Slightly underwhelmed

Slightly underwhelmed

Author
Discussion

C.A.R.

Original Poster:

3,967 posts

187 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
FoS is an event I attend with my father every-other year and have been in attendance at 4 events separated by a year if that makes sense.

Each time we have attended, with this year being most prevalent, the event seems to distance itself from the regular petrolhead. I can appreciate the ticket costs are only ever going to go one way for future events, but the whole layout and content on the day seems to increasingly cater specifically for the 'tts in tweed' brigade or appears very corporate.

Historically there has always been a presence of these features where your average punter isn't allowed in because you're not part of the gang (club) but these different areas now seem to dominate. The food, which some people will claim to have improved I'm sure, wasn't what you'd expect at a "motorsport" event. I eventually found a bacon roll, but had to wade through endless streams of different cuisine to get to it. Historically there was a bacon roll van in the car park before you even entered the gates!

It left me feeling cold, but perhaps as the event has evolved I have distanced from the target audience. An event which no longer accommodates your common petrolhead, but more of a corporate event to demonstrate wealth and "oh look, there's another car, wasn't that loud, now where can I get a posh sit-down meal?..."

I wasn't "bitterly" disappointed, but I think in future I'll spend my money going to see some proper motorsport rather than go to the expense of seeing FoS again.

ecsrobin

17,017 posts

164 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
C.A.R. said:
FoS is an event I attend with my father every-other year and have been in attendance at 4 events separated by a year if that makes sense.

Each time we have attended, with this year being most prevalent, the event seems to distance itself from the regular petrolhead. I can appreciate the ticket costs are only ever going to go one way for future events, but the whole layout and content on the day seems to increasingly cater specifically for the 'tts in tweed' brigade or appears very corporate.

Historically there has always been a presence of these features where your average punter isn't allowed in because you're not part of the gang (club) but these different areas now seem to dominate. The food, which some people will claim to have improved I'm sure, wasn't what you'd expect at a "motorsport" event. I eventually found a bacon roll, but had to wade through endless streams of different cuisine to get to it. Historically there was a bacon roll van in the car park before you even entered the gates!

It left me feeling cold, but perhaps as the event has evolved I have distanced from the target audience. An event which no longer accommodates your common petrolhead, but more of a corporate event to demonstrate wealth and "oh look, there's another car, wasn't that loud, now where can I get a posh sit-down meal?..."

I wasn't "bitterly" disappointed, but I think in future I'll spend my money going to see some proper motorsport rather than go to the expense of seeing FoS again.
from goodwood:

18% of attendees household income is £50-75k
9% of attendees household income is £75-100k
13% of attendees household income is over £100k

So I guess PH makes up 13% of attendees. I think the revival and members meeting are Motorsport events FOS is a garden party with cars and if you treat it like that it can be enjoyable. I prefer the Sunday for the shootout.

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Corporate sponsorship is a stable and more predictable income. Every popular event goes the same way.


LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
1st went to FoS 15yrs ago, bought a weekend ticket but only made the sat/sun, it was a great weekend & we had not long returned from Le Mans so it had something to live up to!

Last went 3yrs ago, seems to be a box ticking exercise for the general masses now & as you say OP, it is much more corporate.

Will probably return at some poi t as it does still have a lot to offer but sadly it has become a victim of it's own success.
Maybe that leaves an opening for another event, or is there one I'm missing?

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
LordHaveMurci said:
Will probably return at some poi t as it does still have a lot to offer but sadly it has become a victim of it's own success.
Maybe that leaves an opening for another event, or is there one I'm missing?
Cholomondeley - but it seems to be struggling to find its identity. Clearly wants to be corporate, but also seems to want to involve enthusiasts (see posts elsewhere about why they struggle to engage with clubs).

East Coast Classic has potential - if it gets off the ground.

Local circuit "nostalgia" weekends aren't bad - but there's a limit on how new the entrants can be.

Fundamental problem for the others is that Goodwood has established the brand and is part of the season.

Trophybloo

1,207 posts

186 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Usually I hit the car park about 9am This year I set off earlier but owing to the M25 major hold up I got to the downside of Duncton Hill at 1010 - over 90 mins to do the last 2 miles!
Sorry there has to be a better traffic plan than some badly placed and timed traffic lights and a random in a hivis.not prioritising the biggest queue!
Once in I also felt that this year represented a tipping point. The free stands had gone from the display area across from the house but the new installation of the flint wall grandstand definitely gave an impression of squeeze out. The rally stage is now just a club for the same old faces with VW and Latvala nowhere to be seen and apart from dear old Russell no former World Champs or current hotshots.
Perhaps I'll feel less 'out of it' on Sunday but I just didn't get the wow factor that justifies the cost, yesterday.

