Slightly underwhelmed
Discussion
Tesco water....you yuppie 
Overall an enjoyable day for me inspite of all the dissenters. Next year we'll let you all organaise it.
You can't please everyone, just as well we get rotten weather, what else would we moan about. 
Having said that, valid points I'm sure but next year I'll keep an eye on the weather and maybe back. Roll on the Revival.
Overall an enjoyable day for me inspite of all the dissenters. Next year we'll let you all organaise it. You can't please everyone, just as well we get rotten weather, what else would we moan about. Having said that, valid points I'm sure but next year I'll keep an eye on the weather and maybe back. Roll on the Revival.Interesting to read these comments as we did 3 days camping and Kinrara enclosure; which made for an interesting contrast!
Camping was due to it being the only possible way to successfully avoid the traffic (and this year most of the mud in the carparks).
Previously I have always been very impressed at the organisation and infrastructure, similarly I was generally impressed this year too.
However they did have a near impossible job due to the down pour of rain Thursday pm, as it created several mud baths.
The mud baths were easy to spot and avoid however some drivers decided to play WRC and others just drove into them and got struck.
Amusement at them was dependent on if it was or how away far from them you were!
On the other hand the mud baths were predictable so putting a road through some of them them was just dumb!
Overall the event itself has changed - I think there has been a significant swing in the marketing emphasis to a more current audience.
Specifically
Does the core audience have any interest in an type 32 Bugatti from 1923?; I don't think many attendees would know one, and if they saw one they would point and laugh at a silly looking car. But give them the Chiron and they know love understand it, they want to see it drive past and get a selfie with it.
Do they understand the DNA of an early racing car, can they wonder at the evolution of say 'suspension'? - Some will but to most I think it passes them by. But they will run and cheer to see a F1 car go past more so if its a driver from on the telly.
Trials riding like what Sammy Miller enjoyed was never going be a 'cool' sport so 10/10 to GAS arena for sexing it up with frantic commentary and dudes that would be surfers if they lived in cornwall.
So I think we have some very clever marketing evolution, moving the festival to what the bulk of the current audience loves and if that means its away from the original fan base thats tough it must evolve to survive (there is always Revival).
For me I have very little interest in the supercar parade, it now appears to have grown to a dull procession of similar looking cars that are the biggest group, it felt like it went on for ever!. (my irresponsible evil twin suggests to spice it up they let the sales people drive them again and occasionally hose down Molecomb corner).
It's been noted earlier that some content has thinned to zero e.g. FOStech, the cricket pitch reduced to a moon buggy (that never moved).
Early on in the thread/ OP there was a suggestion that FOS had been taken over by 't
ts in tweed jackets' (I must disagree as tweed is far to hot for June and linen much more suitable). But attending a FOS you soon realise that the whole of it is the layer cake model. Each 'layer' being made to feel special. There are several private corporate events running alongside FOS that most people will never see and the badge system is all about who gets access to which areas, pavilions, lawns, clubs and the house, unsurprisingly the drivers are not in the top or even second layers. The model its run on is quite a brilliant set up designed to make money and ensure loyalty.
To sum up its loads of fun, they had a nightmare with the rain, but what a car enthusiast 'is' has changed and FOS will need to continue to evolve if its to survive.
What will never change are those top very rich layers of the cake!.
Camping was due to it being the only possible way to successfully avoid the traffic (and this year most of the mud in the carparks).
Previously I have always been very impressed at the organisation and infrastructure, similarly I was generally impressed this year too.
However they did have a near impossible job due to the down pour of rain Thursday pm, as it created several mud baths.
The mud baths were easy to spot and avoid however some drivers decided to play WRC and others just drove into them and got struck.
Amusement at them was dependent on if it was or how away far from them you were!
On the other hand the mud baths were predictable so putting a road through some of them them was just dumb!
Overall the event itself has changed - I think there has been a significant swing in the marketing emphasis to a more current audience.
Specifically
Does the core audience have any interest in an type 32 Bugatti from 1923?; I don't think many attendees would know one, and if they saw one they would point and laugh at a silly looking car. But give them the Chiron and they know love understand it, they want to see it drive past and get a selfie with it.
Do they understand the DNA of an early racing car, can they wonder at the evolution of say 'suspension'? - Some will but to most I think it passes them by. But they will run and cheer to see a F1 car go past more so if its a driver from on the telly.
