Has FoS grown too big?
Discussion
EVOTECH3BELL said:
I'd also like to know a similar list of events, mainly focusing on classic/historic racing.
I've not done silverstone classic or classic leman so maybe thats a good starting point.
I've just joined Shelsley Walsh Membership as its local and you don't get much more opposite than Goodwood than that.
I went to Monaco historic last year, flights, 4 nights hotel with breakfast, event tickets, transport and food and drink came to not much more than £600pp. What I like about Monaco was that Friday is free to attend and no ticket required, if you want to enter the paddock then a ticket for sat or sun is required. It’s that good and certainly less crowds that I’ve booked again for next year. I've not done silverstone classic or classic leman so maybe thats a good starting point.
I've just joined Shelsley Walsh Membership as its local and you don't get much more opposite than Goodwood than that.
Nurburgring 24hr was superb and affordable.
Things I want to do are:
Spa historic or WEC
Nurburgring historic
Daytona
4 lane drag racing in vegas
Silverstone classic
Circuit de ramparts
Most of these are overseas but when you look at the cost of 4 days at FOS, 3 days of the revival 2 days at members meeting and all associated costs then I don’t think it’s bad to be able to do 1 or 2 of these a year.
Goodwood is special but it’s nice to tick off other things.
A big issue with Goodwood, which is no fault of theirs, is the blatant profiteering of hotel accommodation during the three big events. We live in Bristol so it’s a long day trip but no need for hotels etc, I feel for people coming a long way who have to pay £200+ for a night in a travelodge.
pablo said:
A big issue with Goodwood, which is no fault of theirs, is the blatant profiteering of hotel accommodation during the three big events. We live in Bristol so it’s a long day trip but no need for hotels etc, I feel for people coming a long way who have to pay £200+ for a night in a travelodge.
Plan ahead and book early and it's not too bad at all, especially if you stay in Portsmouth, Arundel or somewhere a little less obvious. You can usually work out the FoS weekend date ahead of the announcement. I've already securedy 2034 accomodation based on the expected dates.pablo said:
2034 is keen! 
The issue is, once hotels know the dates, they can cancel your booking and inflate the price
I've been attending since 2007, always book as soon as the F1 calendar is confirmed and nowhere has ever cancelled on me, must have been lucky! Don't think I've ever stayed in the same place twice either, AirBnBs, chain hotels, B&Bs. I did get a message from the AirBnB owner last year calling me a jammy sod (I put FoS in the reason for booking) as she said she doubles her prices as soon as Goodwood announce the date The issue is, once hotels know the dates, they can cancel your booking and inflate the price
£68 a night this year, winner Out of interest.
How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
Jim H said:
Out of interest.
How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
You’re looking around £100 a day give or a take a few pound. How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
ecsrobin said:
Jim H said:
Out of interest.
How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
You’re looking around £100 a day give or a take a few pound. How much are tickets now? For a day? Two days? Or a package - say for the full event? (Roughly)
Entry only before bolt-on’s like Grandstand seating etc?
I’ve not looked on the website as obviously next years are not on sale yet.
I fear I maybe in for a bit of a shock. My first visit tickets were complimentary curtesy of a friend.
My second, my brother paid for.
Yes I agree, when you add things on top it adds up, like food and stuff.
Take a packed lunch and plan ahead! And be thrifty.
I nearly had a bloody Coronary when my Brother told me how much he paid for tickets for him and my nephew for the F1 at Silverstone last year.
Admission only.
He did invite me, but I was: “Thanks, but no thanks”.
pablo said:
Turn7 said:
ecsrobin said:
We’ve said we won’t return next year unless we get given free tickets (that aren’t GRRC Thursday tickets). And I’ve given up with breakfast club.
GRRC I said this year would be my decider if I continue, unless I have a big change of heart at the revival I think I’ll give goodwood a kiss for a few years.
There’s better events out there for less money so I’ll start ticking them off.
Serious question - what event do you consider better than FOS ?GRRC I said this year would be my decider if I continue, unless I have a big change of heart at the revival I think I’ll give goodwood a kiss for a few years.
There’s better events out there for less money so I’ll start ticking them off.
Wide range of racing cars on track, and at least the top 25% are really pushing.
Big range of car club displays (if that’s your thing)
Pit access
Open grandstands
shuttle buses
Enough space to always get a spot trackside at the fence
Easier ingress/egress
I know Goodwood as a venue has a certain appeal but for me, FOS is waning until it decides what sort of event it wants to be. The Members Meeting will always be the best event on the UK calendar though, FOS just appears to me to be a little tired.
