RE: 76th Members' Meeting live!
Discussion
Bobo W said:
The Members Meeting is how the Revival was in the early days - a proper race meeting and not the fancy dress pastiche it has turned into - it maybe a high price to pay but for the quality of access and cars entered it's well worth it
Unless they keep adding days to events I'm not sure where they go with this as they sure as hell aren't interested in limiting numbers at FoS/Revival. Friday at FoS was fairly pleasant until a few years ago but now it's just another full day with the added bonus of exclusive areas growing every year. Thursday is essentially the new Friday now they've started adding supercar runs etc to it.I'm guessing they will be very tempted to up numbers on the Members Meeting as the popularity grows. 20k feels perfect and is presumably profitable so I hope not. They've certainly found a niche though as they can seemingly just about attract any cars they please as it's still just about the off season.
ukaskew said:
Unless they keep adding days to events I'm not sure where they go with this as they sure as hell aren't interested in limiting numbers at FoS/Revival.
The "interest" on limiting numbers is imposed by the local authority. The highest ever attendance at the FoS was in 2003 at 158K over 3 days, the last year of gate sales. Revival is fairly constant at 150K over its 3 days but FoS figures have actually been dropping since 2014.ukaskew said:
Bobo W said:
The Members Meeting is how the Revival was in the early days - a proper race meeting and not the fancy dress pastiche it has turned into - it maybe a high price to pay but for the quality of access and cars entered it's well worth it
Unless they keep adding days to events I'm not sure where they go with this as they sure as hell aren't interested in limiting numbers at FoS/Revival. Friday at FoS was fairly pleasant until a few years ago but now it's just another full day with the added bonus of exclusive areas growing every year. Thursday is essentially the new Friday now they've started adding supercar runs etc to it.I'm guessing they will be very tempted to up numbers on the Members Meeting as the popularity grows. 20k feels perfect and is presumably profitable so I hope not. They've certainly found a niche though as they can seemingly just about attract any cars they please as it's still just about the off season.
The MM has become so popular so quickly because of 3 reasons:
1. It was warm and wonderful at the first new one
2. It was immediately obvious that the MM was the new Revival, i.e. how it was in the first few yrs
3. Nick Swift v Pearson v Ward
They can't go any further, the 5 days they were allowed are now filled. Goodwood is not a niche either, it is single handedly responsible for the popularity in historic racing cars. The Revival has arguably become a rival to Le Mans, Indy & Silverstone as one of the most important motor sport events in the world. The MM is already not very far behind it.
I believe the Revival numbers have been limited for a number of yrs now on Health & Safety and Fire Safety grounds.
Ian Wegg said:
ukaskew said:
Unless they keep adding days to events I'm not sure where they go with this as they sure as hell aren't interested in limiting numbers at FoS/Revival.
The "interest" on limiting numbers is imposed by the local authority. The highest ever attendance at the FoS was in 2003 at 158K over 3 days, the last year of gate sales. Revival is fairly constant at 150K over its 3 days but FoS figures have actually been dropping since 2014.So I kept going, but as time went by it got busier every year, so once the Fridays got introduced I started going on the Friday as it was so much more relaxed and less crowded.
I last went in 2012 as I won one of 86 places to drive a Toyota GT86 up the hill on the Thursday which was great, but by then most people there didn't seem to know anything about cars and were just there because it was a place to be seen - and to take selfies just in case anyone on social media missed them!
I've always avoided the Revival on principal - I don't want to pay that sort of money for an event where I'm told I have to try to dress like my Dad did!
A mate talked me into going to the Members' Meeting in 2016 and it was very relaxed, and we had a great day (even if it did cost over £80 a ticket) but it was bloody cold!
Same mate asked me about this year's MM, but we balked at the £86 ticket price that we could only get if one of us joined the GRRC for £38 - glad we gave it a miss! If 2016 was cold, 2018 was freezing - and I watched most of it on You Tube anyway while sitting in the warm!
To be fair I think the MM may be a few weeks too early in the year.
The best option would be to have more events, but I'm guessing there may be issues with getting permission to do that.
Still there's always the VSCC meet at Silverstone in April, the Silverstone Classic and countless other events once the season gets going properly!
Ian Wegg said:
The "interest" on limiting numbers is imposed by the local authority. The highest ever attendance at the FoS was in 2003 at 158K over 3 days, the last year of gate sales. Revival is fairly constant at 150K over its 3 days but FoS figures have actually been dropping since 2014.
I think the issue with FoS is squeezing the general public into ever smaller areas. It may be quieter but it certainly doesn't feel it, the opposite in fact. Hillside viewing areas seemingly reduce every year in favour of corporate/hospitality areas and they've recently also removed a large section at the top on the paddock side (apparently due to local residents concern).My plan for Fridays of walking the paddocks at 7-9am then heading as near to the top as possible to watch the hill action has been pretty reliable for over 10 years, but I've noticed a difference in the past couple of years especially as there are simply less places to watch from.
It's why I love the MM. By and large those corporate/hospitality barriers are removed and it's remarkably open. As a bonus a combination of the usually colder weather and the type of crowd mean 95% of people simply don't go any further than Madgwick and Woodcote, so the circuit viewing is quieter than the average club race day at somewhere like Castle Combe. On Saturday I walked nearly a third of the perimeter at one point without seeing a single person.
ukaskew said:
...As a bonus a combination of the usually colder weather and the type of crowd mean 95% of people simply don't go any further than Madgwick and Woodcote, so the circuit viewing is quieter than the average club race day at somewhere like Castle Combe. On Saturday I walked nearly a third of the perimeter at one point without seeing a single person.
That's true. I walked the circuit on Sunday and even the regulars weren't in their normal positions.These pictures were Lavant Bank and Lavant Corner at about 11:00am, looking pretty desolate.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for the ice cream vendors, they must have been the loneliest people there.
This was our 2nd MM and the first time we did the whole weekend. All we can say is that it was incredible - staff, marshalls, crowd, cars, drivers, were all entering into the spirit of the event. The weather in some ways made it even more memorable.
MM is easily the best of the 3 main events now, you get so close to everything. We dressed up warm, took a Yeti 4x4 rather than anything exotic, still slithered arount on Lavant parking on Saturday but got out on our own after the fireworks - the Saturday night party is worth going to alone!
Given that the weather was more early January than mid March, I think the car parking was organised and managed as well as it could be. It is farmland and you cannot turn it into concrete. Parking in Chichester was an option.
MM 77 is already in the plans for 2019 - hand warmers are on order already!
Thanks to all who made the event so special.
MM is easily the best of the 3 main events now, you get so close to everything. We dressed up warm, took a Yeti 4x4 rather than anything exotic, still slithered arount on Lavant parking on Saturday but got out on our own after the fireworks - the Saturday night party is worth going to alone!
Given that the weather was more early January than mid March, I think the car parking was organised and managed as well as it could be. It is farmland and you cannot turn it into concrete. Parking in Chichester was an option.
MM 77 is already in the plans for 2019 - hand warmers are on order already!
Thanks to all who made the event so special.
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