PistonHeads events 2025

[sherman]

ecsrobin said:

sherman said:

They get a nose bleed if they do anything north of silverstone.

Can you blame them when the turnouts just aren’t as good when hosted up north.

An example is the Haynes Sunday service at the weekend, it had nearly double the registered cars than the motorist, Yorkshire in June.

Is it a marketing issue or is it a capacity issue at the different sites.
In Scotland theres more than enough interest. Its down to Pistonheads to find the site and market it correctly.

[ecsrobin]

sherman said:

Is it a marketing issue or is it a capacity issue at the different sites.
In Scotland theres more than enough interest. Its down to Pistonheads to find the site and market it correctly.

Haynes had a capacity of 600 vs motorist at 1000.

Down south just has a lot more people, it’s not a marketing issue as all the events are advertised on Pistonheads so they have the same reach wherever the location. I don’t work for them, but when I previously looked at all the northern events, the numbers were always lower than any of the Midlands and south events.

Edited by ecsrobin on Tuesday 21st January 14:12

[sherman]

ecsrobin said:

sherman said:

Is it a marketing issue or is it a capacity issue at the different sites.
In Scotland theres more than enough interest. Its down to Pistonheads to find the site and market it correctly.

Haynes had a capacity of 600 vs motorist at 1000.

Down south just has a lot more people, it’s not a marketing issue as all the events are advertised on Pistonheads so they have the same reach wherever the location. I don’t work for them, but when I previously looked at all the northern events, the numbers were always lower than any of the Midlands and south events.

Edited by ecsrobin on Tuesday 21st January 14:12

If they cant fill a site themselves then go into partnership with another company/club who can help.
Theres more than enough car company/clubs in Scotland/oop north that they could work with if they were wanted too but they are not interested and never will be.

[Hoofy]

You could organise an informal one... we've done that in the past in Surrey.

[sherman]

Hoofy said:

You could organise an informal one... we've done that in the past in Surrey.

We used to do it 10+ years ago in Scotland.
They got too big and unweildy using Pistonheads.
It then moved off pistonheads and a bit more organised but they are currently between sites.

[SAS Tom]

ecsrobin said:

sherman said:

Is it a marketing issue or is it a capacity issue at the different sites.
In Scotland theres more than enough interest. Its down to Pistonheads to find the site and market it correctly.

Haynes had a capacity of 600 vs motorist at 1000.

Down south just has a lot more people, it’s not a marketing issue as all the events are advertised on Pistonheads so they have the same reach wherever the location. I don’t work for them, but when I previously looked at all the northern events, the numbers were always lower than any of the Midlands and south events.

Edited by ecsrobin on Tuesday 21st January 14:12

If I remember rightly, the day at the motorist was rammed. Maybe not everyone put their name on the list but it was very busy that day, attendance wasn’t a problem. Likewise the 2 days at Ginetta were busy too.

[Ben Lowden]

RossP said:

Hi Ben,

Have you looked at Great Northern Classics in Derby? They have a fair amount of parking and may well be interested? I have a contact there if you are interested.

Ross.

https://www.greatnorthernclassics.co.uk

Thanks for the recommendation Ross, looks great! Although we typically look for venues with parking for at least 300 cars and it doesn't look like they'd have that much capacity sadly.

flatlemon said:

Hi Ben, it's looking like a strong start to 2025.

Are there any other event details you can share with us for 2025?

Any plans to get up to Scotland?

Thanks, here's what we have confirmed so far for this year:

• Haynes Motor Museum Sunday Service, Somerset: 19 January
• Mercedes-Benz World Sunday Service, Surrey: 23 March
• The Motorist Sunday Service, Yorkshire: 25 May
• 24 Hours of Le Mans & Le Mans Friday Service, France: 13-15 June
• The Le Mans Classic, France: 4-6 July
• Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex: 10 - 13 July
• PistonHeads Annual Service, Oxfordshire: 9 August
• Thruxton Sunday Service, Hampshire: 7 December

Nothing planned in Scotland for this year I'm afraid, but never say never! We've just had a new Events & Community Manager join our team so I'm sure he'll do a much better job of packing out the calendar than me

[ecsrobin]

Ben Lowden said:

Thanks, here's what we have confirmed so far for this year:

