What the heck is PistonFest?

[anonymous-user]

1. madbadger
2. Vixta
3. _dan_
4. filski666
5. 51mes
6. Kermit Power
7. C2james
8. Deev
9. Dan_1981
10. Becca (if accessible)
11. dirty boy
12. Dupont (I like moving tents, watching him have a paddy even when he walked past it half a dozen times as I may have put it next to the bar entrance)
13.
14. Bahnstormer
15. Keyser Soze

[deevlash]

Dupont666 said:

snetterton was too far up north

That was a 7.5 hour drive south for me! Thats not North!

[Greenwich Ross]

1. madbadger
2. Vixta
3. _dan_
4. filski666
5. 51mes
6. Kermit Power
7. C2james
8. Deev
9. Dan_1981
10. Becca (if accessible)
11. dirty boy
12. Dupont (I like moving tents, watching him have a paddy even when he walked past it half a dozen times as I may have put it next to the bar entrance)
13.
14. Bahnstormer
15. Keyser Soze
16. Greenwich Ross

[Kermit power]

Garlick said:

bobfather said:

The idea that the only day time entertainment for our hung-over campers is to hoon around on country road where the local police are bound to be very active seems misguided.

Many car events happen away from racing Bob, it doesn't have to be that way to be a success. Most PH meets are away from an 'event' these days and attract hundreds, more often than not thousands, of people. For every chap who likes racing (you) there will be someone else who is happy to be away from it (kermit), if I have gained anything from being on PH, it's learning that no single event will please all 3.2 million on the site.

As I say, this is all rather hypothetical at the moment as we don't actually have any plans yet, as we speak it's all just an idea for next year. Don't worry too much just yet.

I'm perfectly happy with the notion of drinking beer and doing silly things in fields for a weekend whether it has some form of motor sport attached to it or not.

99% of my interest in cars is driving them, rather than looking at them, talking about them or watching other people drive them, but I also know people who don't really enjoy driving but would never miss an opportunity to watch a GP.

Overall, though, there's a good chance you'll make the event less attractive to many members if it doesn't include some form of motor sport, whereas by including it I can't imagine that you'd piss anyone off.

Just so long as it's not at bloody Snetterton!

Although Snetterton was almost worth it for the way the band slid seamlessly into "I predict a riot" when the jumped up American told them to stop playing at 11pm because some race marshalls wanted to sleep!

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Can we go to Santa Pod when they've got the monster trucks there as well as the drag strip?

[central]

Dan_1981 said:

And somewhere quite central?

[Motown Junk]

Kermit power said:

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Can we go to Santa Pod when they've got the monster trucks there as well as the drag strip?

They do tractor pulling at Shakespeare now as well

[BlackVanGirl]

deevlash said:

Dupont666 said:

snetterton was too far up north

That was a 7.5 hour drive south for me! Thats not North!

Definitely not too far North, just too far out the arse end of nowhere. At least pick somewhere near decent transport routes...

would dearly love to go to another PistonFest but am pretty sure that camping is now impossible.

[Dupont666]

could haymarket just do something like blag the top gear test track for a weekend and those that want to turn up split into 2 lots, spectators that want to camp out there, watch and have fun and the rest have teams that do a 24 hour banger race, like the 2CV one but wholely ran by PH and using Haymarket links?

Then have the track open before or afterwards for PHers to do their own personal run on the topgear track?

Haymarket have to be of some use?

[bobfather]

BlackVanGirl said:

deevlash said:

Dupont666 said:

snetterton was too far up north

That was a 7.5 hour drive south for me! Thats not North!

Definitely not too far North, just too far out the arse end of nowhere. At least pick somewhere near decent transport routes...

would dearly love to go to another PistonFest but am pretty sure that camping is now impossible.

Yep, southern softies think anything further than 1 hour north is the Scottish borders. I'm from Teesside and happily travelled to Snetterton & Shakespeare Raceway. Southerners just like to whinge

[bobfather]

PF always saw a sizable contingent travelling south from the Northeast and Yorkshire regions; we know why PH has 'Piston' in the title. Campingfest won't get any interest outside of the Home Counties. Perhaps that's Garlick's secret plan, keep those angry northerners away

[filski666]

Motown Junk said:

Kermit power said:

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Can we go to Santa Pod when they've got the monster trucks there as well as the drag strip?

