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Autosport International - a thing of the past?


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#1 Disgrace

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 11:53

I've only just realised that it was on. It used to be livestreamed, but this is no more. It used to be where we would hear a flurry of announcements for the upcoming season.

 

There appears to be no related content on the website. One or two reviews online seem to suggest that it's very quiet. Has anybody been recently?



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#2 IrvTheSwerve

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 12:14

Very quiet there this year.



#3 P123

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 12:54

Strange that nothing is on the website, but seems to be no longer the place for driver interviews and car launches, so nothing newsworthy coming from it.  A quick google search shows a lot of sim stuff and some live action stuff, so perhaps those are the main draws now.

 

The F1 launch thing in London probably stole some if it's thunder. 



#4 Collombin

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 13:08

Yes.

#5 ensign14

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 13:47

Live show is the problem.  There used to be tickets under £20 for the static show.  But they now foist the live show and double the price.  I can't be doing with it.

 

Plus it's FA Cup 3rd round weekend which basically took up Saturday.



#6 FirstnameLastname

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 14:28

I saw something saying they are only using ‘2 halls’ at the venue this year. I’ve never been, so don’t know what that means… but apparently it’s a shadow of its former self

#7 PayasYouRace

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 14:35

When I went in 2020 they were using five or six halls. I went along with some navy people who were competing in the Armed Forces Race Challenge. They had a couple of their cars on display in one of the back halls. Good excuse to go there for free. I’ll see if I can find some photos of the day.

 

I was there on the trade days so it was fairly quiet. Decent excuse to chat up one of the BTCC grid girls, who was a midwife in her day job.



#8 Mark A

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 15:10

Didn’t go this year, last time was 2 years ago for work, so primarily in the engineering side, and thought it was poor and a shadow of its former self. I used to go years ago, and have exhibited there with a race series used to help run.

 

Looks like it hasn’t improved, or even worse.

 

A good example of how poor it’s become is the key exhibitors, in the past all the big players exhibited, taking tyres, Avon, Dunlop, Falken, Maxis, Michelin, Pirelli, Yokohama all exhibited, none of them are there now. I can remember having a meeting with Ohlins who had a huge stand, now from their pictures on the socials it’s tiny.



#9 Collombin

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 15:12

The last time it was really good was about 2006, lots of halls being used, lots of cars on show, tons of stalls, several WDC drivers around etc. Within a decade the price had doubled and the size of the show halved. I did visit again in 2020 just to see if it had improved but it was worse than ever.

#10 ensign14

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 15:51

Might also be a sign of problems in motor sport in general.  The monomarque monomania in every ladder formula is stifling independent thought and the size of the market.  In 2000 you could have a score of cars in each of British, German, Italian, and French F3.  Now there's basically the anaemic Euroseries and that's it.



#11 PayasYouRace

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 17:01

Found them.

 

IMG-4651.jpg IMG-4615.jpg IMG-4617.jpg IMG-4618.jpg IMG-4619.jpg IMG-4620.jpg IMG-4621.jpg IMG-4623.jpg IMG-4624.jpg IMG-4625.jpg IMG-4626.jpg IMG-4627.jpg IMG-4628.jpg IMG-4629.jpg IMG-4630.jpg IMG-4631.jpg IMG-4632.jpg IMG-4633.jpg IMG-4634.jpg IMG-4635.jpg IMG-4636.jpg IMG-4637.jpg IMG-4638.jpg IMG-4639.jpg IMG-4640.jpg IMG-4641.jpg IMG-4642.jpg IMG-4643.jpg IMG-4645.jpg IMG-4647.jpg https://i.ibb.co/1QSMSHy/IMG-4648.jpg https://i.ibb.co/LSG1sXD/IMG-4649.jpg https://i.ibb.co/R6CPfBC/IMG-4650.jpg



#12 FirstnameLastname

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 17:08

And the sexy midwife?

#13 DW46

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 17:14

Some fab machines there PAYR.

#14 Mark A

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 21:11

The one with the Elise was our stand, I’m not in the background, but one of our drivers and officials is, Martin Donnelly. Yes that Martin Donnelly. Far right.



#15 PayasYouRace

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 22:43

The one with the Elise was our stand, I’m not in the background, but one of our drivers and officials is, Martin Donnelly. Yes that Martin Donnelly. Far right.

I’d never have known. I only took a picture of it because it reminded me of mine that I’d only recently part exchanged.



#16 loki

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 00:59

Very quiet there this year.

That's because of all the EVs….  :rotfl:  :rotfl:



#17 Mark A

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 08:40

I’d never have known. I only took a picture of it because it reminded me of mine that I’d only recently part exchanged.

Martin came along to one of our rounds to hand out trophies and ended up a year later competing in the series, which for what was a grid of mostly 1st time racers and all amateur's to race against an Ex-F1 driver was great for them all.

Then, in later years when he was the F1 drivers steward, he was ours as well, no-one argued :rotfl: 

He's such a nice guy and to a lot of the drivers and organisers has become a friend.



#18 PayasYouRace

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 11:49

Martin came along to one of our rounds to hand out trophies and ended up a year later competing in the series, which for what was a grid of mostly 1st time racers and all amateur's to race against an Ex-F1 driver was great for them all.

Then, in later years when he was the F1 drivers steward, he was ours as well, no-one argued :rotfl:

He's such a nice guy and to a lot of the drivers and organisers has become a friend.


I wonder how he’d feel about autographing a 1990 Spanish Grand Prix race programme.

#19 B Squared

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 11:58

I wonder how he’d feel about autographing a 1990 Spanish Grand Prix race programme.

I gladly talk about my near death experience at the 1986 Michigan 500, but I only missed a year of work due to the injuries which were nowhere in the same realm as his. I wouldn't see why he wouldn't sign the race program from that date, I have faith that race drivers are likely mentally tougher the most of society.

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#20 Risil

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 14:11

Is the show still run by Haymarket? I forget the terms of which parts of Autosport the folks in Florida did and didn't buy.



#21 jonpollak

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 14:12


Has anybody been recently?

Not for over 20 years.
 
My first one was in 1995 when I was invited by Leo Mehl to light 72 Formula One cars for Goodyear in a display that took up an entire hall of the NEC (sorry no pictures of that as I was on a 20' ladder the entire time).
 
Then is successive years I would go as It used to be a great place to do your 'networking' for the next season.
I would always meet up with Anne Bradshaw to discuss "pick up" jobs and such.
My favorite was getting John Surtees to his appointed destination while he sang "Get me to the church on time"
Post Show was the GrandPrixParty at Albert Hall  I was tasked with wrangling the Con Rod's (Damon and Paul Stewart's band) and Bryan Herta's attempt at being Johnny Rotten. Poor Bryan couldn't hit a spike mark to save his ass. We had to show him 3 times where the light was. He was almost as bad at it as Art Garfunkel :stoned:
 
Then back to the NEC for the Autosport Awards show the next year ( which you can find HERE if you haven't dropped off to sleep or gone to some other thread by now.)
 
Jp