Silverstone Classic

[Aero8]

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep? And then a programme on top of that. I'm sure I went a few years ago and there were was more racing and alot more car clubs in attendance. Certainly that was the case when it was the Coys Festival.

I guess I've been spoilt by Goodwood Revival and LeMans Classic, which both seem a bargain in comparison.

Maybe its just monday and I'm feeling grumpy :-)

Edited by Aero8 on Monday 26th July 09:42

[heebeegeetee]

turbolucy said:

heebeegeetee said:

Wahey, I find i am going today. I have a pal with a pair of passes and he's taking me in his R8, which is nice . I have another friend racing in the Formula Junior category, would be nice if we could meet up with him too.

Haven't been to the Classic before, so i'll be interested to see what I think of it, 'cos I've never thought of Silverstone as an alternative to Goodwood etc. We'll see.

I only saw on R8 - were you in the baby blue one?

With grey sidepanels? Yep.

[turbolucy]

Yep saw that

[bluetone]

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep? And then a programme on top of that. I'm sure I went a few years ago and there were was more racing and alot more car clubs in attendance. Certainly that was the case when it was the Coys Festival.

I guess I've been spoilt by Goodwood Revival and LeMans Classic, which both seem a bargain in comparison.

Maybe its just monday and I'm feeling grumpy :-)

Tix bought in advance = £35 for two days was a bargain

[Aero8]

bluetone said:

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep? And then a programme on top of that. I'm sure I went a few years ago and there were was more racing and alot more car clubs in attendance. Certainly that was the case when it was the Coys Festival.

I guess I've been spoilt by Goodwood Revival and LeMans Classic, which both seem a bargain in comparison.

Maybe its just monday and I'm feeling grumpy :-)

Tix bought in advance = £35 for two days was a bargain

Oh well, my mistake then! :-)

[central]

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep? And then a programme on top of that.

[central]

Aero8 said:

bluetone said:

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep? And then a programme on top of that. I'm sure I went a few years ago and there were was more racing and alot more car clubs in attendance. Certainly that was the case when it was the Coys Festival.

I guess I've been spoilt by Goodwood Revival and LeMans Classic, which both seem a bargain in comparison.

Maybe its just monday and I'm feeling grumpy :-)

Tix bought in advance = £35 for two days was a bargain

Oh well, my mistake then! :-)

£17.50/day..... or £50 on the day.

Extracting the urine if you ask me.

[andye30m3]

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep?

Yeh, compared to the Goodwood Revival it certainly wasn't worth the £50 entry fee,

having said that there was some good racing and wonderful machines, but if I had to choose between the two it would always be goodwood.

[Aero8]

andye30m3 said:

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep?

Yeh, compared to the Goodwood Revival it certainly wasn't worth the £50 entry fee,

having said that there was some good racing and wonderful machines, but if I had to choose between the two it would always be goodwood.

I would never miss Goodwood, but I wouldn't bother with this one again. To me it lacked any atmosphere atall, compared to Goodwood it was lifeless.. Maybe thats down to the circuit & building site infastructure..

[minimoog]

andye30m3 said:

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep?

Yeh, compared to the Goodwood Revival it certainly wasn't worth the £50 entry fee,

having said that there was some good racing and wonderful machines, but if I had to choose between the two it would always be goodwood.

I've never done the Revival but would agree that £50 for one day would not be good value. Seeing as I paid £35 for the three days I'm happy though

Friday was relatively dead as far as car club displays were concerned, Saturday was as busy as I've seen it since the Coys days, if not more so. Far too much fantastic metal to absorb. Sunday was a lot quieter on the club display front so if you went that day you might be underwhelmed I suppose.

Leaving aside the woeful quality of some of the artists, bringing the music stage into the middle of the site worked better than last year, though the crowds were a fraction of the size (Santana vs Jedward ). The Stones cover band in the Harley tent were excellent though, so overall it felt like there was still stuff going on after the racing finished which was an improvement. Still, bring back the Scarf and Goggles I say.