Trials riding like what Sammy Miller enjoyed was never going be a 'cool' sport so 10/10 to GAS arena for sexing it up with frantic commentary and dudes that would be surfers if they lived in cornwall.
So I think we have some very clever marketing evolution, moving the festival to what the bulk of the current audience loves and if that means its away from the original fan base thats tough it must evolve to survive (there is always Revival).
For me I have very little interest in the supercar parade, it now appears to have grown to a dull procession of similar looking cars that are the biggest group, it felt like it went on for ever!. (my irresponsible evil twin suggests to spice it up they let the sales people drive them again and occasionally hose down Molecomb corner).
It's been noted earlier that some content has thinned to zero e.g. FOStech, the cricket pitch reduced to a moon buggy (that never moved).
Early on in the thread/ OP there was a suggestion that FOS had been taken over by 't
ts in tweed jackets' (I must disagree as tweed is far to hot for June and linen much more suitable). But attending a FOS you soon realise that the whole of it is the layer cake model. Each 'layer' being made to feel special. There are several private corporate events running alongside FOS that most people will never see and the badge system is all about who gets access to which areas, pavilions, lawns, clubs and the house, unsurprisingly the drivers are not in the top or even second layers. The model its run on is quite a brilliant set up designed to make money and ensure loyalty. To sum up its loads of fun, they had a nightmare with the rain, but what a car enthusiast 'is' has changed and FOS will need to continue to evolve if its to survive.
What will never change are those top very rich layers of the cake!.
What a bunch of moaning ninnies.
This is a world-class event - people fly from around the world to come to it - and we should consider ourselves lucky that it's on our doorstep.
Yes, through rose-tinted specs the "old days" were less crowded. But there was also less to see, less investment in the event, less variety.
I can't see how Goodwood can win this - some say that it's too expensive, others say the "wrong" crowd is there which could only be rectified by reducing the number of tickets and increasing the price. The cost is a bargain compared to some other events.
I've gone to all but one or two of the Festivals of Speed and have enjoyed each one - it is a highlight of the calendar.
Well done Goodwood, keep up the excellent work.
This is a world-class event - people fly from around the world to come to it - and we should consider ourselves lucky that it's on our doorstep.
Yes, through rose-tinted specs the "old days" were less crowded. But there was also less to see, less investment in the event, less variety.
I can't see how Goodwood can win this - some say that it's too expensive, others say the "wrong" crowd is there which could only be rectified by reducing the number of tickets and increasing the price. The cost is a bargain compared to some other events.
I've gone to all but one or two of the Festivals of Speed and have enjoyed each one - it is a highlight of the calendar.
Well done Goodwood, keep up the excellent work.
SimonC6R said:
Itsallicanafford said:
...an amazing array of cars (F1 LM, mazda 787 etc) You can get as close as you like while still giving these machines the respect they deserve. But you can also get the impression of what bespoke pieces of machinery these are, the 787 had all it body panels removed at one point and see you see all the details (such as the unnumbered mazdaspeed VIN plate. All the engines being pre-warmed before their runs was quite something to behold.
Hate to disappoint, but the 787B was there last year. This year they brought the older (and less successful) 767B.(I'll stop being pedantic now)
coiner said:
Having really enjoyed going for the first time this year i'm interested in hearing if there are any other similar events?
Wilton Classic and Supercar, taking a break this year but going big next year. Really interesting setup with most cars arriving by driving through the grounds lined by the crowds. https://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_s/albums/72157...Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, not been to this but similar in concept to FoS
Rallyday, circuit based with lots of track action/demos and big paddock. Nothing like FoS really, but a great event with lots of iconic machinery driven very hard.
Petrus1983 said:
Are you sure? This certainly looked/sounded F1 LMish -
That's a GTR Longtail. The LM doesn't have the extended bodywork.http://cars.mclaren.com/featured-articles/road-rac...
first time there ever for me, won tickets for the Thursday and a test of one of the cars in the moving motorshow.
Having never been before but knowing quite a few people who have been on many occasions I was really looking forward to it, perhaps built it up too much in my head after seeing coverage/live stream the last few years, but I just felt something was missing when compared to what friends had said about previous years. Haven't had the chance to chat to them to get their feelings on the event.
Perhaps as many have said it was down to the weather, especially on the Thursday. a few of my main disappointments were -
Thursday being advertised as the opening day, yet so many empty spaces and covered up cars. Why wait until the Friday to uncover them if Thursday is press day?
