International GT OPen - Donington 4th July - Apex Jaguar
Discussion
A huge crowd of about 50 spectators failed to miss an outing from the Apex Jaguar. So I thought I would post some pics to show what the rest managed to avoid.
Quick and dirty processing and high compression but hopefully will give a reasonable impression of the thing. Sorry, no audio - that would have been too much for most people. I'll updat the shots if I get time once I have run the proper processing.
Sadly a no show for the few hundred spectators who turned up in Sunday because the gearbox self destructed near the end of the Saturday race.
If they manage to make it to the British GT round at Donington in a couple of weeks attendance for GT fans should be compulsory.
Leyton Clarke in qualifying.
Leyton Clarke just getting caught out by a sudden heavy shower. He kept it out of the gravel and dealt calmly with getting back on the track in treacherous conditions - very impressive.
Quick and dirty processing and high compression but hopefully will give a reasonable impression of the thing. Sorry, no audio - that would have been too much for most people. I'll updat the shots if I get time once I have run the proper processing.
Sadly a no show for the few hundred spectators who turned up in Sunday because the gearbox self destructed near the end of the Saturday race.
If they manage to make it to the British GT round at Donington in a couple of weeks attendance for GT fans should be compulsory.
Leyton Clarke in qualifying.
Leyton Clarke just getting caught out by a sudden heavy shower. He kept it out of the gravel and dealt calmly with getting back on the track in treacherous conditions - very impressive.
Edited by LongQ on Monday 6th July 16:00
Shame about the box, its got some ground to find against the Aston's and the Kessel 430 to be up there in Int GT Open but I'm sure they'll get there. Sounded fab though!
There was a gulf of difference watching Adam Jones and Leyton in the car, particularly at the Melbourne Hairpin, Jones was nice and patient with it and got the thing off the corner well, feeding in the power, but Leyton launched it from the middle of the corner with rear tyres alight and armfuls of opposite lock - might have looked good, but not the quickest way - but again I'm sure that will come from time in a GT car, its a different beast to the Astra!
There was a gulf of difference watching Adam Jones and Leyton in the car, particularly at the Melbourne Hairpin, Jones was nice and patient with it and got the thing off the corner well, feeding in the power, but Leyton launched it from the middle of the corner with rear tyres alight and armfuls of opposite lock - might have looked good, but not the quickest way - but again I'm sure that will come from time in a GT car, its a different beast to the Astra!
According to the timing records there was about 3 to 4 seconds between them in the race. May have been less in practice and qualifying - difficult to tell who was driving when unless there is a set pattern for that that I am not aware of. I also wonder if they knew about a possible gearbox problem at the driver change - it was a relatively long stop - and if so did that make any difference to Leyton's pace?
Apparently there is a possibility that the Jag may be at the Brit GT round at Donington later this month.
The timing also suggsts that the short sharp shower I witnessed had almost no effect on lap times. I find that odd. Was it only at the Redgate end of the circuit?
Apparently there is a possibility that the Jag may be at the Brit GT round at Donington later this month.
The timing also suggsts that the short sharp shower I witnessed had almost no effect on lap times. I find that odd. Was it only at the Redgate end of the circuit?
Good to hear it may be out for Donington. I'm not sure who was driving when in Qualifying. I too find it had to believe that the shower had little effect, but sometimes you'll find that particularly if the track surface is hot that a relatively brief shower almost evaporates on contact, and infact just cools the circuit surface meaning that you'll see relatively little change if you're driving the car, the tricky bit is that then its only a very short window to loosing a lot of grip!!
TimCrighton said:
There was a gulf of difference watching Adam Jones and Leyton in the car, particularly at the Melbourne Hairpin, Jones was nice and patient with it and got the thing off the corner well, feeding in the power, but Leyton launched it from the middle of the corner with rear tyres alight and armfuls of opposite lock - might have looked good, but not the quickest way - but again I'm sure that will come from time in a GT car, its a different beast to the Astra!
Ok, I see the way the timing sheets identify who is driving in which session. (Both names listed but the order changes.) Thanks tux, can't get better confirmation than that!Was it y imagination or were the qualifying session split in two? The Jag and its playmates seemed to disappear half way through what I seem to recall was Q2 and another group of cars appeared all at the same time. Seemed odd.
Jones' best in Q1 was about 1.2 seconds faster than Clarke in Q2. Nearly all of that is accounted for in Sector 3 - the loop. That said Jones was very close to his best possible time from the faster sector records and Clarke's best lap included all of his best sector times.
In the race the difference in time grew somewhat, other than one Clarke lap which was about 1 sec away from a typical Jones lap. So I wonder if there were some instructions about preservation involved. Sadly to no avail if that was the case.
With International Open you have one scheduled session, but the session is effectively divided into two, with GTC (GT3) cars out for the first 20 mins (or half however long the session is) and GTS (GT2) cars out for the remainder of the session (you will usually see them queuing up in the pit lane about half way through ready to go out) - it gives the guys the ability to hopefully get in a quick lap without watching for traffic. Its a great set up actually, something BGT could learn from.
