GRRC 72nd Members Meeting

[Al Weyman]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

Al sadly on this occassion entrants are being asked to pay, but I was more interested in your comment that CTCRC have been putting on these type of meetings for years so I looked on their website fearful that I had missed a trick by not going to their meetings.

The list of championships:

Thermex Classic Saloon and Historic Touring Car Championship
Autoglym Pre ‘83 Touring Car Championship
SVG Motorsport Pre ‘93 Touring Car Championship
Performancecar.com Classic Thunder Championship
Burton Power Blue Oval Saloon Series
CTCRC Pre 2005 Production Car Series

then I looked again onto the GRRC link to their meeting:


http://www.goodwood.co.uk/members-me...the-races.aspx

and I think you will agree that whilst CTCRC sounds like a great club to race with it would be doing them a disservice to be compared with this.... and that is why most agree that the Goodwood ticket price should be at a premium - how much more is open to discussion

Unfortunately what was a good championship the Pre 74's which ran loosely to Gp 1 regs and did feature some genuine cars and was set up by Ken Clarke was amalgamated with the Pre 83 Group 1's due to watering down as other clubs tried to get in on the post 66 scene where as previously not many wanted to know. But there you go that's life. Also to be honest I didn't realise there was a full supporting race card of decent races which obviously puts a different slant on it, I thought it was just the Group 1 races.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by M Greenslade

'middle of Winter'

Dear God, we are talking about the South Coast nearly in to April……trying living in Chipping Norton……


Bladders…...

I thought it was at the end of March and if you live down here that normally means the middle of winter.

[zefarelly]

THat was a mistake Sainsburys exists purely to keep the plebians out of Waitrose.

Originally Posted by midgetman

£20 is an unreasonably low figure to watch something of this quality. £40/£50 is more like it. Did you see the article recently that since Waitrose started giving away free coffee they were getting "the wrong type" of customer? No danger of that at Goodwood

:

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

THat was a mistake Sainsburys exists purely to keep the plebians out of Waitrose.

Waitrose need to be careful as apparently the great and good are often seen using an Aldi nowadays. Goodwood take note!

[Peter Mallett]

Um, am I the only one who doesn't give a stuff whether there are spectators or not? This is after all a race meeting. I'm possibly going to enter my car in a race (have actually) but if nobody watches I'm not sure I should care really.

[brands]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Um, am I the only one who doesn't give a stuff whether there are spectators or not?

Very few meetings give a stuff whether spectators are present or not.

However the other two Goodwood events certainly do

[john ruston]

If no one attends Peter there will not be a second artisans meeting.

It's a commercial meeting.

[Peter Mallett]

Understood john. It's just not that important for me. Crowds at the classic etc. Are important. But the moaning about cost of spectating at this one seems disproportionate.

[Mike Bell]

Peter, there will be 'moaning' (your word) about the cost of spectating at Silverstone Classic as well!

Before there is any suggestion of me knocking Goodwood, I am a great admirer of 'the brand' that has been created, have paid out of my own pocket to attend almost all the Revival meetings and a few FoS. (Usually clashes with racing.) But I have several non racing friends who are GRRC members, and not one of them is going to the Members meeting. Reasons- cost primarily, time of year, content.....

So I stand by my comment several pages ago, that IMHO they initially read the market wrong on this occasion. They will always get the cars, for reasons often discussed, but do need the spectators as well. I don't see that any event is above constructive criticism, which I hope is what I am offering!

[Peter Mallett]

I'm perfectly entitled to be grumpy!

[GORDON STREETER]

The price of a ticket is approximately half of my weekly state pension !

[simon drabble]

Gordon if you are reliant on your state pension even Al's bargain £11 would appear to be indulgent!
I think it is fair to say that a well oiled machine like Goodwood do not pluck figures out of the sky so whilst to some it might appear extravagant I am sure they will have conducted market research as to the pricing.
More interested to talk about the racing given this is a motor racing forum rather than price comparison site!!!

[midgetman]

There's more people on here affected by the spectator entry criteria than the racing Simon. If GW had gone to plan then most of us would not even have been allowed to watch so it doesn't matter a stuff what the racing is.

The fact that entry is gradually being opened up shows that clearly the marketing department did not get it right, market research notwithstanding.

[simon drabble]

I appreciate its not cheap but I am also confident that Goodwood will lay on the wow factor which as we all know includes more than just the racing.

Seen in that context the challenge is theirs to provide a spectacle worthy of the price. Of all the various promotors I think most would agree that previous form would suggest that they will put on something memorable.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

The price of a ticket is approximately half of my weekly state pension !

But It's only a third of your heating allowance and if you cover your swimming pool in the winter so you don't have to heat it you'll be quids in

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

But It's only a third of your heating allowance and if you cover your swimming pool in the winter so you don't have to heat it you'll be quids in

Don't forget I only get a hundred quid for my winter heating as Mrs S gets the other half, the swimming pool in Spain it's solar heated !

[Al Weyman]

All kicking off here (see Facebook link below) and Peter you may not be worried if there were spectators or not but it appears there wouldnt have been a meeting without the spectators so obviously the organisers were worried if there were spectators or not.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[Mike Bell]

Members indignant because the hoi polloi are now invited? Hoi polloi indignant because of the cost? Whoops. Just confirms my opinion of the initial marketing....

[Peter Mallett]

Al. We raced with SUNBAC without spectators as you know. We've also raced at big weekends with spectators. Whether they are there or not matters little to enjoying a good race.

[dwh43scale]

As a 'umble speccie and occasional snapper, Goodwood is vastly preferable to Silverstone, although if I was a driver I could certainly see the attraction of racing on the GP circuit.
Unless you are in a Car Club, a two day ticket to the Classic is curently £80 - not so far off the MM price - with the vastly inferior selection of close up photography spots that modern GP circuits demand. And have you seen what 90 minutes of Premiership football costs these days ?
I'm going for the racing; not fussed about the "houses" et al. I thought we might be able to leave dress codes behind though ... how strictly it is enforced is yet to be seen.

[Al Weyman]

I dont disagree Pete about racing infront of spectators or not it just appears in this case that the revenue from ticket sales was required.

[Peter Mallett]

It is required but there's little point in moaning about the cost of spectating if people weren't going to go anyway.

In the case of this event there's clearly a disconnect between what the members want and what the club wants. Otherwise the membership take up would have covered the costs.

However now that it is a lesser cost, will there be more people taking up the offer?

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Al. We raced with SUNBAC without spectators as you know. We've also raced at big weekends with spectators. Whether they are there or not matters little to enjoying a good race.

SUNBAC, that rings a bell and although I've raced with them I can't remember where
As for the crowds Peter, some drivers only race for the adulation they get and are disappointed if no one takes any notice of them.
As for them opening it up to the lower classes, their reason seems to be purely money orientated. I'm sure they could afford to carry the meeting for one year as a trial, after all if our own Claire and John can do this then the GRRC can manage it. If they want to save money then they could do away with the paid celebs as tbh I would want to go to see the cars not fancy names driving them.

[kipper]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

SUNBAC, that rings a bell and although I've raced with them I can't remember where ld

I think it would have been Silverstone.

[Peter Mallett]

It was.