If you only have one day a year to go watch racing cars, but also want to see the latest supercars etc, then yes FOS is probably your “best day out” in terms of an “experience” but everything is compromised……but if you can afford more than one day out , Silverstone Classic, VSCC at Prescott, Classic Nostalgia at Shelsley and HSCC October meetIng at Silverstone are all great days out and less stress than FOS.
Did our first Classic Le Mans this year but that was really good fun, took a bit of planning but Arnage at midnight watching a horde of angry Lola T70s was almost erotic….
Edited by pablo on Sunday 16th July 09:11
I do like the club stands, and yes its good to see the cars actually racing.
Theyve gone away from calling it the Classic this year, so will be interesting to see whats changed.
My car will be on the Caterham patch Friday.
Bobtherallyfan said:
It’s probably busier on Thursday now because half the population seem to be able to ‘work’ from home now
What’s with this WFH making it busier b
ks?If you work from home you still have to work. I work from home but took a days annual leave so I could go.
Edited by Beethree on Sunday 16th July 11:29
Edited by Beethree on Sunday 16th July 11:30
I was one of the unfortunate ones that only bought a ticket for Saturday and wasted a journey down from Sheffield. Luckily they’re giving refunds on the tickets and the hotel agreed to cancel our second night so all we’ve really lost out on is fuel to get there. Managed to find a few other things to get involved with while we were down there.
To be totally honest after speaking with some people in the hotel Friday night that had taken 3 hours to get out of the car park I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I normally do. I’ve been a few times when it’s rained and if you’re one of the plebs it’s a general unpleasant experience.
The first time I went it was as a guest of Autotrader with the full package and it was an incredible weekend, I’ve gone back half a dozen times as a paying punter and it definitely feels like your there to make up the numbers for the hospitality guests.
Think next year I’m going to try some classic events, just need to work out which one is best for the 80-90s era of cars I enjoy.
To be totally honest after speaking with some people in the hotel Friday night that had taken 3 hours to get out of the car park I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I normally do. I’ve been a few times when it’s rained and if you’re one of the plebs it’s a general unpleasant experience.
The first time I went it was as a guest of Autotrader with the full package and it was an incredible weekend, I’ve gone back half a dozen times as a paying punter and it definitely feels like your there to make up the numbers for the hospitality guests.
Think next year I’m going to try some classic events, just need to work out which one is best for the 80-90s era of cars I enjoy.
Just to add - it does seem the experience at Festival of Speed has changed as the priority of the show has moved away from classic motorsport and more to a replacement for the British motor show.
I personally couldn’t give two sts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally.
I personally couldn’t give two s
ts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally. KarlMac said:
Just to add - it does seem the experience at Festival of Speed has changed as the priority of the show has moved away from classic motorsport and more to a replacement for the British motor show.
I personally couldn’t give two sts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally.
I’m with you on this as previously mentioned. I suspect though, that a good number of people who attend FOS now are subscribers LLF, AdamC, Shmee and all the other YouTube content creators, so the newest supercars are of huge interest and many of us have seen Lotus 49s, Porsche 935s etc before… the only thing that could get me back to FPS for the cars alone would be some current British Hillclimb contenders and a whole plethora of LMP 900 era sports cars…I personally couldn’t give two s
ts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally. ch37 said:
Plan ahead and book early and it's not too bad at all, especially if you stay in Portsmouth, Arundel or somewhere a little less obvious. You can usually work out the FoS weekend date ahead of the announcement. I've already securedy 2034 accomodation based on the expected dates.
I did the same last year for this year. Once the dates were announced the 'agent' cancelled my booking, I called them up to which they said it was still available but at 4 times the previous cost due to it being the FOS weekend. I told him to go fk himself.I very luckily managed to get somewhere else.
Someone made a comment earlier that in many ways FoS is now trying to be the new British Motor Show. It does indeed cater for disparate audiences, and given the manufacturers like Ford wetting their knickers on their Curries-type product line-up of EV's (BBC News this morning had in interview with their head of EVs from Goodwood), and the GRRC and other 'pass only access' areas of the event, it does feel that the ordinary plebeian petrolhead is consigned to wander around what is left, unless they want to stump-up to get a grandstand ticket.
