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Post by 911legend on Sept 22, 2006 19:44:57 GMT
just signed on to ask the question thats been on my mind for a few years! -what does the future hold for aintree?
i first drove there about 1988 in a formula ford run by the race driving school, got the bug and attended my first trackday there in 1993, then moved to my first sprint there in 1994, and i try to drive there at least once a year since, even if its not part of my championship. ,also managed 3 laps of the full circuit behind the pace car at the festival in 2004.
over the years ive watched other tracks grow stronger, with lottery grants curborough and tycroes have improved their facilities while aintree has lost paddock space to the golfers and the sprint track has been shortened for safety reasons and a new row of houses being built down railway straight which must cause noise problems for the future. . while other tracks have managed to cash in on the groth of trackdays it seems aintree has only a limited number of dates available. unfortunately mays event clashed with anglesey sprint weekend and next weeks trackday clashes with new brighton rally.
the final straw must have been the new grandstand being built over the old grand prix circuit , so no chance of running the full circuit. by now any other club would have crumbled but thank goodness a small band of enthusiasts have managed to keep this little bit of history running! but what will happen when they retire?
so with the help of some advertisments and free coverage on the internet whats the chances of a full calender of trackdays? im sure the ferrari, tvr, and porsche club would fill a midweek day on their own when they find out about the 130mph straight.
it must be difficult working with aintree racecourse and golf club ,but i dream of a club with hundreds of members, a good income from trackdays, a racing driver school and race car experience days, a new chicane being built on railway straight to keep people safe and reintroduce another bend, an improved clubhouse, wooden decking on the startline for spectators, oh and what about a rallycross course down the middle! ok it may never happen, but just wondered how much could be done in years to come?
on another subject, i keep meaning to come to a clubnight but wondered why the liverpool motor club dont meet in liverpool?
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Post by sprintman on Sept 23, 2006 9:47:05 GMT
Currently the future is in the hands of the Jockey Club.
It was sad to see the new Grandstand built on the old GP course BUT using the full circuit was never going to happen as the costs involved in resurfacing alone would have been prohibitive, never mind the cost of bringing the safety up to modern day standards!
There are lots of developments currently going on at the venue and it is a question of watching & waiting.
It would be fabulous to have loads of trackdays, extra sprints and all the other things you mentioned BUT it isn't going to happen. We will have to fight to keep what we have now and we must continue to make the most of the facilities that are there.
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Post by 911legend on Sept 24, 2006 17:11:32 GMT
ill keep watching dates for next year, and will promote events on other forums so they should be well attended........
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Post by speedsport on Oct 7, 2006 21:55:39 GMT
The main obstacle to greater use of Aintree for motorsport is the Golf Course.
Every time we (or the motorcycle club) run an event the whole golf facility has to be closed for the day. So between the two club's events, we already close the golf for 11 days a year. The Racecourse Co (ARCo) feel that they already lose too much business due to motorsport, indeed they say that Saturdays are now their worst day for income in the summer months as people wont turn up on spec to play as they dont know if the place is likely to be open. Maybe they need to advertise things a little more clearly!
As for expanding the place for car racing, it's never going to happen. To gain a track licence for racing would require a phenominal amount of work, starting with ARMCO barriers right around the outside of the circuit (or the removal of all the Grand National Jumps), all spectaor areas to be moved back from the track (which will spoil the atmosphere), removal of virtually all bushes & trees (great, we could do with that anyway), and 50% of the track resurfacing....... unless someone had got a couple of £million to spare?
Oh yes, and ARCo are planning to enlarge the Golf Course to 18 holes with work starting in 2007. This will mean a further loss of paddock as 3 tees & greens will be in the area around Club Corner & part of the paddock.
It would be great to have the place available for more events though. It seems such a shame to have the facility lying idle for 354 day a year doesn't it?
Ah well, we shall keep going for as long as we can.
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Post by 911legend on Oct 8, 2006 19:45:41 GMT
i was thinking a midweek trackday with 70 cars would bring more income than a few golfers but hey i dont have the numbers to compare........
