Santa Pod Main Event
Discussion
I believe free web casting/streaming is here to stay. The public wont pay to view in large enough numbers.
The cost will be carried by sponsors/advertisers.
The viewers will accept the trade off of ads in return for free broadcasts.
If you have seen the Bangshift and PDRA live streams you will know this works very well
The cost will be carried by sponsors/advertisers.
The viewers will accept the trade off of ads in return for free broadcasts.
If you have seen the Bangshift and PDRA live streams you will know this works very well
ribaric said:
Pro Mod starting, grandstands effectively empty. That's a disappointment for all concerned.
I was in the grandstand most of the weekend and noticed that it filled up considerably by late morning today, and by the semifinals the first part of the stand was pretty full and the bank quite populated, granted that the overall spectator numbers were generally low-ish, possibly for reasons discussed elsewhere. It does make me wonder though, not for the first time, that the first rounds of FIA Top Fuel and Pro Mod start quite early for a lot of people to make it in time. 10am on a Sunday or Bank Holiday is quite early to expect full-house "bums-on-seats" considering that some people travel from a long way for the day. I'm quite lucky that I don't have to travel far so can do it, but I've often noticed at FIA events over the years, that some of best action which takes place in the first rounds is missed by a large portion of the spectators who arrive and settle down after 11 or 12-ish. Just observing, though: I have no suggestions for a solution and I understand why it has to be this way under the established structure, to complete eliminations before the curfew. On a different tack, it was "so" worth braving the weather for the past couple of days: congratulations to sterling efforts from racers, crew and management in working round and defying the wetness on Sunday morning and the chill today. Stunning performances from Anita, Jimmy and many, many others, and i still don't think Ian Marshall, Dave Warren and the crew get the credit they deserve when, in addition to the inevitable oildowns they also have to deal with less than ideal weather, still producing a world-class, record-setting track. Made me feel proud of our Pod!!
Mark13 said:
Clearly Pro-modified starts early because they have a 16 car ladder. I think they actually ran at 10 today. To
Be honest even people traveling a long way should be able to get there by 10 to 10.30.
We did the 300 mile round trip from Leeds & got there at 9.00 on Saturday, despite the M1 being closed at Junc 30 !!Be honest even people traveling a long way should be able to get there by 10 to 10.30.
Took my brother in law, it was his first time at the Pod - blew him away!
No one guessed there would be 3 sub 4 seconds runs! What a weekend
Top fuel, pro mod and super street bike were the highlights for me… the street eliminator cruise down the track was also a superb idea, cars looked stunning in the fading light. But blimey it gets cold on that grandstand!
Top fuel, pro mod and super street bike were the highlights for me… the street eliminator cruise down the track was also a superb idea, cars looked stunning in the fading light. But blimey it gets cold on that grandstand!
tom405 said:
No one guessed there would be 3 sub 4 seconds runs!
She ran four of them. One in qualifying and then one in every round of eliminations. That's unbelievably impressive. Not least because her quickest one (the 3.9126s pass that is the new European record) wasn't even a full pass.Tet said:
She ran four of them. One in qualifying and then one in every round of eliminations. That's unbelievably impressive. Not least because her quickest one (the 3.9126s pass that is the new European record) wasn't even a full pass.
How was the weekend for you Tet ? What was the car like in comparison to drive ?Another main event spectated and enjoyed, just catching up on the thread and a few points raised...
Transcontinentals views on 1000ft absolutely spot on and very well put. Great read, perfect sense, thanks for the time and effort. Interesting balance sheet summary from Tethys too
Early starts vs. travelling - ok some people travel a long way and some travel a lonnnng long way. I can understand that things need to run to a curfew and teams need time to turn around between runs, but for Joe Public to make a long journey worth it the incentive needs to be actually seeing most of the show. I've tried setting off at daft o'clock in the morning before but after the drive am too muggy to really enjoy the rest of the day.
After hitting two motorway tailbacks last Friday and finally reaching the race track late in the afternoon imagine my frustration at learning I had just payed for a 4 day pass to hear (not see - more of that later!) the last race of the day as they'd got an hour ahead!
If more people could make it in time to see something there'd be less of an excuse not to bother, journey times less of an issue. Unfortunately there is no easy answer to that one.
Grandstands:
Not to everyone's taste, the only real benefit imo is avoiding the ordeal of trying to concentrate on racing and commentary amongst the toddler riots that are held daily on the banking. The spectator view of the track has diminished drastically over the years for various reasons usually relating to safety we are told. Slightly off putting to some maybe?