They do tractor pulling at Shakespeare now as well

but it is pretty sh*t to be honest - they take sooooo long re-grading the track in between each run - and it was far too slippery so no-one got much further than a couple of feet, that it was all rather boring, plus some of the multi engined ones (ie the ones I went to see) decided not to bother running cos the track was so sh*t

[Robatr0n]

bobfather said:

PF always saw a sizable contingent travelling south from the Northeast and Yorkshire regions; we know why PH has 'Piston' in the title. Campingfest won't get any interest outside of the Home Counties. Perhaps that's Garlick's secret plan, keep those angry northerners away

I reckon Pistonfest 2007 was made up of atleast 70% southerners.

Also, every 'northern' meet I've been to has seen a big reduction in numbers yet are still filled with Southerners.

I think you have to consider that the vast majority of PHers live in the mid to lower part of the country.

[Kermit power]

I think what everyone is trying to say is that Snetterton is too far East.

[Dan_1981]

I think Donnington would be perfect

[PetrolTed]

BobFather said:

As an attendee of every PF I see that the slow decline resulted from organisational changes rather than PHer enthusiasm. The simple PF at Shakespeare Raceway was fantastic. Ted then spoiled this simple event by thinking we needed additional entertainment like bungee jumps, team challenges and the like, we didn't, all we wanted was a camping field at a race venue. This hit Ted's pocket badly and PF became a problem rather than an opportunity in the eyes of PH. The last PF was a washout, rain and wind at Snetterton did not make for a good weekend. Snetterton was chosen not for PHer's but because that was the venue where Ted's 2CV 24 hrs race was being run. We need the focus to be on PHer needs not PH needs, that's business thinking, give the customers what they want, not what PH thinks they should have. Shakespeare Raceway was a great venue; I would also suggest one of the MotorSportVision circuits during a classic/armature race weekend.

With all due respect Bob, it really wasn't as simple as that. There were many, many factors that determined the format, venue, finances etc. Organisationally it's one of the most stressful things I've ever done.

[PetrolTed]

bobfather said:

Snetterton was not chosen with PHer needs in mind, it was chosen for Ted because he was racing there that weekend.

I didn't race there in 2006, it was a deal put together with the 2CV Club to try and gain some interest in the event. Getting a preferential deal on the venue meant it was viable with small numbers, something that not many venues can offer.

[Garlick]

bobfather said:

, Garlic has already rejected the idea of using a circuit venue.

Ah Bob, it's been a while since we've had one of these 'PH management don't know what they are doing' chats.

Record breaking (car) attendances at Sunday Service meets, thousands camping with us at Le Mans, Supporting Mansell and Bloodhound, the biggest BTaP attendance is also about to happen, and that's just 2010.

However because we MIGHT not go to a race meeting for an event that MIGHT happen in 2011 we don't think of the petrol heads? I'm not one to moan, but credit us with some intelligence.

I also can't keep stressing that no decision has been made, just a chat over some options and no more. It has been given about 30 mins thought, and needs about a week more before we have any sort of plan, or make any decisions.

Wish I had never mentioned it now

[bobfather]

PetrolTed said:

With all due respect Bob, it really wasn't as simple as that. There were many, many factors that determined the format, venue, finances etc. Organisationally it's one of the most stressful things I've ever done.

Yes I saw your stress levels going through the roof at PF04, walking around the place trying to encourage people to pay for entertainment like bungee jumping and low level flights. Most people attending PF04 wanted to relive PF03 because that was an all round great event and I thank you for that. The stress of organising the same event over and over again should reduce over time, I remember thinking that the reason PF was stressful for you was probably due to the financial commitment of providing entertainment that people wouldn't buy on the day.

AKA tvrbob

[PetrolTed]

Bob, again, I don't wish to be rude, but you know nothing of the challenges or decision making faced in organising that particular event, financial or (more signifantly) otherwise.

[bobfather]

Garlick said:

bobfather said:

, Garlic has already rejected the idea of using a circuit venue.

Ah Bob, it's been a while since we've had one of these 'PH management don't know what they are doing' chats.

I thought you'd forgotten who I was. No, I think PH is doing a great job but I do believe it is right to fight for what you want.

I want PF03 again, simple event that provided opportunity for people who want to mix & mingle but can't afford to or don't want to afford to go to Le Mans and don't feel at home at events like BT&P. That's what PHers got from PF03 and it's what they wanted from PF04. The other PF's were orientated around other things and failed to recreate the original simplicity of letting PHers entertain themselves.