66 replies to this topic

[2F-001]

(who designed GRDs?)

Jo Marquart, I think. At least to begin with - don't know if was there until the end or not.

[RS250]

Further to Giraffes earlier post regarding Tiff Needells return to (Historic) F/Ford, the Lotus 69F is apparently the actual Autosport prize winning car and will be debuting at the Thruxton Historic Festival over Easter weekend.
Tiff is also trying to convince Jody Scheckter to join him in the Magic Merlyn.....

[Rudernst]

I was able to go to the Race Retro on Sunday unexpectedly due to a sudden change of plans on the day after the POM.

It was very nice to see so many friends after the winter break.

I agree that is is mainly a trade show and that the appeal to the general public is limited if You are not actively involved in Historic Racing.
As a trade show it worked well for me.
I managed to get all the stuff that I need for next season, sometimes at a wellcome show discount.
And generally got good advice or demonstrations or a try out for everything that wanted.
shopping this way beats the internet.

some of the displays were quite interesting but would not have justified the entry price for me.
On the other hand, I saved 10 times the entry fee in discounts

I did get in free, would have bugged me no end if had have to pay to see my own car.
I have to say that the people in the organisers office were very friendly and helpfull and sorted my entry wristband in no time.

I wont travel over specifically for this show, but Id go again if happened to be in the UK at the same time.

Rudolf

Edited by Rudernst, 25 February 2013 - 22:18.

[PWD700]

Hi, all. just my thoughts on this years race retro show.

The 2nd time for me at the show, paid the £25 at the gate on saturaday ( bad weather put us off getting a early bird ticket ), arrived at 9.50, parked up and had a 1 miles walk to the hall 1 door. hot and stuffy inside halls 1,2 and 3 , but dark and frezzeing cold in the autojumble hall. top end prices for the escort diffs,wheels and parts i buy and sell, but did do a bulk buy deal on some seats. very little parts getting sold due to high prices, cold conditions and a small crowd.

As a big jim clarke fan, liked all the lotus cars and thought the lotus 19 on the" crosthwatie and gariner" stand was the star of the show for me, as being in the "raw " is how i like them. also was nice to see the hillman imps. thought the ex- jim clarke overalls should have gone to duns, but its a free country.

The live group b rally stage is my main reason for going, and was as good as last year. ford escorts , 6r4, v8 vauxhall magum, sumbeam lotus, 911 etc etc.... does not get any better!.

Now a moan.

The food and drink was nice, but to dear and to crowded ( the food stands in hall 4 were empty all day because of the cold.). to many trade stands selling over priced books,photos,ties,leather jackets,£5k gearboxs,race and road cars, chorme shiny things ETC ETC...
to warrant a £25 entry price. heating or lack of any. car parks to far away.

but it is still 100 times better than the autosport show at the NEC ( which i would not go to again,even if you paid me!).

SO i will be going next year, and as it is 3 weeks to the 1st sprint of the season, its a good start to the motorsport year. HAVE A GOOD SEASON ALL OF YOU. PAUL.

[Giraffe]

As a big jim clarke fan, liked all the lotus cars and thought the lotus 19 on the" crosthwatie and gariner" stand was the star of the show for me, as being in the "raw " is how i like them.

Hmm, not that big a Jim fan, it would appear...... However, I did enjoy the Lotus 19.

[bill p]

I liked the 19 as well! Here's a view showing the "Queerbox" etc



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[simonlewisbooks]

I hadn't taken a stand at this event since 2005 and found it almost a carbon copy of that show some 7 years on. Very little had changed except there used to be a motorcycle trial or auto test demo in the freezer...sorry in the autojumble hall. There was a wall of death as well. Not now. Otherwise it didn't look as if any progress has been made, which is disappointing.

One concern (among several, which I won't go into here) - did anyone notice an actual fire exit or a fire exit sign in hall 3?
I was there for 4 days but maybe I wasn't looking in the right place? Normally you cannot fail to see such signs in public buildings. Dozens of them....

[Peter Morley]

The organisers of another annual show that used to be at Stoneleigh have moved to the East of England Showground near Peterborough.
It is apparently a much newer facility with modern features such as heating and I'm told was rated favourably by those who attended.
Perhaps someone could suggest to the organisers that they look at an alternative venue?

[Derwent Motorsport]

It's not an ideal venue in many ways but it is central and the organisers fun four shows on successive weeks so there is no bought some savings there.
I don't know why they do not tackle some of the simple issues like signage on the site and insude. I am sure some heating could be added to the autojumble. I had to visit in three 20 minute session to avoid being forzen. I am sure the cold cut sales. If you had a warm coat it was too hot in Hall 1, warm in Hall 2, cool in Hall 3 and freezing in Hall 4! Are there not other halls they can use.
I go every year on the friday but the current organisers eem to lack a knowledge of motorsport and a sense of dynamics. What happened to the autotests, the wall of death, the trials etc? They need to spend some money on new and different attractions to keep people coming back.
I notice the number of clubs seesm to drop each year. The involvement of HERO seems to have scared off the other rally clubs like CRA & HRCR. The orgnaisers need to realise that a club stand is costly, not just in the actual stand but also because the volunteers have to stay over for at least three nights (or in a rota). We (NESCRO) had a stand for 3 years and it was just too much in terms of time, effort and cost to our team. On the other hand the Show needs the clubs and the displays to fill the halls. This year there were a few gaps oand things were a bit more spaced out as well.