Trips to the pits mean a longer journey back to watch the actual racing from the other side, the people traffic going back and forth gets monotonous especially with baggage.
Personally I'd thank SPR for recognising the multi-viewpoint appeal and making amends by converting the grandstands to bench seating, making it non-allocated - ie sit where you like - and free on a first come first served 'til full basis. Seeing them half empty doesn't look good to sponsors and they cant really be making that much revenue out of them.
The great SPR spectator experience is still there but seems to continually take backward steps, a bit of bad or even just iffy weather could be the final decider on wether or not an event draws a decent crowd. It was bloody cold on the banking last weekend, that's with 4 layers on - including one padded and one leather!
I'm still glad to have gone as there was much worth seeing, but then again I'm one of the die hards.
There seems to be concern in the air these days that these biggest events accentuate. Smaller fields, 1000ft, race views...Some of these areas can't be helped but not all.
On a high note though - some fantastic racing, some stellar runs, countless PBs, records tumbling, awesome machinery...the track itself delivers, with all credit to the teams on and off it. You won't find anything else to beat the calibre on display outside of the US or Australia. Back for the Nationals....
Transcontinentals views on 1000ft absolutely spot on and very well put. Great read, perfect sense, thanks for the time and effort. Interesting balance sheet summary from Tethys too
Early starts vs. travelling - ok some people travel a long way and some travel a lonnnng long way. I can understand that things need to run to a curfew and teams need time to turn around between runs, but for Joe Public to make a long journey worth it the incentive needs to be actually seeing most of the show. I've tried setting off at daft o'clock in the morning before but after the drive am too muggy to really enjoy the rest of the day.
After hitting two motorway tailbacks last Friday and finally reaching the race track late in the afternoon imagine my frustration at learning I had just payed for a 4 day pass to hear (not see - more of that later!) the last race of the day as they'd got an hour ahead!
If more people could make it in time to see something there'd be less of an excuse not to bother, journey times less of an issue. Unfortunately there is no easy answer to that one.
Grandstands:
Not to everyone's taste, the only real benefit imo is avoiding the ordeal of trying to concentrate on racing and commentary amongst the toddler riots that are held daily on the banking. The spectator view of the track has diminished drastically over the years for various reasons usually relating to safety we are told. Slightly off putting to some maybe?
Trips to the pits mean a longer journey back to watch the actual racing from the other side, the people traffic going back and forth gets monotonous especially with baggage.
Personally I'd thank SPR for recognising the multi-viewpoint appeal and making amends by converting the grandstands to bench seating, making it non-allocated - ie sit where you like - and free on a first come first served 'til full basis. Seeing them half empty doesn't look good to sponsors and they cant really be making that much revenue out of them.
The great SPR spectator experience is still there but seems to continually take backward steps, a bit of bad or even just iffy weather could be the final decider on wether or not an event draws a decent crowd. It was bloody cold on the banking last weekend, that's with 4 layers on - including one padded and one leather!
I'm still glad to have gone as there was much worth seeing, but then again I'm one of the die hards.
There seems to be concern in the air these days that these biggest events accentuate. Smaller fields, 1000ft, race views...Some of these areas can't be helped but not all.
On a high note though - some fantastic racing, some stellar runs, countless PBs, records tumbling, awesome machinery...the track itself delivers, with all credit to the teams on and off it. You won't find anything else to beat the calibre on display outside of the US or Australia. Back for the Nationals....
NitroWars said:
firewalker said:
I had just payed for a 4 day pass to hear (not see - more of that later!) the last race of the day
Well?A lot of moaning Firewalker, sorry my son missed the toddler riot, I bet he wished he knew about it.
I thought it was a great event, should be a credit to racers and the track they ran ahead of schedule, how many times have we not finished days/events because of delays?
Flying Toilet said:
NitroWars said:
firewalker said:
I had just payed for a 4 day pass to hear (not see - more of that later!) the last race of the day
Well?A lot of moaning Firewalker, sorry my son missed the toddler riot, I bet he wished he knew about it.
I thought it was a great event, should be a credit to racers and the track they ran ahead of schedule, how many times have we not finished days/events because of delays?
If I had any real complaints I'd take it up with the race track or most likely just quietly withdraw my support and custom.
The simple irony of the late arrival tale was obviously lost, or badly put.
It's the people who no longer attend or race, or who are thinking of heading for the exits who should be listened to if they speak - keeping customers satisfied and word of mouth is a damn site easier effort than trying to constantly win new ones. Just another 2p opinion, popular or not.
Turn7 said:
How was the weekend for you Tet ? What was the car like in comparison to drive ?