I overheard one or two traders saying they didn't think they were doing enough business to make it worth their while turning up, as they could sell just as much via their websites without stirring from their couches. Not sure how the organisers get around that sort of problem.

Edited by minimoog on Monday 26th July 10:42

[stephen300o]

I missed having a few of my more favoured GTs there this year but overall it was good, enjoyed watching the little auto/rallycross stage, especially the 308

[Aero8]

Even £25-30 I wouldn't have grumbled. The price structuring sounds a tad cr'p to me. I know, I should have booked in advance. No excuse.

Yeah, underwhelmed is about right. The trade stalls were down on numbers compared to similar events and aside from the usual Chaters and Pooks, they weren't upto much. I guess the only way to attract more of them is to make it cheaper for them to attend.

I recall going a couple of years back when the whole of the infield was reserved for car clubs...

I agree about 'scarf & goggles', I would rather it concentrated on that alone.

Edited by Aero8 on Monday 26th July 11:26

[bluetone]

Aero8 said:

I agree about 'scarf & goggles', I would rather it concentrated on that alone.

"Scarf and Goggles" = what the bar/pub used to be called; your sentiment is spot-on though

I must do the Revival some time - it looks great. What are the crowds like? I went to the FoS a couple of times before it got really popular - it seems over-crowded nowadays

[evenflow]

It's the third time I've been, and somehow it didn't quite have the atmosphere of previous years. I can't put my finger on why though. Maybe the lack of Group C cars, which for me are the absolute highlight.

However, the positives...

Being able to wander in and out of the grandstands, dipping into races as and when you wish. Brilliant.

Mooching round all the automobilia. I could have spent thousands there. Bits of F1 cars, incredible art (notably TimmyArt's stuff, which I aspire to own one day, fascinating books etc

The car club displays. Like the best motorshow you've ever been to, multiplied many times. Where else can you stroll amongst lines of Dinos parked casually next to F40s, an Enzo and a gleaming white 458 Italia? Countless 360s, 430s, 355s, 575s, 612s... you name it. The Porsche Club GB area was enormous, with every flavour of 911 there from 60s to modern day. And the Lambo stand - 2 Miuras, Countach, Diablo, Murcis, Gallardos... cup runneth over.

The best bit is the unfettered access to the pitlane, which I continue to find amazing in this health and safety obsessed world. Just quietly wandering round the garages, trying not to get in the way, watching these skilled mechanics strip and rebuild such legendary machines is just so special.

Ticket prices are steep, yes, and the programme at £8 and my £7 burger for lunch take the proverbial a bit, but hey, it's once a year and well worth it IMHO.

ETA: Even the car parks are interesting in themselves. Some of the machinery turning up was great. Parked next to a couple of guys in a nice old F308. The journey back was good too - loads of TVRs, Cobras, Lambos on the M40 and a F40 in a service station!

Edited by evenflow on Monday 26th July 12:04

[bluetone]

evenflow said:

The best bit is the unfettered access to the pitlane, which I continue to find amazing in this health and safety obsessed world. Just quietly wandering round the garages, trying not to get in the way, watching these skilled mechanics strip and rebuild such legendary machines is just so special.

^^^^
This!

Will bore you with some pics when I get a chance to upload them

+ chilling out on the pit wall during the twilight race on Saturday evening - brilliant.

[Aero8]

I've done FOS (being a GRRC member) since the beginning. I agree its got over popular, particularly since the F1 teams arrived. It is still a great event though.

The Revival is something else. You won't regret it, theres too much to take in for just one day, on and off track.

Edited by Aero8 on Monday 26th July 12:15

[minimoog]

evenflow said:

The best bit is the unfettered access to the pitlane, which I continue to find amazing in this health and safety obsessed world. Just quietly wandering round the garages, trying not to get in the way, watching these skilled mechanics strip and rebuild such legendary machines is just so special.