Nik da Greek

2,503 posts

149 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
I felt very disappointed on the Thursday, and that's the first year I've felt anything but mildly elated after a FoS. I always try to go on the Thursday even though it's static because you stand a chance of actually getting within a million miles of some of the exhibits and more popular cars, then I go on the Sunday with my wife and enjoy the vibe and the noise and the motion. I can relax a bit on Sunday then because I've got loads of photos already and got up close with the stuff I wanted to see.

This year the Thursday was definitely a bit meh. Quite a lot meh, actually. Quite apart from the massive empty spaces in many of the pit areas... many cars spent the day under tarps, almost no bikes were there. Yeah, it's the cheapy day but the ticket's still fifty fking quid so don't treat me like a second-class citizen, fking make sure the event is ready to run! It might be pocket change to the average Tarquin or Jocasta that the show is now increasingly aimed at, but it's a goodly sum of money to me, thanks. The spread of interesting cars seems less every year, more and more it concentrates on the new hot-poop models and supercars... which is exactly what the sponsors want to be selling to the bearded, pointy-shoed, monied banking elite that proliferate. The race cars are more diluted eveyr year; more and more you get too much focus on categories... and it might be a OMG moment to see twenty BMW-engined F1 cars in a row but then it starts to dawn on you they're actually all pretty similar and it's a lot of space taken up that might have been better served being more diverse. Meanwhile, the pioneer beasts are increasingly marginalised, now having become wedged into the general paddock where they used to have one all their own, the rally cars are all but inaccessible unbless you want to waste half the day getting there and back, and Mercedes/Audi have a larger section of roped-off no-access static cars cluttering the place up every year. The strongest USP of FoS was always the informality and the ability to wander literally right in amongst the cars. This access is gradually being eroded year on year, the informaility is evaporating in the face of relentless branding and sponsorship.

The Festival has always had the "them and us" about it, with VIP areas and many stands having invite only parts, but it does seem to be getting more and more marked. Ever more the feeling grows that you are being milked as a cash cow, an unwelcome but necessary means of funding the show for the Beautiful People who are the actual target audience. And with that said, increasingly you see people turning up on the action days whenyou think "why the hell are you here?" Decades ago you'd be rubbing shoulders with petrolheads of such broad and deep knowledge that they could probably write a respectable coffee-table book on their chosen marque. Now you see chav families of fat biffas swearing at each other, smoking spliffs and caning cans of lager. Most conversations overheard in the paddocks are along the lines of "who the hell's that? Is he famous? Where's Lewis? Ooooh, look that's one of them old Sierras innit?". I don't want that to sound tooooo much like a "they're just not our sort of people rant", but actually what the hell are these morons doing there? It's - as already established - not a cheap day out, shouldn't they be at Chessington or Alton Towers with the other chimps?



Overall, it's still one of the most amazing and unique motorsport events in the world, but every year it becomes less and less for the fans and the people who made it great and more and more for ... well, for tossers. Sad times

Edited by Nik da Greek on Saturday 25th June 13:13

Ian Wegg

647 posts

139 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Nik da Greek said:
Quite a lot meh, actually. Quite apart from the massive empty spaces in many of the pit areas... many cars spent the day under tarps,
The covering of cars is a real issue. I noticed the same thing at the Members' Meeting and it was very disappointing, several of the cars I was particularly interested in were kept under wraps. I think the owners should be told of their responsibilities to the paying public.

I also miss the cricket pitch displays. The sand sculptures and land speed record breakers of previous years will stick in my memory for ever but sadly now all we get are picnic tables.

I'm afraid in general I have to agree with the sentiments of this thread, it's not the event it was.

~iw


Eric Mc

121,770 posts

264 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
I'm watching the video stream and they showed a Mars Rover (Exo-Mars) display on the cricket pitch.

9.3

1,133 posts

191 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
I must be tuning into the live video via YouTube at the wrong time - this morning it was endless Supercars and having just tuned in again this afternoon , more Supercars.... Slight yawn fest.
Would rather see the cars that FOS was originally designed for.

PHomer

96 posts

155 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Nik da Greek said:
I felt very disappointed on the Thursday, and that's the first year I've felt anything but mildly elated after a FoS. I always try to go on the Thursday even though it's static because you stand a chance of actually getting within a million miles of some of the exhibits and more popular cars, then I go on the Sunday with my wife and enjoy the vibe and the noise and the motion. I can relax a bit on Sunday then because I've got loads of photos already and got up close with the stuff I wanted to see.

