Mantorp Park Trip July

[NIRO LEWY]

After coming back from a cracking weekend at the Pod i could help but here about the trip to Mantorp Park in July. Myself and my brother quite fancy going, has any1 been before on one of these organised trips? what are they like? what is mantorp like is it 1000ft for Top Fuel again this year? Would it be worth goin on?

Any general information on the trip and place would be great, thanks

[Tet]

NIRO LEWY said:

After coming back from a cracking weekend at the Pod i could help but here about the trip to Mantorp Park in July. Myself and my brother quite fancy going, has any1 been before on one of these organised trips? what are they like? what is mantorp like is it 1000ft for Top Fuel again this year? Would it be worth goin on?

Any general information on the trip and place would be great, thanks

Mantorp's a great place, and I'd definitely recommend going. There's no equivalent of the banking at Santa Pod. You pretty much need a grandstand seat to be able to see the action. Get one on the right hand side of the track, as those on the left have a wire fence obscuring the view.

I've never been on an organised trip, though. I've always just done it myself. Flight with Ryan Air to Skavsta, car hire from a place at the airport and a Scandic hotel in Linköping.

[*KT]

Tet said:

Get one on the right hand side of the track, as those on the left have a wire fence obscuring the view.

Sorry to be a pain Tet, but unless they've replaced it with another fence, I saw them remove the old one last year.

Kirst

[NIRO LEWY]

Thanks for the info guys. How far is the airport and hotel from the track roughly would you say?. Is it an expensive place to go?, if i was to fly out on a thurs and come back on monday including 3 days racing how much do you think i would spend obviously roughly?

[NitroWars]

NIRO LEWY said:

Thanks for the info guys. How far is the airport and hotel from the track roughly would you say?. Is it an expensive place to go?, if i was to fly out on a thurs and come back on monday including 3 days racing how much do you think i would spend obviously roughly?

Depends how much you drink... If you drink very little then you could possibly do the whole trip for £500-£600. If you drink a lot then you could easily add another £150 on to that! (based on a gallon a night for three nights approximately). Then there is food of course...

Linkoping is (if memory serves) about 100 miles from the airport and the track is approximately 10 miles from Linkoping. Other than drinking the price of a meal and fuel for the hire car is not that much more expensive than the UK. I cannot comment on hotel prices as I stayed on a camping & caravanning site (in a log cabin which was adequate) . If you are a tea drinker then take tea bags as these are very expensive (almost cheaper to drink beer - NOT - see above).

[NIRO LEWY]

Thanks nitro wars, is it worth while going would you say? how does it compare to the good old Pod?

[NitroWars]

NIRO LEWY said:

Thanks nitro wars, is it worth while going would you say? how does it compare to the good old Pod?

Absolutely, I went originally in 1984 but then became a father and other sh*t got in the way. Went in 2006 and again in 2008 but could not go in 2007 or again this year... But then I have been going drag racing since 1975 so I am somewhat obsessed... Mantorp should be experienced at least once by anybody who has been bitten. And don't let the detractors of 660'/990' racing put you off for those classes that run over those distances - they run those for safety reasons and rightly so!

[JohnW]

I would recommend organising it yourself. The organised trip with Grandstandmotorsports is tempting if you are not sure of the area, but bear in mind the trip does not included Fridays qualifying.
There are plenty of people on this forum who have been to Mantorp, so just keep firing the questions.

[NitroWars]

Quote "Friday 24 July - After breakfast you will be taken on a guided city sightseeing tour of Stockholm" What? Whilst our heroes are battling away on the strip! And at £789 + £88 for a single room supplement + race entry + grandstand tickets (if so desired)... I am sure they have put together a very nice trip but they seem to have some priorities wrong! (Sorry Robin...) For me, Thursday qualifying is a must see as well!

[NIRO LEWY]

Yeh i know what you mean with the trip and missing fridays qualifying obviously that isnt great. I want to go really due to the size of the fields the event seems to attract, the thought of maybe potentially 30 pro mods battling for qualifying and if TMD is anything to go by what we saw over the weekend then that would be awesome. In an ideal world i would like to go fri sat and sunday for the racing and stay somewhere relatively near to the track as im not great with directions and that (never drove abroad aswell) and especially being in a different country i think may cause me problems. What is the nearest airport to the track?, when people have gone in the past how have they found the place and obviously the different language as my swedish lets say isnt brilliant lol

[NitroWars]

NIRO LEWY said:

Yeh i know what you mean with the trip and missing fridays qualifying obviously that isnt great. I want to go really due to the size of the fields the event seems to attract, the thought of maybe potentially 30 pro mods battling for qualifying and if TMD is anything to go by what we saw over the weekend then that would be awesome. In an ideal world i would like to go fri sat and sunday for the racing and stay somewhere relatively near to the track as im not great with directions and that (never drove abroad aswell) and especially being in a different country i think may cause me problems. What is the nearest airport to the track?, when people have gone in the past how have they found the place and obviously the different language as my swedish lets say isnt brilliant lol

Don't worry about the language problem, most Swedes speak English (even if with an American accent). On my three visits I only came across one person who said they could not understand me (funnily enough this was in a fast food restaurant when you would have thought they could understand what "French Fries" were). English is taught in schools as a second language and providing you do not find somebody of elderly years you will be fine. There is a campsite at the facility but if you cannot get a tent in your suitcase then it will be difficult. The best way to travel has already been posted by Tet, all other possibilities are not any easier (or cheaper). Driving over there is not difficult as the roads are not as congested. I would be very surprised if you do not find whichever hotel you choose is not full of race fans so you could always go in convoy...
A word of warning, the three years I have been there it has been extremely hot - this past weekend was cool by comparison! However, when it rains - it pours! Evening downpours are welcome once the racing has stopped!