I reconciled myself years ago to the exorbitant costs of everything at FoS with the trade-off that it's a quality event, with a great line-up of cars, stalls, racing and manufacturer stands. Going on this year, it really feels the industry (B2B) side of the event is distorting that balance so the ordinary public are less important than the plans the car industry has for appliances with wheels in the next ten years.
I will go next year, but they need to think about how they trade-off all the different demands being made of the event...
I reconciled myself years ago to the exorbitant costs of everything at FoS with the trade-off that it's a quality event, with a great line-up of cars, stalls, racing and manufacturer stands. Going on this year, it really feels the industry (B2B) side of the event is distorting that balance so the ordinary public are less important than the plans the car industry has for appliances with wheels in the next ten years.
I will go next year, but they need to think about how they trade-off all the different demands being made of the event...
KarlMac said:
Just to add - it does seem the experience at Festival of Speed has changed as the priority of the show has moved away from classic motorsport and more to a replacement for the British motor show.
I personally couldn’t give two sts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally.
I think this is spot on and is why I didn’t bother going the year. Going to Circuit des Remparts will cost about the same as a weekend at the FOS (even including ferry costs) and is, for me, a better event.I personally couldn’t give two s
ts about the latest supercar or limited run investment piece, for me the attraction was always seeing cars run that I didn’t get to experience when they were in competition (Calsonic Skyline, 787B, Can-Am cars, WRC legends etc…). Maybe a different event would be better for me personally. I got free tickets courtesy of Hyundai and went on Thursday with my brother ( who likes cars but is not a petrol head).
It was very busy, and I didn't see any of the competition cars nor watch any driving up the hill. We spent all of our time in the 'motor show' areas on the outside of the track.
It took as nearly three hours to get there from South Oxfordshire, but we left early enough for it not to be an issue when leaving.
I thought it was bang average, last time I went was 2016, again free tickets, and I remember saying to myself at the time, I wouldn't go again unless I got free tickets.
On another note, I see that nearly every 'racing driver' that is not famous and has never made it, works at the Goodwood show and makes a massive deal of it on Insta or whatever, like they've got a drive at Le Mans or something. Where in reality they are ushering people into and out of stands etc, or answering questions about a certain race car they are associated with.
It was very busy, and I didn't see any of the competition cars nor watch any driving up the hill. We spent all of our time in the 'motor show' areas on the outside of the track.
It took as nearly three hours to get there from South Oxfordshire, but we left early enough for it not to be an issue when leaving.
I thought it was bang average, last time I went was 2016, again free tickets, and I remember saying to myself at the time, I wouldn't go again unless I got free tickets.
On another note, I see that nearly every 'racing driver' that is not famous and has never made it, works at the Goodwood show and makes a massive deal of it on Insta or whatever, like they've got a drive at Le Mans or something. Where in reality they are ushering people into and out of stands etc, or answering questions about a certain race car they are associated with.
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
I got free tickets courtesy of Hyundai and went on Thursday with my brother ( who likes cars but is not a petrol head).
It was very busy, and I didn't see any of the competition cars nor watch any driving up the hill. We spent all of our time in the 'motor show' areas on the outside of the track.
It took as nearly three hours to get there from South Oxfordshire, but we left early enough for it not to be an issue when leaving.
I thought it was bang average, last time I went was 2016, again free tickets, and I remember saying to myself at the time, I wouldn't go again unless I got free tickets.
On another note, I see that nearly every 'racing driver' that is not famous and has never made it, works at the Goodwood show and makes a massive deal of it on Insta or whatever, like they've got a drive at Le Mans or something. Where in reality they are ushering people into and out of stands etc, or answering questions about a certain race car they are associated with.
Strange post. You’re like the kind of person who reviews places on Tripadvisor when having only visited the coffee shop. It was very busy, and I didn't see any of the competition cars nor watch any driving up the hill. We spent all of our time in the 'motor show' areas on the outside of the track.
It took as nearly three hours to get there from South Oxfordshire, but we left early enough for it not to be an issue when leaving.
I thought it was bang average, last time I went was 2016, again free tickets, and I remember saying to myself at the time, I wouldn't go again unless I got free tickets.
On another note, I see that nearly every 'racing driver' that is not famous and has never made it, works at the Goodwood show and makes a massive deal of it on Insta or whatever, like they've got a drive at Le Mans or something. Where in reality they are ushering people into and out of stands etc, or answering questions about a certain race car they are associated with.
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