A generally awesome day.

[delta037]

Thursday getting there at 10am and Saturday getting in at 7.45 were a good call. Car Park M both days. Sunny but not excessively hot. Enjoyed both days. I usually travel solo to FoS on weekend days this time but took a pal who hadn't been to Goodwood before. He was astonished at the sheer scale of the place.

Sign of the economic downturn at Jag stand - no free coffee or hospitality area. Over to BMW - proffer key fob - no free coffee - sorry, Club members only. Ditto down at the BMW feature at the Stables apparently. Free BMW made in China shades and nice free M logo'd doughnut though so not all bad news....

Caught the Live streaming on computer for Friday and wet Sunday.

[WJNB]

delta037 said:

Sign of the economic downturn at Jag stand - no free coffee or hospitality area. Over to BMW - proffer key fob - no free coffee - sorry, Club members only. Ditto down at the BMW feature at the Stables apparently. Free BMW made in China shades and nice free M logo'd doughnut though so not all bad news....

Nothing to do with the economic downturn the FoS has become superior supercilious elitist & corporate.
Humble car lovers just a nuisance as they don't spend enough money furthering the Goodwood cause.
Have noted this sly change since attending the very first one so gave up on the event 4 years ago.

[HoHoHo]

WJNB said:

delta037 said:

Sign of the economic downturn at Jag stand - no free coffee or hospitality area. Over to BMW - proffer key fob - no free coffee - sorry, Club members only. Ditto down at the BMW feature at the Stables apparently. Free BMW made in China shades and nice free M logo'd doughnut though so not all bad news....

Nothing to do with the economic downturn the FoS has become superior supercilious elitist & corporate.
Humble car lovers just a nuisance as they don't spend enough money furthering the Goodwood cause.
Have noted this sly change since attending the very first one so gave up on the event 4 years ago.

As someone who has previously been involved with FOS and Revival and have friends who are Goodwood/ex-Goodwood I can assure you this is absolutely the feeling of some and is correct.

Corporate is where the money is, not the (us) plebs buying a dog roll for £8 or whatever.

[GOATever]

delta037 said:

Thursday getting there at 10am and Saturday getting in at 7.45 were a good call. Car Park M both days. Sunny but not excessively hot. Enjoyed both days. I usually travel solo to FoS on weekend days this time but took a pal who hadn't been to Goodwood before. He was astonished at the sheer scale of the place.

Sign of the economic downturn at Jag stand - no free coffee or hospitality area. Over to BMW - proffer key fob - no free coffee - sorry, Club members only. Ditto down at the BMW feature at the Stables apparently. Free BMW made in China shades and nice free M logo'd doughnut though so not all bad news....

Caught the Live streaming on computer for Friday and wet Sunday.

There was no shortage of freebies in the RR hospitality.



Champagne.



Champagne and strawberries.



More Champagne.



Champagne and Scallops.



Sadly, this wasn’t complimentary

So I consoled myself with more champagne, really nice truffles ( chocolates) and an interesting chat to the craftspeople from RR, and a guy who I had no idea who he was. Apparently he’s an up and coming superstar New York based artist called Bradley Theodore, who did some designs for Puma shoes, and now does stuff for RR. He was super nice, and I think it was a refreshing change for him to talk to someone who genuinely had no idea who he was, but was interested in his artwork (which was actually quite interesting / quirky ). I guess It goes to show that if there is a ‘belt tightening’ happening in the industry, it’s a bit ‘lop sided’. Being in there really made my day, and being RR, it wasn’t about a ‘hard sell’.

[Kewy]

Sounds like a great way to spend part of the day. I'm presuming you have to own one of their cars or be part of a members group to enter these 'lounge' areas?

[HoHoHo]

Kewy said:

Sounds like a great way to spend part of the day. I'm presuming you have to own one of their cars or be part of a members group to enter these 'lounge' areas?

BMW MTown balcony was by invite only.

I got an email a few weeks ago asking if I was going and if so please simply email back with names to add to the list.

No free food, but reasonably priced drinks and snacks......

And a great view of the track FOC

I don’t know why I got an invite, I have bought loads of BMW’s and recently an M5 so possibly simply on their purchase radar?