They get great crouds in Spain too - we reckon there were about 30,000 there for Jarama - another thing BGT could learn from!
They get great crouds in Spain too - we reckon there were about 30,000 there for Jarama - another thing BGT could learn from!
TimCrighton said:
With International Open you have one scheduled session, but the session is effectively divided into two, with GTC (GT3) cars out for the first 20 mins (or half however long the session is) and GTS (GT2) cars out for the remainder of the session (you will usually see them queuing up in the pit lane about half way through ready to go out) - it gives the guys the ability to hopefully get in a quick lap without watching for traffic. Its a great set up actually, something BGT could learn from.
They get great crouds in Spain too - we reckon there were about 30,000 there for Jarama - another thing BGT could learn from!
Thanks Tim.They get great crouds in Spain too - we reckon there were about 30,000 there for Jarama - another thing BGT could learn from!
My friends and I guessed it might be something along those lines although we had not, as I recall, spotted the class split. Or probably we had but not fully recognised it for what it was.
I agree that it seems like a good system. Enough track action for qualifying without things getting too crowded. Great sounds as well. One forgets what racing is supposed to sound like in this silenced age. The only basic ingredient missing was the smell of exotic fuels and hot Castrol R!
(Ok, I'm beginning to show my age here ...)
Given that Spain, pre-Alonso, was thought to be more of a Bike Racing country than cars I would have to say that to have 30,000 at a GT event (and basically an event only a short way removed from a national event in terms of its history) is remarkable. Presumably the F3s were there as well as a package?
You're right. UK series promoters would, I am sure, love to know how to motivate the British fan base to that degree. Too many competing meetings to concentrate the crowds? Last weekend offered a lot of choice for the would be racegoer.
Absolutely, I think its a combination of too much choice - last weekend you had World Series at Silverstone (free entry) and the Festival of Speed, plus International GT at Donington. Given that the FOS is a big draw for the public, and WSR is free it shouldn't be too much of a suprise I guess that Donington was quiet!
I've said it before, but I genuinely believe that circuit entry should be significantly reduced, or ideally free and then you might actually see some sensible crowds. Ultimately, and particularly with the increasing pressure motorsport is likely to face over the coming years from the climate change camp, noise etc it is crucial to have public support for the sport. I understand that circuits need to generate revenue, but why not work it like a horse race meeting - have different 'enclosures' giving people the opportunity to have a cheap or free day out, and then upgrade if they choose. I think it would bring in a younger generation of supporters who would help underpin the future of the sport. I believe the circuits would find they gain significant revenue increases through the added spend of spectators, through things like food sales, mechandise etc, but give people the option to spend and get them through the door. WSR is really no more of a spectical than say BTCC or even International GT, but yet we're talking consistent 100,000+ crowds. Going racing in Europe is a different spectical too, visit Spa for a round of the BTCS or Belcar and you're still looking at 20,000+ crowds, partly in my opinion because its cheap to attend and there is lots to do - the focus is as much on entertainment as it is on the racing, there are a lot of other things to do. Look at the growing sports 'of the moment' Polo for example has seen its first match in central London (Hurlingham) for many many years and its shooting up in popularity because its glamourous (so is motorsport - or it can be at the right level), its an opportunity to people watch (so is motorsport to some extent) and people can go in groups, sit and picnic spend the day, and probably stay into the evening, enjoy a post match party etc. Something general motorsport could learn a lot from - the Revival and the FOS do it, and it works!
I've said it before, but I genuinely believe that circuit entry should be significantly reduced, or ideally free and then you might actually see some sensible crowds. Ultimately, and particularly with the increasing pressure motorsport is likely to face over the coming years from the climate change camp, noise etc it is crucial to have public support for the sport. I understand that circuits need to generate revenue, but why not work it like a horse race meeting - have different 'enclosures' giving people the opportunity to have a cheap or free day out, and then upgrade if they choose. I think it would bring in a younger generation of supporters who would help underpin the future of the sport. I believe the circuits would find they gain significant revenue increases through the added spend of spectators, through things like food sales, mechandise etc, but give people the option to spend and get them through the door. WSR is really no more of a spectical than say BTCC or even International GT, but yet we're talking consistent 100,000+ crowds. Going racing in Europe is a different spectical too, visit Spa for a round of the BTCS or Belcar and you're still looking at 20,000+ crowds, partly in my opinion because its cheap to attend and there is lots to do - the focus is as much on entertainment as it is on the racing, there are a lot of other things to do. Look at the growing sports 'of the moment' Polo for example has seen its first match in central London (Hurlingham) for many many years and its shooting up in popularity because its glamourous (so is motorsport - or it can be at the right level), its an opportunity to people watch (so is motorsport to some extent) and people can go in groups, sit and picnic spend the day, and probably stay into the evening, enjoy a post match party etc. Something general motorsport could learn a lot from - the Revival and the FOS do it, and it works!
TimCrighton said:
Absolutely, I think its a combination of too much choice - last weekend you had World Series at Silverstone (free entry) and the Festival of Speed, plus International GT at Donington. Given that the FOS is a big draw for the public, and WSR is free it shouldn't be too much of a suprise I guess that Donington was quiet!