[Stephen W]

I notice the number of clubs seesm to drop each year. The involvement of HERO seems to have scared off the other rally clubs like CRA & HRCR. The orgnaisers need to realise that a club stand is costly, not just in the actual stand but also because the volunteers have to stay over for at least three nights (or in a rota). We (NESCRO) had a stand for 3 years and it was just too much in terms of time, effort and cost to our team. On the other hand the Show needs the clubs and the displays to fill the halls. This year there were a few gaps oand things were a bit more spaced out as well.

I suspect the main reason there has been a fall-off in the number of clubs attending is due to the increased costs of having a stand weighed against the number of new members signed up each year. A similar problem has hit CPOP as it seems to be a universal lack of understanding with organisers not realising that the clubs actually take economics into account!

[simonlewisbooks]

I have to say the venue, Stoneleigh, is a bit of a tip. The unsurfaced access road for exhibitors (first left before the main gate) was like the surface of the moon, rattling the stock around in your car/van/trailer and doing no end of 'good' to suspension etc. Given how often the place(and so that road itself) is used and for how many years, thats a bloody pathetic situation.
Several years ago the access was over a grassy field which was so muddy it required a degree of sustained forward momentum to achieve a safe crossing.
The place is a maze of roads and yet they send the heaviest traffic over the very worst (or non existant) ones .
The public parking has always been too remote - and sometimes subject to a fee, which was a scandal in itself. Why? There is masses of space!
The heating as has been mentioned so often was extremely variable - we were told there was a thermostat to switch it off in hall 3 when it got warm, but then it had to be manually switched on again (sometime 2 hours had passed before that happened) and in 4 days I only saw any of the organisers when dropping off press releases in their office. They didn't seem to venture out amongst the unwashed masses very much.
There are other issues in general about this show which REALLY need to be addressed as it's doing itself no favours with those of us on either side of the counter, who make it pay.

[Dino246]

I totally agree with you, Simon. Given that Stoneleigh is supposed to be the nation's leading showground it really is grim. In fairness we didn't have a problem getting in, out or parking on Friday, but were greatly amused by watching an elderly steward insisting that the Range Rover ahead of us park in a space that was barely wide enought to take my little Citroen C3. Compared with previous visits we did feel that the show lacked something, or perhaps we have just got used to seeing all the great cars at other events.

There are certainly better showgrounds. Exeter Westpoint, from our point of view, would be an excellent venue. Its just a mile off the M5, has wide tarmac roads and plenty of parking close to the main exhibition hall plus several hotels, travel lodges etc fairly nearby. Alas it would not be central enough for the majority of visitors, a pity as we don't get that much motorsport down this way.

I worked on a stand at Stoneleigh ten years back when the British Speedway Show was held there on three occasions. Then we were in the main hall, everyone came in through the main gate, and I don't recall any problems, but then we weren't out in the cattle shed freezer!

O/T it was nice to meet you Simon and I am really enjoying my copy of Long Forgotten Races.


Tony Lethbridge

[cdrewett]

Hi, all. just my thoughts on this years race retro show.
As a big jim clarke fan, liked all the lotus cars and thought the lotus 19 on the" crosthwatie and gariner" stand was the star of the show for me, as being in the "raw " is how i like them. also was nice to see the hillman imps. thought the ex- jim clarke overalls should have gone to duns, but its a free country.

PAUL.

Paul
as a big Jim Clark fan, you might spell his name right. Sorry to be pedantic but he was one of my heroes.
Chris

[simonlewisbooks]

!

O/T it was nice to meet you Simon and I am really enjoying my copy of Long Forgotten Races.


Tony Lethbridge

Very good to meet you too Tony and reminisce about Exeter Speedway!

Glad you liked the book.
Still a few copies of the original FORGOTTEN RACES in stock - VERRRRRRY hard to find these days.
End of shameless commercial plug....

Actually by far the best aspect of RACE RETRO was catching up with old friends and putting faces to names for TNFr's !

[arttidesco]

Actually by far the best aspect of RACE RETRO was catching up with old friends and putting faces to names for TNFr's !

[RS2000]

we don't get that much motorsport down this way.

SW gets more than its fair share, many would say, especially with speed events (which then discourage "outsiders" with vehicle/class regs that differ from everyone else's...)

[PWD700]

To Giraffe and cdrewett, plus any one else, i apologize for miss spelling the great mans name.

Paul.