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Post by sprintman on Oct 9, 2006 9:02:56 GMT
Oh yes, and ARCo are planning to enlarge the Golf Course to 18 holes with work starting in 2007. This will mean a further loss of paddock as 3 tees & greens will be in the area around Club Corner & part of the paddock. Mind you the removal of the fence between Railway Straight and the start will mean the possibility of a TWO LAP sprint as this is the main cause of MSA objections! ;D |
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Post by dennisdoyle on Oct 9, 2006 14:41:25 GMT
How likely do you think a 2-lapper is? Obviously all competitors would love the course to be doubled if not trebled in length + some running on warm tyres. Would the start move back to the current holding area, even onto the bend in from tne paddock?
I guess one penalty might be accepting only 2 timed runs?
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Post by sprintman on Oct 9, 2006 15:44:46 GMT
Would the start move back to the current holding area, even onto the bend in from tne paddock? I guess one penalty might be accepting only 2 timed runs? When previously run the start was tucked away down the access road from the paddock. As for 'only two timed runs' don't forget the one and three quarter lap format will mean with two practice and two timed runs the mileage completed will be greater than seven of the current 'single lap' runs! So as far as value for money goes the double lapper SHOULD provide a lot better returns for competitors than the current three quarter lap format. The question then for the club would be how many entries could they accept for a double lap format? ;D |
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Post by dennisdoyle on Oct 9, 2006 16:06:12 GMT
Agreed, it would be both better value & more fun. How many cars you could fit on simultaneously & safely requires a bit of thought & I guess depends on whether they are Goulds or Micras.
Thinks ... would there be any safe window in which you could start behind Roy Dawson?
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Post by sprintman on Oct 10, 2006 8:34:50 GMT
Agreed, it would be both better value & more fun. How many cars you could fit on simultaneously & safely requires a bit of thought & I guess depends on whether they are Goulds or Micras. Thinks ... would there be any safe window in which you could start behind Roy Dawson? I would have thought it would be safe to set the number of cars on track at THREE. Obviously the Course Controller would have to monitor where cars were and it may well be with the Over Two litres that it is down to two cars on track. At some venues they like to grade drivers and set them off in batches of similar performance. Therefore when I did Lydden putting my Elan in with the Over 1600 Racing Cars (which incidentally did include Roy Dawson) was somewhat over optimistic! It would also require the Timekeepers to have at least 5 clocks operational as when Batch A are on their second lap it would be possible to send out one or even two cars before all three have finished! It does indeed need careful thought, thankfully there are a lot of clubs already operating two lap formats and will be only too willing to offer advice. ;D |
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Post by sprintman on Oct 11, 2006 12:35:18 GMT
Further to the question of 'How many cars could you fit on track?' I have revisited some data provided by clubs that already do this and the closest model to Aintree in respect of speeds and approximate lap times would be Knockhill where they can have "Up to 4 Cars on track at any one time". I have also done some calculations on the numbers of cars that could be accomodated and given that there would be (a) two practice runs, (b) two timed runs, and (c) A Top Twelve Run-off I have come up with the magic number of 120. All in all I think this should be seen as POTENTIALLY a positive move. However there will be cost implications for the club and before rushing head-long into this we need to look closely at what benefits the club will get from this expenditure.  |
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Post by dennisdoyle on Oct 11, 2006 16:33:39 GMT
Indeed - not to be taken lightly. Apart from the cost of doing the required works there's a reduction of ~20% in entries (& entry fee revenues unless there is a corresponding rise in such fees).
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Post by sprintman on Oct 11, 2006 16:40:42 GMT
Indeed - not to be taken lightly. Apart from the cost of doing the required works there's a reduction of ~20% in entries (& entry fee revenues unless there is a corresponding rise in such fees). To maintain a neutral revenue stream I estimate that the Entry Fees would have to be raised by no more than £12:00. Obviously we also have to take into account any other rises in costs but they would be incurred even if we didn't introduce a two lap sprint. |
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Post by speedsport on Oct 11, 2006 23:27:03 GMT
MSA only allow us 3 cars on track at the moment.... they say that in view of speeds involved, they dont want cars to get anywhere near to each other!
On a 2 lapper, what happens if a car catches another? Is the quicker car's run aborted or is overtaking allowed?
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Post by dennisdoyle on Oct 12, 2006 7:21:16 GMT
On a 2 lapper if you catch someone up you get a re-run. Absolutely no overtaking - it's one of thethings which keeps sprints relativey safe.
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