[No ideas for a name]

HoHoHo said:

WJNB said:

delta037 said:

Sign of the economic downturn at Jag stand - no free coffee or hospitality area. Over to BMW - proffer key fob - no free coffee - sorry, Club members only. Ditto down at the BMW feature at the Stables apparently. Free BMW made in China shades and nice free M logo'd doughnut though so not all bad news....

Nothing to do with the economic downturn the FoS has become superior supercilious elitist & corporate.
Humble car lovers just a nuisance as they don't spend enough money furthering the Goodwood cause.
Have noted this sly change since attending the very first one so gave up on the event 4 years ago.

As someone who has previously been involved with FOS and Revival and have friends who are Goodwood/ex-Goodwood I can assure you this is absolutely the feeling of some and is correct.

Corporate is where the money is, not the (us) plebs buying a dog roll for £8 or whatever.

I am quite please some have posted as above - I was holding my tongue as I thought I must just have been having a bad day.
I went on the Thursday - I didn't like it at all (I have been twice before Thursday and Saturday).
I noted the Jag stand and lack of a café. Did I want something for nothing - no, Jag had nearly 40k off me last year (obviously not entirely due to the 'free' coffee and croisant on the stand).

I was pigged off by the card only (sponsored by Mastercard) stuff... I just wanted a pint in the Members' tent... lucky I was actually carrying cards as I nearly left them in the car. Not actually sure that is legal - I did consider just offering cash and see them refuse it.

The manufacturer stands were a bit meh... who actually goes to look at a car to buy - there are dealers much closer for that.

The stands/tents full of tat surprised me. Who goes to Goodwood to buy polish. I guess it is good money for Goodwood to sell a space for the tent.

The fact that it isn't really a 'proper' motorsport hill climb event is also apparent. It is 'theatre' with a motorsport theme.

It is clearly set up for corporate hospitality, I guess that is where the money is. The general punters seemed to just about be tollerated, the real enthusiasts were really at the wrong event. I understand it is a business, and has to make money for the estate. The event has however, changed in character, and for the worse.

I won't be going next year - though I will certainly be at the Revival and the MM. Unfortunately the Revival is going the same way - I really don't like the crowds on the Saturday.

As raised elsewhere, I am also a bit uneasy about the safety. I know the bales are staked down and two deep... can't see the Dakar truck even noticing the bales if it was to go waywards.

PS. I am a member. (and possibly a grumpy old man)

[Stridey]

That Dakar truck drove through the public on the Cricket Pitch side on Thursday. Odd, that at some events I’ve been told ‘no vehicle movements’ or flanked by hi viz helpers.

I suppose you can argue it’s hard to miss.

I’ve winced before at Dakar trucks at FOS, I honestly think that needs more thought.

Yes, it’s got a lot of corporate hospitality... I take the view I’m not interested in that anyway, so doesn’t affect or bother me. I get my race and classic fixes at other events. FOS was a nice day out, rally stage was fun, avoid Saturday and Sunday, livestream it.

[Paul Dishman]

I've a regular at the FoS for years, I agree that it's changed- at one time there was a pit lane full of contemporary or near contemporary F1 cars being driven up the hill, the Le Mans winner from that year would be in the paddock and usually demonstrated. This has all been steadily reduced, yet we get Sally Mason-Whatsit in her Ferrari and Lorna in her Schumacher era Benetton every year-still ten seconds off the pace despite having more time on the hill than the Duke's chauffeur.

I know I'm getting old, but I'm not really interested in drifting and half a dozen Nascars are really four too many. No old saloon racers, no current LMP2 cars, the Le Mans winning Toyota was at the back of the Toyota stand, it was all a bit meh.

Turning to the stalls, I'm really not going to shop for clothes or tools at Goodwood, but I'd be interested in looking at and possibly buying books. Porter Press were the only booksellers there promoting their own books, and to their credit getting them signed by the authors. I saw Gordon Murray and John Fitzpatrick signing books, which at over £200 a copy is what you'd expect. But Chaters weren't there and even Horton Books weren't either so you do wonder just how much Goodwood are asking for a stall.