[Tet]

*KT said:

Tet said:

Get one on the right hand side of the track, as those on the left have a wire fence obscuring the view.

Sorry to be a pain Tet, but unless they've replaced it with another fence, I saw them remove the old one last year.

Excellent news. I couldn't make it last year, so I didn't know that it had gone. Sadly, I can't make it this year, either. I'm hoping to get back over there in 2010, though.

[Time Machine]

NitroWars said:

Linkoping is (if memory serves) about 100 miles from the airport and the track is approximately 10 miles from Linkoping. Other than drinking the price of a meal and fuel for the hire car is not that much more expensive than the UK. I cannot comment on hotel prices as I stayed on a camping & caravanning site (in a log cabin which was adequate) . If you are a tea drinker then take tea bags as these are very expensive (almost cheaper to drink beer - NOT - see above).

How far from the track was the campsite? I like the idea of their little cabins. Last time I went I camped at the track but with a little one who will be a toddler by then I think I want something a bit more structured.

I can recommend Mantorp to anyone, the pro racing is usually top notch, it is a wonderful country and you also get to see a host of supporting classes you don't really see over here - Comp Eliminator (though we are beginning to see it here) and Super Stock / Stock are great. The people are really friendly and a lot of them speak English, but Swedish is a friendly language, just say 'Hej!' to anyone (pronounced as the English greeting 'Hey'

[NitroWars]

Martin, the campsite is on the west side of Linkoping so you are closer to the facility than if you stay in a hotel in town! There are only a limited number of cabins though, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut! (Now that would make a change...)

[WJM]

Could I just stick up for Grandstand here, I went to Gainesville with them this year and it was terrific. There were only 3 of us on the tour and Robin {who is the most knowledgeable man on drag racing I have ever met} gave us all Don Schummacher racing hospitality tickets for the Saturday, had organised a tour of their massive pits {they were running 5 or 6 cars at the event}on Friday, and we watched 1 round of Top Fuel and Funny car qualifying from the flash commentary tower next to Bob the NHRA commentator. He showed us the quiet route to the strip and the layout of the massive pits area. He seemed to know all the Swedes that were there {he is something official on the FIA Pro Mod tour} so I suspect it would be similar at Mantop.

I have driven my Corvette round Mantop circuit on the Euroclassic and as I remember it's in the middle of nowhere, I suspect Grandstand will have a decent hotel that is well located. It might be expensive but it will be pretty good I'd say.

Bill

[NitroWars]

WJM said:

...as I remember it's in the middle of nowhere...
Bill

I am sorry but that is bks! The facility is just off one of the major motorways that runs from Stockholm to Gothenburg (or the other way if you prefer). You can see the track from the motorway (or the motorway from the track)... I don't doubt that some people will be impressed with what Robin can offer, but missing the first day of FIA/UEM qualifying whilst sightseeing around Stockholm is not what I would call a racing holiday!

[JohnW]

As Nitrowars says, Mantorp is easily accessable and is not in the middle of nowhere. The track is next to the E4 motorway and the exit is right next to the track. The campsite with the log cabins is approx 20/25 mins drive from the track and I can recommend staying there.

http://www.nordiccamping.se/docs/mainobject.asp?fa...

[NitroWars]

JohnW said:

As Nitrowars says, Mantorp is easily accessable and is not in the middle of nowhere. The track is next to the E4 motorway and the exit is right next to the track. The campsite with the log cabins is approx 20/25 mins drive from the track and I can recommend staying there.

http://www.nordiccamping.se/docs/mainobject.asp?fa...

Now you've given the game away John (we'll have to book our cabins for the following year as we leave in future )... Please note that the picture of the cabin in that link is of a 6 berth. The 4 berth cabins are not as spacious but are adequate (and are obviously cheaper).

[WJM]

NitroWars said:

WJM said:

...as I remember it's in the middle of nowhere...
Bill

I am sorry but that is bks! The facility is just off one of the major motorways that runs from Stockholm to Gothenburg (or the other way if you prefer). You can see the track from the motorway (or the motorway from the track)...

I did not say innaccesible but there is no decent sized town or even village very near {ie within 10 miles}, Sweden is a big country with a small population, Linkoping which is where I guess most people will stay must be 20 or so miles away. I'd imagine that Linkoping {which is not exactly huge} gets pretty busy on race weekend.

I suspect if you contacted Grandstand and said ditch the tour and go early they would be quite happy, I had frequent flyer points so I did not use their flight at Gainesville and got a partial refund. If you are confident you know the area or don't mind taking a chance booking yourself is normally cheaper in this internet age. However I have found for example on rugby weekends to Paris or Dublin that organised tours can be best or at least safest especially if tickets,flights, hotels etc are in short supply.

Bill

[NitroWars]

And Gainesville Raceway is not that close to the town either but I don't see you bhing about that! Linkoping is a lovely town and there is much more to see there than just the alehouse...