Really poor Rally Stage. as a rally fan firstly I was very keen to get up there and see some action. sadly by the time we'd walked up there by mid afternoon it was basically the same 4 cars doing the rounds. I can go to any local event to see the r2 Fiestas (yes you may argue that rallyday is better suited for me and I agree, but then the cars that should be in action don't run through forests often/at all these days.)
Organisation and information - There was a distinct lack of communication or information on the part of if the tractors were running up the hill to the rally stage on Thursday, we got told it was to only walk up to the pickup point to se the board stating Fri-Sun. A marshal then pointed us up the hill alongside the tractor enclosure and if not for people coming back down to say that it stops at post 8 with no other access up we'd have wasted a trip. Got over the other side and made our way up towards the stage, to be greeted with on of the organisers buggy things sliding downhill towards us due to the slick mud. A family with a child in a pushchair that wanted to go up were told there's no way of getting them up there, and their best suggestion was to leave the pushchair where we were and to walk up . One of the marshals we spoke to earlier on about the tractors didn't know how to use the radio in his hands
Given the weather and poor ground conditions wouldn't it have been safer to put on maybe just the one tractor? they clearly had the drivers as I witnessed at least one ferrying people back to the car park we were in.
Trade stands seemed to be more associated with the F1 market. from what we saw there were very little bargains to be had, perhaps we were looking on the wrong stalls or for the worn type of bargain, but certainly the clothing stands had pretty much F1 wear and that was it. I've no interest in modern F1 so have no desire to spend £120 on a RedBull tracksuit top just because it was a team issue item!
My brother did however get a Caterham body warmer (its a body warmer not a fking gilet!) for £5 because it was apparently dirty/used.
Is there always a level of disrespect to display cars? whilst viewing around the Supercar Paddock the attention the Vulcan was getting was insane, I spent a short time chatting to the guy standing guard and the amount of times he had to tell people not so do stuff like opening the passenger door and sitting in etc was crazy. It was a customers car so he couldn't express how lucky we were to have it there, moved down the row to the Koenigsegg One:1 and spotted a guy kicking the carbon rear wheel he was heard saying "just checking how solid it is"
Similar disregard for cars on display were all over the place including those not roped of on Manufacturer stands.
I was taking a picture of the interior of one car through the window of a car in the paddock and the guy behind it said "doors open mate, take a tidy picture". I'd never have just walked up to it and tried the door as others apeard
Those few negatives aside, I did really enjoy the open access to the paddock area. even managed a chat with car owners/drivers that turned up Thursday. had quite a decent chat with the guy in charge of the Bentley GT3 Racecar. He seemed to show more patience to those who knew about the car other than "its just a big racing car isn't it". Harry Hunt with the massive MINI Dakar was really decent to chat with. I had to laugh when someone said he looked like a racing driver, then the other person with them said "nahh, looks too much like a salesman than a driver".
I will be back, but probably do a Thursday & Friday next time, Thursday to get the main stands in and Friday to take in the action, as I'm told its again quieter than the weekend and has full action on the hill and at the rally stage. Will take a packed lunch again as the prices were steep, one van had a 'meal deal' of burger,chip & can of pop for £11! and they dared call it a meal deal
Got to meet Dai Llewellin as he arrived Thursday late afternoon and got him to sign my programme too so that was a bonus
Having never been before but knowing quite a few people who have been on many occasions I was really looking forward to it, perhaps built it up too much in my head after seeing coverage/live stream the last few years, but I just felt something was missing when compared to what friends had said about previous years. Haven't had the chance to chat to them to get their feelings on the event.
Perhaps as many have said it was down to the weather, especially on the Thursday. a few of my main disappointments were -
Thursday being advertised as the opening day, yet so many empty spaces and covered up cars. Why wait until the Friday to uncover them if Thursday is press day?
Really poor Rally Stage. as a rally fan firstly I was very keen to get up there and see some action. sadly by the time we'd walked up there by mid afternoon it was basically the same 4 cars doing the rounds. I can go to any local event to see the r2 Fiestas
(yes you may argue that rallyday is better suited for me and I agree, but then the cars that should be in action don't run through forests often/at all these days.)Organisation and information - There was a distinct lack of communication or information on the part of if the tractors were running up the hill to the rally stage on Thursday, we got told it was to only walk up to the pickup point to se the board stating Fri-Sun. A marshal then pointed us up the hill alongside the tractor enclosure and if not for people coming back down to say that it stops at post 8 with no other access up we'd have wasted a trip. Got over the other side and made our way up towards the stage, to be greeted with on of the organisers buggy things sliding downhill towards us due to the slick mud. A family with a child in a pushchair that wanted to go up were told there's no way of getting them up there, and their best suggestion was to leave the pushchair where we were and to walk up
. One of the marshals we spoke to earlier on about the tractors didn't know how to use the radio in his hands Given the weather and poor ground conditions wouldn't it have been safer to put on maybe just the one tractor? they clearly had the drivers as I witnessed at least one ferrying people back to the car park we were in.