• Haynes Motor Museum Sunday Service, Somerset: 19 January
• Mercedes-Benz World Sunday Service, Surrey: 23 March
• The Motorist Sunday Service, Yorkshire: 25 May
• 24 Hours of Le Mans & Le Mans Friday Service, France: 13-15 June
• The Le Mans Classic, France: 4-6 July
• Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex: 10 - 13 July
• PistonHeads Annual Service, Oxfordshire: 9 August
• Thruxton Sunday Service, Hampshire: 7 December

Nothing planned in Scotland for this year I'm afraid, but never say never! We've just had a new Events & Community Manager join our team so I'm sure he'll do a much better job of packing out the calendar than me

Any early details on Festival of Speed? I remember back in the day the Pistonheads stall which maybe did 1-2 years with a few cars on display. Is there going to be more of a display as you now have a tie in with Goodwood (and assume that’s the reason for no longer allowing ticket resales).

[Ben Lowden]

ecsrobin said:

Any early details on Festival of Speed? I remember back in the day the Pistonheads stall which maybe did 1-2 years with a few cars on display. Is there going to be more of a display as you now have a tie in with Goodwood (and assume that’s the reason for no longer allowing ticket resales).

That must have been a long time ago, as I've been here 10 years now and it has never been mentioned before! We're having a 10x10m exhibitor pitch there this year, where we'll have a number of display cars to help us promote our marketplace and sell merchandise. We'll see how it goes this year and potentially build on it from there

[SydneyBridge]

Have you got a pitch in a good place?

[ecsrobin]

Ben Lowden said:

That must have been a long time ago, as I've been here 10 years now and it has never been mentioned before! We're having a 10x10m exhibitor pitch there this year, where we'll have a number of display cars to help us promote our marketplace and sell merchandise. We'll see how it goes this year and potentially build on it from there

Showing my age here. It was on the cricket pitch I want to say yellow in colour and there was a Pistonheads annual for sale which I purchased (and have since binned). It might have been called the pub and I think it also went the the NEC motor show.

[ecsrobin]

2010 FoS I reckon



https://www.pistonheads.com/news/general-pistonhea...

[sherman]

ecsrobin said:

2010 FoS I reckon



https://www.pistonheads.com/news/general-pistonhea...

A few pics I took of BTaP are in there iirc.

[flatlemon]

Ben Lowden said:

Thanks, here's what we have confirmed so far for this year:

• Haynes Motor Museum Sunday Service, Somerset: 19 January
• Mercedes-Benz World Sunday Service, Surrey: 23 March
• The Motorist Sunday Service, Yorkshire: 25 May
• 24 Hours of Le Mans & Le Mans Friday Service, France: 13-15 June
• The Le Mans Classic, France: 4-6 July
• Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex: 10 - 13 July
• PistonHeads Annual Service, Oxfordshire: 9 August
• Thruxton Sunday Service, Hampshire: 7 December

Nothing planned in Scotland for this year I'm afraid, but never say never! We've just had a new Events & Community Manager join our team so I'm sure he'll do a much better job of packing out the calendar than me

Thanks Ben, much appreciated!

[Ben Lowden]

SydneyBridge said:

Have you got a pitch in a good place?

Hopefully! Excuse the 2024 map but once it's all confirmed we'll share this more formally. We're on pitch 22 next to Analogue Automotive and Dream Car Giveaways. We're aiming for three display cars to help promote the PistonHeads community and our marketplace, and will be selling merch too. Hopefully see many of you there

[johnnyreggae]

Can you share when MBW tickets due to go live ?

[Ben Lowden]

johnnyreggae said:

Can you share when MBW tickets due to go live ?

Towards the end of the month - generally about a month before the event is due to take place

[mikeyr]

Thanks Ben, like the ones like MBW and Haynes where you can tie it in with an afternoon looking round a place too

[bolidemichael]

It would be nice to shift it to Brooklands Museum on occasion, for variation. Just a thought.

[jeremyc]

bolidemichael said:

It would be nice to shift it to Brooklands Museum on occasion, for variation. Just a thought.

Nice idea, but I believe Brooklands Museum charge entry for all their events.

I like the ethos of making Sunday Services free (well, at least to park).