Yet it's still exciting seeing and hearing racing cars close up, my son and I were in the F1 pitlane when the Red Bull and the Alfa liveried Sauber came back and its a buzz, its just a pity that in trying to appeal to everyone and especially the corporate market Goodwood have moved away from their core petrolhead support

[Big Robbo]

The really sad thing is, if anybody from Goodwood was on this forum , actually read the comments they would just shrug their shoulders and get back to chasing the next corporate dollar

[GOATever]

“It’s just not appealing to someone who’s brought their packed lunch, and thermos flask full of weak lemon drink anymore” is something I hear increasingly, about this event. If it remained more ‘hairy arsed’ ( like it was in it’s early iterations) it would stall, and disappear. In order for it to survive, it has to evolve. Look how Grand Prix racing has changed / evolved. If you want to attract new punters, you have stay current. The entire world is pretty much about ‘chasing the Yankee dollar’ Instagram / Social media / etc etc etc. now. If you want to appeal to that crowd, and keep the money rolling in, you have to have deep pockets / big corporate sponsorship. Those sponsors won’t part with the folding without a lot of palm greasing, so if you want to see the spectacular stuff, you have to accept the flip side of the equation. It is a shame that it’s lost some of the hairs on it’s arse, as that did make it ‘different’. However, nostalgia is over rated, and if you don’t innovate, you evaporate. Who really wants to sit behind a few straw bales, watching a handful of cars, driving up and down a driveway in Sussex, with no other entertainment, these days? Not enough people to keep it going, that’s for sure.

[chunder27]

I am simply glad that me and my family who all went to this in the early years now would simply laugh at the idea.

it is an event so far up its own arse it can almost eat itself. A lot of the staff are paid a pittance, check the jobs out on the website if you don't believe me.

And good riddance for my part.

It is an event to be seen, where you, the public pay for most of it yet get treated like total ste. So don't put up with it, go elsewhere and be treated with respect. Just like the British GP or other big events, you are being exploited completely.

The last time I went I simply wasn't enjoying it at all and left early as I was so disgusted by the way we were treated, almost like peasants, pushed out the way so stty little Rene Arnoux could get on a golf cart as he was too fat to walk, bundled over by kids wanting to snap a picture of some kit car or other, it was utterly hideous and the most disappointing day of my racing life, and this was about 10 years ago!

[GOATever]

Kewy said:

Sounds like a great way to spend part of the day. I'm presuming you have to own one of their cars or be part of a members group to enter these 'lounge' areas?

I guess. I got an email inviting me, although I don’t own a RR. I wouldn’t want to spend all weekend in there, there’s far too much going on around the event for that. They did have some big screens in the area, so you didn’t miss anything if you didn’t want to. It was a very nice end to the Saturday though, that’s for sure. I’d seen everything I wanted to on the hill, and in the paddocks by then anyway, so it was the icing on a very tasty cake .

[GOATever]

chunder27 said:

I am simply glad that me and my family who all went to this in the early years now would simply laugh at the idea.

it is an event so far up its own arse it can almost eat itself. A lot of the staff are paid a pittance, check the jobs out on the website if you don't believe me.

And good riddance for my part.

It is an event to be seen, where you, the public pay for most of it yet get treated like total ste. So don't put up with it, go elsewhere and be treated with respect. Just like the British GP or other big events, you are being exploited completely.

The last time I went I simply wasn't enjoying it at all and left early as I was so disgusted by the way we were treated, almost like peasants, pushed out the way so stty little Rene Arnoux could get on a golf cart as he was too fat to walk, bundled over by kids wanting to snap a picture of some kit car or other, it was utterly hideous and the most disappointing day of my racing life, and this was about 10 years ago!

The MM has taken on a lot of the role of the early FOS. It’s far more about watching race cars actually doing what they were built for, and far less about the ‘look at me’ / selfie taking brigade. The beauty thing about the MM, is that you can escape to the back of the track, and just watch racing cars, race. You don’t have to involve yourself in the other shenanigans if you don’t want to. There’s something pretty awesome about watching a bunch of minis 4 wheel drifting through Woodcote, from the Super Shell building. I quite like the fact the MM caters for more of the stuff you rarely see racing, all together, and including more contemporary racing machines, than the concentration of historics you get at the revival.