Mixed. On the one hand, it was a weekend of getting to know the team and crew and that side of things went very well, with a fantastic atmosphere in the pit. On the other hand, things didn't go so well on track. I'd have liked to have put in something approaching a full pass over the weekend, but it wasn't to be:Q1 - Up in smoke on the hit, along with many other teams.
Q2 - Threw the blower belt a few hundred feet out.
Q3 - Sluggish at the hit, then lost traction approaching half track, shut it off when it got too sideways and fishtailed until I pulled it straight.
Q4 - Shut down for a fuel leak after the burnout.
E1 - I beat Anita on the tree, which was about all I could do. She was already past me by a couple of hundred feet, and then I lost a burst panel and blower belt and it was all over. But realistically, she ran a new European record in the other lane, and I was unlikely to beat that even if I'd made it to the finish line under power.
The rules are sufficiently restrictive that one top fuel dragster is much like another one, and there aren't too many differences between them. However, there are still differences in the chassis and the way they react under power, and it was noticeable that this car seemed to be better behaved than the one I drove last year. Urs told me that the car was very easy to drive and he was right.
quarterpounder said:
This was the first time in about 3 years I've bought tickets in advance and yesterday I got an email with a Survey request about the Main Event & what I'd like to see in the future. I've never seen this before, is this a new thing they've brought in?
I've been buying my tickets in advance for years now and this is the first time I can remember receiving a survey like this.I arrived at the facility Wednesday evening and left late Monday evening having been asked to drive a tow car for a team, which also meant other duties. The amount of racing I saw was minimal compared with my usual start to finish subject to calls of nature! However I enjoyed the event even though the team I was helping exited eliminations early (second round of Super Pro ET, having been handed a win in the first round due to a breakout). The loss came following a cherry which was inevitable having an ex Junior in the other lane, at least the pilot saw the cherry which meant he could have a full run and gain some data for the Top Dragster event.
When Firewalker said he would tell more later I wasn't expecting it in the same sentence.
When Firewalker said he would tell more later I wasn't expecting it in the same sentence.
Edited by NitroWars on Friday 29th May 08:49
Tet said:
Turn7 said:
How was the weekend for you Tet ? What was the car like in comparison to drive ?
Mixed. On the one hand, it was a weekend of getting to know the team and crew and that side of things went very well, with a fantastic atmosphere in the pit. On the other hand, things didn't go so well on track. I'd have liked to have put in something approaching a full pass over the weekend, but it wasn't to be:Q1 - Up in smoke on the hit, along with many other teams.
Q2 - Threw the blower belt a few hundred feet out.
Q3 - Sluggish at the hit, then lost traction approaching half track, shut it off when it got too sideways and fishtailed until I pulled it straight.
Q4 - Shut down for a fuel leak after the burnout.
E1 - I beat Anita on the tree, which was about all I could do. She was already past me by a couple of hundred feet, and then I lost a burst panel and blower belt and it was all over. But realistically, she ran a new European record in the other lane, and I was unlikely to beat that even if I'd made it to the finish line under power.
The rules are sufficiently restrictive that one top fuel dragster is much like another one, and there aren't too many differences between them. However, there are still differences in the chassis and the way they react under power, and it was noticeable that this car seemed to be better behaved than the one I drove last year. Urs told me that the car was very easy to drive and he was right.
Have you any more seat time in the car ?
Turn7 said:
Have you any more seat time in the car ?
The opportunity is there. It's just the finances that are lacking at the moment. I'm working on trying to get together enough money, but it's not easy. I'd be surprised if I didn't end up back in Urs' car again at some point. But when that will be is too early to say right now. Maybe the European Finals? Maybe next year? Time will tell...I was again helping and crewing with John and Tom Atkinson in Super/Pro.
Unfortunately we had an early exit in round one after Tom pulled a monumental red against Willem Van Baalan in a dragster.
Over the weekend though I had a chance to make a few videos...
Ride Along with Tom:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ltF6058D5o
Sunday Qualifying session 1 - Massively off dial-in (Shifted too early possibly):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAqKIfJlp_Y
How to scare the 60' cone and run your dial-in:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SzoAPYIIoQ
Unfortunately we had an early exit in round one after Tom pulled a monumental red against Willem Van Baalan in a dragster.
Over the weekend though I had a chance to make a few videos...
Ride Along with Tom:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ltF6058D5o
Sunday Qualifying session 1 - Massively off dial-in (Shifted too early possibly):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAqKIfJlp_Y
How to scare the 60' cone and run your dial-in:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SzoAPYIIoQ
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