I've said it before, but I genuinely believe that circuit entry should be significantly reduced, or ideally free and then you might actually see some sensible crowds. Ultimately, and particularly with the increasing pressure motorsport is likely to face over the coming years from the climate change camp, noise etc it is crucial to have public support for the sport. I understand that circuits need to generate revenue, but why not work it like a horse race meeting - have different 'enclosures' giving people the opportunity to have a cheap or free day out, and then upgrade if they choose. I think it would bring in a younger generation of supporters who would help underpin the future of the sport. I believe the circuits would find they gain significant revenue increases through the added spend of spectators, through things like food sales, mechandise etc, but give people the option to spend and get them through the door. WSR is really no more of a spectical than say BTCC or even International GT, but yet we're talking consistent 100,000+ crowds. Going racing in Europe is a different spectical too, visit Spa for a round of the BTCS or Belcar and you're still looking at 20,000+ crowds, partly in my opinion because its cheap to attend and there is lots to do - the focus is as much on entertainment as it is on the racing, there are a lot of other things to do. Look at the growing sports 'of the moment' Polo for example has seen its first match in central London (Hurlingham) for many many years and its shooting up in popularity because its glamourous (so is motorsport - or it can be at the right level), its an opportunity to people watch (so is motorsport to some extent) and people can go in groups, sit and picnic spend the day, and probably stay into the evening, enjoy a post match party etc. Something general motorsport could learn a lot from - the Revival and the FOS do it, and it works!
Interesting points Tim, though my understanding is that the Goodwood events are not especially inexpensive. Kind of conflicts with the free concept. I've said it before, but I genuinely believe that circuit entry should be significantly reduced, or ideally free and then you might actually see some sensible crowds. Ultimately, and particularly with the increasing pressure motorsport is likely to face over the coming years from the climate change camp, noise etc it is crucial to have public support for the sport. I understand that circuits need to generate revenue, but why not work it like a horse race meeting - have different 'enclosures' giving people the opportunity to have a cheap or free day out, and then upgrade if they choose. I think it would bring in a younger generation of supporters who would help underpin the future of the sport. I believe the circuits would find they gain significant revenue increases through the added spend of spectators, through things like food sales, mechandise etc, but give people the option to spend and get them through the door. WSR is really no more of a spectical than say BTCC or even International GT, but yet we're talking consistent 100,000+ crowds. Going racing in Europe is a different spectical too, visit Spa for a round of the BTCS or Belcar and you're still looking at 20,000+ crowds, partly in my opinion because its cheap to attend and there is lots to do - the focus is as much on entertainment as it is on the racing, there are a lot of other things to do. Look at the growing sports 'of the moment' Polo for example has seen its first match in central London (Hurlingham) for many many years and its shooting up in popularity because its glamourous (so is motorsport - or it can be at the right level), its an opportunity to people watch (so is motorsport to some extent) and people can go in groups, sit and picnic spend the day, and probably stay into the evening, enjoy a post match party etc. Something general motorsport could learn a lot from - the Revival and the FOS do it, and it works!
I think low cost (rather than free) is good. Free can attract all sorts of people for the wrong reasons without adding to the base of regular visitors. The Renault event started out by offering up to 10 free tickets per application with no real checking on entry. More recently reduced to 4 and now it seems that they are restrting the numbers and making it ticket only. How many are used is unclear but absent an open gate policy that makes ticketing pointless someone has to carry the costs.
Back in the 'old days', most notably at Brands Hatch because of its interesting split paddock/pits arrangement, the major meetings charged extra for a paddock transfer. Now it seems mostly to be a free-for-all. Perhaps that idea could be re-visited and re-marketed.
To some extent there are pricing differentials for those meetings where grandstand seating is charged for. To introduce a Free entrance section for just part of a track, fee entrance for the rest could be a way forward but I can imagine some complications should a lot of people turn up demanding access to a limited 'free' area, etc. Still, if you don't try something you'll never know if it works. At some tracks the available facilities and access options could lend themselves to that, at others perhaps not.
There may also be a case for looking at the role of local publicity. Around here most of the free papers that used to exist have disappeared and the one that does get shoved through the letter box is not so local, not so interesting and very thin. I expect its demised quite soon. If the marketing needs to be of the 'push' variety there are few options.
That said I get the impression that efforts at Donington are ramping up with 2010 rather than 2009 as the main target. Hardly surprising. A huge increase in attendance in 2009 for smaller events might not provide the great initial impression by which new visitors make their judgements about future interest.
I guess Spain (and many other places) have some advantage with the weather as well. A wet (and cold) day in the English summer is not the most attractive proposition for many - especially families with kids who are bored about 10 minutes after breaching the gates. Continental events are not quite as isolated for travellers as they are here, although the more central ones probably suffer erratic weather similar to the UK.
I can't see how the circuits are going to survive and improve facilities on their traditional activities alone. Both financial and 'local issue' pressures along with green stupidity could prove terminal. There has to be more and a spread of interests. I wonder what they will come up with beyond industrial units?
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