Edited by GOATever on Wednesday 10th July 19:49

[chunder27]

True enough, but it is prohibitively expensive, even more so than the FoS.

And charging that much for winter is rather odd, but i hope they keep a later date.

[Kewy]

chunder27 said:

I am simply glad that me and my family who all went to this in the early years now would simply laugh at the idea.

it is an event so far up its own arse it can almost eat itself. A lot of the staff are paid a pittance, check the jobs out on the website if you don't believe me.

And good riddance for my part.

It is an event to be seen, where you, the public pay for most of it yet get treated like total ste. So don't put up with it, go elsewhere and be treated with respect. Just like the British GP or other big events, you are being exploited completely.

The last time I went I simply wasn't enjoying it at all and left early as I was so disgusted by the way we were treated, almost like peasants, pushed out the way so stty little Rene Arnoux could get on a golf cart as he was too fat to walk, bundled over by kids wanting to snap a picture of some kit car or other, it was utterly hideous and the most disappointing day of my racing life, and this was about 10 years ago!

Strange post. Just going to contrast by saying that I didn't get 'treated like st'. Infact it felt no different to any other large event I've attended. Busy, yes. But seemed like a pleasant crowd.

How would you want to be treated, out of interest?

Surely kids interested in taking photos of cars is a positive – future generation and all that – and they're kids, of course they get excited, I love seeing all the youngsters getting excited about cars built before they were born.

[Paul Dishman]

Kewy said:

Strange post. Just going to contrast by saying that I didn't get 'treated like st'. Infact it felt no different to any other large event I've attended. Busy, yes. But seemed like a pleasant crowd.

How would you want to be treated, out of interest?

Surely kids interested in taking photos of cars is a positive – future generation and all that – and they're kids, of course they get excited, I love seeing all the youngsters getting excited about cars built before they were born.

Yes, agree with you- a busy, but pleasant crowd. Chunder is a serial complainer, I've read a similar litany on another forum

[Rotor]

Yes it has changed, Its changed a lot, but still had a two great days there, a lot of 'The' cars seemed to be missing , but still a fantastic mix , don't really get the drift car thing (fun to do not to watch) or bicycles in the air, but there was plenty of other stuff to see and do.
If I have a gripe it would be amateur photographers pushing in front of me with giant lenses and using my shoulder to rest on, if they asked I would happily move back for a moment or two for that must have shot

[willy wombat]

I feel that I must have been at a different event from some of the posters above. Went on Thursday with wife using our free GRRC Thursday tickets. Arrived about 9.00. No traffic. Knew what we wanted to see and spent the morning doing that. Not particularly crowded. Met friends for lunch in the Kinrara Enclosure (free for GRRC members on Thursday). Spent the afternoon on a mix of wandering around and sitting in the Kinrara Grandstand watching the cars going up the hill. Nobody pushed me, disrespected me etc. What's not to like? I agree its getting more corporate every year but there's still plenty of places to view the action without having to buy a grandstand ticket (unlike the Revival). The Goodwood Estate has got to make money - would the complaining posters prefer Lord March to throw in the towel and sell the circuit/aerodrome for houses?
Finally, a few posts above someone was criticising Lorina and her Benetton not being fast enough. You should remember that it's her car and if she bins it it's her problem whereas most of the celeb drivers, racing drivers etc can just shrug their shoulders and walk away if they bin something.
Chill a bit people.

Edited by willy wombat on Thursday 11th July 11:46

[timbo999]

Whilst the BMW stand didn't offer free tea/coffee for all owners, strangely the MINI stand did! Given my MINI is worth 10% of my BMW - and I didn't buy it from, and don't get it serviced by, a MINI dealer that is somewhat perverse! (its also 14 years old...).

Worth noting that my understanding is, overall, the Goodwood estate just about breaks even as the organic farming, estate maintenance etc are subsidised by the headline events... as another poster said, which would you rather no estate al all or some corporate shenanigans at the FoS and Revival?