This year the Thursday was definitely a bit meh. Quite a lot meh, actually. Quite apart from the massive empty spaces in many of the pit areas... many cars spent the day under tarps, almost no bikes were there. Yeah, it's the cheapy day but the ticket's still fifty fking quid so don't treat me like a second-class citizen, fking make sure the event is ready to run! It might be pocket change to the average Tarquin or Jocasta that the show is now increasingly aimed at, but it's a goodly sum of money to me, thanks. The spread of interesting cars seems less every year, more and more it concentrates on the new hot-poop models and supercars... which is exactly what the sponsors want to be selling to the bearded, pointy-shoed, monied banking elite that proliferate. The race cars are more diluted eveyr year; more and more you get too much focus on categories... and it might be a OMG moment to see twenty BMW-engined F1 cars in a row but then it starts to dawn on you they're actually all pretty similar and it's a lot of space taken up that might have been better served being more diverse. Meanwhile, the pioneer beasts are increasingly marginalised, now having become wedged into the general paddock where they used to have one all their own, the rally cars are all but inaccessible unbless you want to waste half the day getting there and back, and Mercedes/Audi have a larger section of roped-off no-access static cars cluttering the place up every year. The strongest USP of FoS was always the informality and the ability to wander literally right in amongst the cars. This access is gradually being eroded year on year, the informaility is evaporating in the face of relentless branding and sponsorship.

The Festival has always had the "them and us" about it, with VIP areas and many stands having invite only parts, but it does seem to be getting more and more marked. Ever more the feeling grows that you are being milked as a cash cow, an unwelcome but necessary means of funding the show for the Beautiful People who are the actual target audience. And with that said, increasingly you see people turning up on the action days whenyou think "why the hell are you here?" Decades ago you'd be rubbing shoulders with petrolheads of such broad and deep knowledge that they could probably write a respectable coffee-table book on their chosen marque. Now you see chav families of fat biffas swearing at each other, smoking spliffs and caning cans of lager. Most conversations overheard in the paddocks are along the lines of "who the hell's that? Is he famous? Where's Lewis? Ooooh, look that's one of them old Sierras innit?". I don't want that to sound tooooo much like a "they're just not our sort of people rant", but actually what the hell are these morons doing there? It's - as already established - not a cheap day out, shouldn't they be at Chessington or Alton Towers with the other chimps?



Overall, it's still one of the most amazing and unique motorsport events in the world, but every year it becomes less and less for the fans and the people who made it great and more and more for ... well, for tossers. Sad times

Edited by Nik da Greek on Saturday 25th June 13:13
The ticket price for Thursday was £35. Still a lot of money for most, but not £50.
This is a real tough one because in one breath your'e suggesting that Goodwood is creating a 'them and us' culture at FOS, but in the next paragraph you ask 'what are these morons doing here?' So which do you want, a them & us environment where there's some sort of profiling at the point of purchase, or an inclusive event that caters for all incomes & budgets? If the former is preferred, what would your suggestion be about the criteria for 'the right attendee' at the point of purchase?

Nik da Greek

2,503 posts

149 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
I might have mis-remembered the price of the ticket, I ordered it a while ago. I mostly remember being slightly insulted by having to pay nearly £200 for tickets and then being asked if I wanted to add another tenner to have them giftwrapped frown Buy pants for the wife (or mistress, if you prefer) and you get giftwrapping for free, you'd have thought two hundred sheets was investment enough hehe

As to the demographics, I'm not claiming any solution. I'm not suggesting any kind of vetting. Where did you get that idea from? This thread appeared to be for how one feels about the Festival, and those are my feelings. Increasingly it feels overpriced and unwelcoming to what used to be the core audience (if I can speak as one of the above... maybe I'm over-stating my own importance). My persnal opinion... and it's only an opinion, I'm not trying to present it as fact... is that the FoS was a lot more enjoyable and pleasant when it was all about the racing cars and the heritage, not about selling new cars to wkers.



Edit for spelnilg an grammer

Edited by Nik da Greek on Saturday 25th June 14:46

ecsrobin

17,017 posts

164 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Completely agree. It was ok when it was just trade stands but a large portion is the latest cars running up the hill, I'm not interested in seeing the latest Ford Focus up the hill, Bugatti yes. Also I see the BAC mono is running up the hill that's been out for years??

wotnot

383 posts

173 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Ian Wegg said:
Nik da Greek said:
Quite a lot meh, actually. Quite apart from the massive empty spaces in many of the pit areas... many cars spent the day under tarps,
The covering of cars is a real issue. I noticed the same thing at the Members' Meeting and it was very disappointing, several of the cars I was particularly interested in were kept under wraps. I think the owners should be told of their responsibilities to the paying public.