Trade stands seemed to be more associated with the F1 market. from what we saw there were very little bargains to be had, perhaps we were looking on the wrong stalls or for the worn type of bargain, but certainly the clothing stands had pretty much F1 wear and that was it. I've no interest in modern F1 so have no desire to spend £120 on a RedBull tracksuit top just because it was a team issue item!
My brother did however get a Caterham body warmer (its a body warmer not a f
king gilet!) for £5 because it was apparently dirty/used.Is there always a level of disrespect to display cars? whilst viewing around the Supercar Paddock the attention the Vulcan was getting was insane, I spent a short time chatting to the guy standing guard and the amount of times he had to tell people not so do stuff like opening the passenger door and sitting in etc was crazy. It was a customers car so he couldn't express how lucky we were to have it there, moved down the row to the Koenigsegg One:1 and spotted a guy kicking the carbon rear wheel he was heard saying "just checking how solid it is"
Similar disregard for cars on display were all over the place including those not roped of on Manufacturer stands.
I was taking a picture of the interior of one car through the window of a car in the paddock and the guy behind it said "doors open mate, take a tidy picture". I'd never have just walked up to it and tried the door as others apeard
Those few negatives aside, I did really enjoy the open access to the paddock area. even managed a chat with car owners/drivers that turned up Thursday. had quite a decent chat with the guy in charge of the Bentley GT3 Racecar. He seemed to show more patience to those who knew about the car other than "its just a big racing car isn't it". Harry Hunt with the massive MINI Dakar was really decent to chat with. I had to laugh when someone said he looked like a racing driver, then the other person with them said "nahh, looks too much like a salesman than a driver".
I will be back, but probably do a Thursday & Friday next time, Thursday to get the main stands in and Friday to take in the action, as I'm told its again quieter than the weekend and has full action on the hill and at the rally stage. Will take a packed lunch again as the prices were steep, one van had a 'meal deal' of burger,chip & can of pop for £11! and they dared call it a meal deal
Got to meet Dai Llewellin as he arrived Thursday late afternoon and got him to sign my programme too so that was a bonus
RyanTank said:
first time there ever for me, won tickets for the Thursday and a test of one of the cars in the moving motorshow.
stuff.....
Dont expect to get too many bargains at the trade stands! - they need to pay for their pitch somehow!stuff.....
Also, thursday is only the recce and practice day for the rally, so no one really goes there on thursday, it not normally "open" on thursdays... there has been some great cars in the past, remember seeing Leob in his WRC car not so long ago... (or Sordo i don't remember... ) would be great if they got some WRC cars and drivers up there again...
RyanTank said:
Thursday being advertised as the opening day, yet so many empty spaces and covered up cars. Why wait until the Friday to uncover them if Thursday is press day?
Really poor Rally Stage. as a rally fan firstly I was very keen to get up there and see some action. sadly by the time we'd walked up there by mid afternoon it was basically the same 4 cars doing the rounds.
Thursday is the "Moving Motorshow", FOS doesn't start until Friday? And the rally stage doesn't officially start until Friday either, Thursday is for a few cars to do practice runs if they so desire and, given the conditions, not many did.Really poor Rally Stage. as a rally fan firstly I was very keen to get up there and see some action. sadly by the time we'd walked up there by mid afternoon it was basically the same 4 cars doing the rounds.
I enjoyed the event as usual, arrived on site Wednesday afternoon and didn't leave until Sunday afternoon. Camped in the rally paddock, no queues to get in, no traffic getting there, no traffic leaving. I saw all I wanted to see, the only disappointments were J-ML not taking the Polo on the rally stage and Hamilton's no show.
Thanks for the reply's. The Goodwood website is quite misleading then with regards to the Rally Stage and its programme for the day. I knew going on Thursday meant no Hill action other than the MM.
