spa (with the MRC),
Moose Trophy at Oulton Park,
Carnival at Castle Combe,
Festival at Brands Hatch,
Walter Hayes at Silverstone.

You've almost got a full season there without supporting ANY regional championships AT ALL.

In fact, thinking aloud, with the likes of JEB profess to be very loving of FF1600 as a whole (and I know they really are), maybe there should be a rule that you have to have entered, say, three regional meetings (inc. Irish) in the previous six months to qualify to enter - with exceptions only granted to bona fida Johnny Foreigners.

Yes and those races would make a nice championship

[JustinDawkins]

lol we could call it king of kents?

[Redracer77]

Originally Posted by JustinDawkins

I say roll on the spring dizfest, it would be perfect, particularly as Som will be canned next year and so there will be less races over the course of the year for FF1600s.

LOL Chris remembers back to early this year and thinks back to the light hearted banter he had with JD about which Championship was best, SOM and NWFF

[JustinDawkins]

lol Justin replies to Chris (again in the third person - naturally) that he did not question the merits of the NW championship, and indeed conceded that the people there were the friendliest by far, he merely pointed out due to time (testing at new circuits), money (testing at new circuits) and logistics (racing at far away circuits) he would always favor SOM. Although Justin admits he didn't quite foresee the west-tec/wills fest it became.

[Ian Sowman]

It only becamse a "West-Tec/Wills Fest" because (sadly) you weren't there to do anything about it!