I also miss the cricket pitch displays. The sand sculptures and land speed record breakers of previous years will stick in my memory for ever but sadly now all we get are picnic tables.

I'm afraid in general I have to agree with the sentiments of this thread, it's not the event it was.

~iw
Another one annoyed at the covering up of cars.
I understand that Thursday is the Moving Motorshow and not the FoS proper (although I'm pretty sure this year Thursday was marketed as Day One) but the car is on its stand and there are many paying punters that would love to see it. By all means cover them up when the gates have shut but if you don't want them to be seen at all leave them in the transporters!!
Whilst I'm ranting, I can live with the fact that breakfast in the Le Mans cafe is getting smaller every year and they've stopped the free coffee refills (£36.50 for two child portions and two cups of coffee each is a bit steep) but the thing that has stopped me using the place again is this sudden need to hide your credit card so you can't do a runner. I've never had my credit card taken away in any eatery anywhere in the world before! Talk about making you feel like the great unwashed...


IanH755

1,848 posts

119 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Nik da Greek said:
Decades ago you'd be rubbing shoulders with petrolheads of such broad and deep knowledge that they could probably write a respectable coffee-table book on their chosen marque. Now you see chav families of fat biffas swearing at each other, smoking spliffs and caning cans of lager. Most conversations overheard in the paddocks are along the lines of "who the hell's that? Is he famous? Where's Lewis? Ooooh, look that's one of them old Sierras innit?".
This is one of the main reasons I stopped going. It's now become an "event" where a good 50% of the people there are only for FB/Instgram selfies and have no real passion, understanding or knowledge of what the event means. The amount of god awful "TOWIE" wannabes who sneer at "classic" cars loudly claiming "my chipped A3's faster innit bruv" and have absolutely zero respect just annoyed me so much that the last FoS I went to I had to leave just after lunch before I started shouting at people.

Sadly FoS is now a victim of it's own success and as it's gotten bigger and "better" it's lost that informality between paddock and crowd and is now hostage to the Corporate Sponsors taking ever more space with there fairly bland line ups.

mickk

28,769 posts

241 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
wotnot said:
I've never had my credit card taken away in any eatery anywhere in the world before! Talk about making you feel like the great unwashed...
Really?

That's terrible and you should have refused. They don't even do that in the local Indian when 6 boozed up blokes turn up.

Miopyk

869 posts

144 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Well I was flabbergasted today. We got there early and was peckish so went looking for a Bacon Roll. 5 Fcensoreding quid for 2 slices of bacon in a plain white bap that really is taking the pi$$. I love he fact that you can get close to the cars and the overall format still works but like everything its now all about the money and turned into another summer social event for those prepared to pay stupid money for privilege. 3 standard ticket was nearly £200 and this year I didn't think that was value for money.

I was also quite surprised how many people were suited and booted there this year even though the grass in a lot of areas was very muddy and they were clearly going to get wet and dirty.

We left early today partly due to the weather, partly because I wanted to get something to eat that wasn't going to cost the earth and partly because it was just too crowded. Not sure we'll be back next year.

HoHoHo

14,979 posts

249 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
I stopped going some years ago.

Same old same old every year and LM now simply takes the piss out of those who made the event.

I was offered free tickets this year but I'd rather stick pins in my eyes and from what I've heard from friends with an interest and now reading this I'm clearly not the only one.

Jagmanv12

1,573 posts

163 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
marshalla said:
Corporate sponsorship is a stable and more predictable income. Every popular event goes the same way.
The manufacturers pay hundreds of thousands for their grass areas, let alone their construction costs. So that represents a large income for the organisers.

As mentioned food is not cheap. I heard a couple of years ago that an ice cream seller had to pay £9k for the space for his van. Just think what a burger van has to pay!! Therefore the prices to the public have to cover this cost.

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Saturday 25th June 2016
quotequote all
Popped in this afternoon. Didn't really see much this time and the atmosphere seemed to be as damp as the weather. Everything felt like it was behind a barrier, even if in reality that wasn't the case.
Too many of the large stands are very off-putting and not exactly approachable, the F1 paddock was its usual melee of thousands of people with the occasional glimpse of the front wing of a racing car and the rest felt like it was a forest of plinths or barriers.

The only exception was the Style et Luxe area once again. That little corner is an oasis of how it should be.
Will I use tomorrow's ticket? Probably not.