Standing on the pit wall taking photos of them blitzing down the start-finish straight:

Stewardess: "Have you got wristbands lads?"
Us: "Er..."
Stewardess: "Could you just keep behind the white line there then please?"

The white line in front of the garages. How are we supposed to see anything from there?

[havoc]

minimoog said:

andye30m3 said:

Aero8 said:

Is it just me or did anyone else think £50 entry was a bit steep?

Yeh, compared to the Goodwood Revival it certainly wasn't worth the £50 entry fee,

having said that there was some good racing and wonderful machines, but if I had to choose between the two it would always be goodwood.

I've never done the Revival but would agree that £50 for one day would not be good value. Seeing as I paid £35 for the three days I'm happy though

Friday was relatively dead as far as car club displays were concerned, Saturday was as busy as I've seen it since the Coys days, if not more so. Far too much fantastic metal to absorb. Sunday was a lot quieter on the club display front so if you went that day you might be underwhelmed I suppose.

Leaving aside the woeful quality of some of the artists, bringing the music stage into the middle of the site worked better than last year, though the crowds were a fraction of the size (Santana vs Jedward ). The Stones cover band in the Harley tent were excellent though, so overall it felt like there was still stuff going on after the racing finished which was an improvement. Still, bring back the Scarf and Goggles I say.

I overheard one or two traders saying they didn't think they were doing enough business to make it worth their while turning up, as they could sell just as much via their websites without stirring from their couches. Not sure how the organisers get around that sort of problem.

I agree with most of that.

This year I spent less time spectating/snapping the races, and more time talking to people and mooching around the pits, paddock and clubs...and I enjoyed it more as a result. Actually being part of one of the clubs this year was the icing on the cake...and then following the 288GTO up the M1 just rounded the weekend off perfecly!

Evenflow - maybe familiarity dulled it a little for you - I'm seriously considering alternating between SS Classic and Goodwood FoS (or Revival, maybe), just to mix it up a little.

Re: traders - IMHO their prices were the problem. I was looking for some more car-cleaning kit, and maybe a model or two, but I know that I can get both cheaper on the web, so I didn't buy anything.

Re: food and programmes - the usual 'festival' rip-off prices, agreed. You have to wonder how much the sites themselves charge stall-holders to pitch their vans/trailers...

[Davey S2]

Aero8 said:

I've done FOS (being a GRRC member) since the beginning. I agree its got over popular, particularly since the F1 teams arrived. It is still a great event though.

The Revival is something else. You won't regret it, theres too much to take in for just one day, on and off track.

Edited by Aero8 on Monday 26th July 12:15

Agree about the Revival but I havent been to the FOS for a few years. Watching cars go up the hill on their own is nowhere near as good as watching them race.

I really enjoyed Silverstone again this year and wasnt really looking forward to it as I went to the Le Mans Classic a few weeks ago but it was great.

The prices for food was a complete joke but the rest of it wanst too bad.

We had advanced tickets for all weekend through a club which were £40 and camped at Whittlebury Hall adjoining the circuit which was £20 each.

If I hadnt have drunk so much in the bars it would have been a pretty cheap weekend.

[SF04]

I have just got back from spending the weekend at The Classic; I thought the ticket pricing was fair for the weekend, but then I did book in advance. I thoroughily enjoyed the wall-to-wall qualifying and racing the entire weekend, so much so I only managed to see the displays first thing in the morning (before 8.30am) and Sunday late afternoon when most people were packing up - I just didn't want to miss the racing (the Italian Car Race Saturday going into the early evening was really good).

Plus, I too loved the access into the pit-garages and the fact that I could just stand there as the cars came in and out for their pit-stops; and the atmosphere of the green flags being waved as the cars proceded through the Race Control building and into the pit-lane. To be so close to the cars, especially first thing in the morning when the gates had just opened and there was hardly anyone about, was just incredible.

However, I have to admit that I have not been to Goodwood (yet!!!)