F1 Pre-Season Testing

[n3rdy]

Valencia (February 1-3)
Jerez (February 10-13)
Barcelona (February 18-21)
Bahrain (March 3-6)

Only another month before we see the new lot of F1 cars on track ;o

I'm heading to Barcelona and will spend a day or two at the track, is anyone going to any of these or have any tips for getting to the Barcelona circuit?

Edited by n3rdy on Tuesday 4th January 08:05

[Scooby_snax]

We went to Barcelona in 2010 for testing (was the final test)
Thoroughly recommend it even then we said the Red Bulls looked quicker than the rest.
Not sure if this is the approved way but we stayed in central Barcelona and took a train from Barcelona Sants railway station to Montmelo where the circuit is which took about 30 mins then about a 15-20 minute walk at the other end
Tickets are 10 euros a day or 15 euros at weekend we were at the track from 10am till 4 pm
There were also about 30000 other people there!!!!

We are going back again this year we had such a good time both at the track and as a long weekend break in Barcelona itself

You may find this link useful
http://www.circuitcat.com/RACES/Formula-One-Teams-...

Edited by Scooby_snax on Tuesday 4th January 08:04

[n3rdy]

Scooby_snax said:

We went to Barcelona in 2010 for testing (was the final test)
Thoroughly recommend it even then we said the Red Bulls looked quicker than the rest.
Not sure if this is the approved way but we stayed in central Barcelona and took a train from Barcelona Sants railway station to Montmelo where the circuit is which took about 30 mins then about a 15-20 minute walk at the other end
Tickets are 10 euros a day or 15 euros at weekend we were at the track from 10am till 4 pm
There were also about 30000 other people there!!!!

We are going back again this year we had such a good time both at the track and as a long weekend break in Barcelona itself

You may find this link useful
http://www.circuitcat.com/RACES/Formula-One-Teams-...

Edited by Scooby_snax on Tuesday 4th January 08:04

Thanks for the info! I was planning on doing exactly as you suggested by heading to Sants, wasn't expecting 30,000 other fans though but I'm sure it'll all be fun.

You nearly gave me a heart attack with that link as all I could read from it was February 25th-28th. Looks like that was the 2010 schedule though

[Scooby_snax]

Oh sorry just took it from the Circuits website and was referring to 2011
BTW we spent some time in the grandstand overlooking the pits and then moved down to the 1st corner

[ajprice]

Are there any dates announced for 2011 car launches? Ferrari have announced late January before the Valencia test, haven't heard anything apart from that so are they not doing launch shows and just going to show the cars in the garages on the first test day?

[BoRED S2upid]

Oooooo Barca testing the weekend of my birthday.

[cobylu]

Thanks for this thread. Never crossed my mind before but have now booked flights. Never been to barcelona before so any hotel recommendations appreciated.

[n3rdy]

cobylu said:

Thanks for this thread. Never crossed my mind before but have now booked flights. Never been to barcelona before so any hotel recommendations appreciated.

I'm staying at a hotel called 'Praktik'. 2 Star hotel according to Google, seems fairly cheap at around £50 a night and is rated 4 stars from 500 + reviews. This is also quite close to the centre of the city, also a possiblity of wifi.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?hl=en&expI...

[SeeFive]

If you are feeling a little more flush, I have stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Barcelona which, as a Hilton you know what you are getting.

It's in a quiet area at the other end of the Olympic Village to the town centre but close to a metro station. It is close to the beach and has an outside pool and terrace, and if you don't want a tube or cab, a 15 minute walk along the beachfront walkway (past the nudie and gay beaches - look inland !!) gets you to the marina in town.

You can get a room with buffet breakfast for 112 Euros a night on their "Any Weekend Anywhere" plan for those dates at the moment.

http://www.hilton.co.uk/diagonalmar?WT.srch=1

[cobylu]

Thanks for the tips guys. Will look at these.

[s2t]

We stayed at the Amister Hotel....would stay there again
10 mins from Sants station and a nice stroll to the main touristy area

[AlpineWhite]

Is Jerez open for spectators?

[P924]

AlpineWhite said:

Is Jerez open for spectators?

Yeah, Was there last year for one day and will definately be back there this year.

[davislove]

P924 said:

AlpineWhite said:

Is Jerez open for spectators?

Yeah, Was there last year for one day and will definately be back there this year.

can you just rock up? any tips? ryanair flights look cheap!