Lessons to learn and as I said, I'll try and attend over 2 days next time (maybe 2017)
I would have got 2 days in this year but didn't find out i'd got the tickets until the Saturday before and that left me no time to arrange leave an be able to go for 2 days.
I do still think its daft having the cars there but under cover until Friday/Saturdays reveal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a sort of holding pen for cars to sit in until they are to be revealed to joe public?
The superstar drivers are not an essential to me, it is all about seeing some cars of my childhood be it in action or stationary, meeting drivers are just a bonus.
Lessons to learn and as I said, I'll try and attend over 2 days next time (maybe 2017)
I would have got 2 days in this year but didn't find out i'd got the tickets until the Saturday before and that left me no time to arrange leave an be able to go for 2 days.
I do still think its daft having the cars there but under cover until Friday/Saturdays reveal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a sort of holding pen for cars to sit in until they are to be revealed to joe public?
The superstar drivers are not an essential to me, it is all about seeing some cars of my childhood be it in action or stationary, meeting drivers are just a bonus.
RyanTank said:
I do still think its daft having the cars there but under cover until Friday/Saturdays reveal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a sort of holding pen for cars to sit in until they are to be revealed to joe public?
I guess if the owners aren't around all day (which they've no need to be on Thursday) keeping the cars undercover acts as a precaution against bits being pinched or folk sitting in the cars etc.I'm surprised you found anything about the rally stage on the event website, that and the offroad arena are very much the poor relations when it comes to promotion by the organisers. Suits me I suppose, less numpties wandering around the woods with selfie sticks and Go Pros! There are usually more cars on the rally stage on Thursday, I think with the conditions (there was a huge thunderstorm through the night which made the stage like ice early on, as well as the Thursday afternoon rain) folk were saving their cars for the main show.
with the greatest of respect, the answer that Thursday is the Moving Motorshow and not the FoS is kinda sucky. Yes it is, technically, but it's sold through the FoS portal on the FoS website and promoted alongside throughout so to claim it's a completely unrelated and separate event is disingenuous at best. I use it as a chance to actually get near the "proper" cars (i.e. the FoS ones) without them being rammed with punters, get some better photos than is possible on a "real" FoS day without having to time shots bewteen arms, legs, pushchairs and idiots trying to film things on an iPad. Judging by conversations on the day, it's what a considerable number of like-minded enthusiasts also use it for.
So, is it or isn't it? If it's purely a MMS day separate and distinct from FoS then Goodwood ought to be honest enough to segregate them fully; no access to the FoS exhibits or track except as rides/test drives in theoverpriced BMWs MMS exhibit cars. If it's also part of the FoS then there ought to be an attempt to ensure exhibitros actually treat it in the spirit as such and bother to burn those priceless calories to actually drag a tarpaulin off their cars. Yeah, they might get a bit damp but so what? Some of these cars managed 24 hours round le Sarthe in the rain without dissolving, I'm sure a damp day under a canopy won't finish them off. If they're already there in situ why not let the punters actually see them?
Personally speaking, if the MMS is the former and that's all it is there's no way I'd be bothering. Pay all that money to see a few new and rather uninteresting cars I could probably get a better feel of watching on YouTube? fk that!
So, is it or isn't it? If it's purely a MMS day separate and distinct from FoS then Goodwood ought to be honest enough to segregate them fully; no access to the FoS exhibits or track except as rides/test drives in the
Personally speaking, if the MMS is the former and that's all it is there's no way I'd be bothering. Pay all that money to see a few new and rather uninteresting cars I could probably get a better feel of watching on YouTube? f
k that!Nik da Greek said:
with the greatest of respect, the answer that Thursday is the Moving Motorshow and not the FoS is kinda sucky.
Not sure I get the argument to be honest. It is the Moving Motorshow. It's nice bonus that it's within the FoS complex and so there is an opportunity to see some other cars prepping for FoS itself. Why close the FoS stuff off? Some is better than none. The whole point is to see/experience cars in the motorshow itself, they make this pretty clear, in my opinion, it even has a different name!If you want to do the paddocks in full with little hassle by far the best way is to do them on Friday, particularly in the morning. At 7am on Friday there were times when I was literally the only person in areas of the supercar paddock, it's hard to describe just how quiet it is for people used to seeing it in the day.
Yes, Friday is a long way from the 'enthusiasts day' that it used to be, but if it's the cars rather than the stars you want to see in relative comfort it's still by far the best day.
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