OK a quick one from me, As you know the Drivers in the Morning / All day sessions had to get to the track early. Last year we were welcomed with complimentary Tea and Coffee. This year first thing in the morning there was none I did not get any form of a drink until our lunch time break. I was a little worried about security for our belongings too, but as it turned out the Drivers marquee was OK to leave items in.
Also one other thing I find when driving in these events is it would be nice for the drivers to have a proper sink with soap to freshen up, the portable toilet sinks just do not work and as you are opening bonnets griping steering wheels, checking tyres and brake pads my face and hands by the end of the day were filthy.

Apart from those couple of things I thought the day was Great. I did get cautioned for a bit of over enthusiastic driving which was a fair comment, but when people were paying £50 for a ride and telling me to go as fast as possible you dont want to disappoint

Roll on 2012

one thing i came up with was the waiting cars to get in the pick up zone and the blue ribbon cars

i think all drivers should go to the car parks, which should be coned off for our use only for drop off and this would keep the back road area clear for the blues ribbons to be able to just go and park up straight away

put the blue ribbons on the right and the super cars on the left, less people walking over the pick up point and then a nice tidy que coming down the hill to pick people up

i also think the blue ribbon cars need there own feed in area, maybe in the drop off zone

these make a lot of money and the quicker the turn around the more they would earn


also i think we need more right hand bends on track, i found the oil in my rear axle moved over to the o/s rear corner, but i also understand that we need the long straights for passing



i also think 3 laps would be a lot better, but alas the downside is less cars on track at the same time

another problem is lunch

i actually stopped at 12.20 and had to wait to be served for 30 mins, then ran back to the car as i only saw a handfull of cars waiting for pick ups

maybe we could do a split of drivers at lunch, and the same with the guys helping people in there cars

but at the same time i understand how hard it is to fit everything in to work as well as it has

Surely, lack of Tea facilities wasn't a problem for you! A packet of wet wipes in the car are invaluable for oily hands....I never go out in Pedro without them!

Oh and....I believe I caught your gardening diversion on camera....how is the front splitter?


Likewise with the porta-loos though. They never have any water in for the sinks so hand washing is impossible and also most of them had run out of paper by lunch time and all had run out by packing up time........luckily I pocketed some when I saw how liitle was there at lunch.

Otherwise I thought it was an excellent day. The car loading and unloading operation did seem to be a lot more efficient than previous years aswell as the track entry and exit. As soon as the last car was off the track the first of the next session was out without a moments pause. I'm guessing from the fact that more rides became available at the end of the day and that you got through a lot more rides than expected this year. Which of course means more money raised so a big thumbs up to all those co-ordinating that area

My main issue of the day from the filming point of view, and I know many photographers will echo this, was that someone with a health and safety hat on - the bloke in the blue tabbard (Mike someone?) chased us away from trackside making it impossible for me to get the kind of shots I have in the previous 2 years videos. Apparently one particular person had got his back up when he cautioned him on safety at trackside by saying "I'll go where I want". The result was we were all chased away from trackside and told we could only film from one fenced off corner. A video shot all on the same corner of the track, all shot high enough to keep the barriers out of shot is not terribly exciting. We tried reasoning with him and explaining that most of us have vast amounts of experience working trackside (for my part working on the Formula one!) so are very aware of the dangers and how best to keep out of harms way. His response was that we should have signed a disclaimer form, as the drivers do. we were all happy to do so however he didn't have any of the neccessary forms, so his solution was "you can't go trackside". I reasoned that, I do this for a living, it's not a hobby, I'm fully aware of the risks, vast experience of motorsports and that I'd given up a days work to volunteer to film this for the charity, but was still penned in to the corner. I still managed to get some decent footage as i had a friend shooting the other end of the track who he agreed could stay there, plus I got some shots on the opposite side in the morning and I have the onboard camera footage so a compromise was acheived, definitely something that needs to be addressed for next year though as it was very restrictive! Happy to sign a disclaimer if thats needed but someone saying, you need to sign a form that I don't have, really isn't helpful.


I actually got a chance to see beyond the track this year as I had a few helpers myself (thankyou Mark, Cliff and Sophie) so i got some shots of some of the other things going on. The Ace Cafe stage looked great and the band who were on when I was there were very good. The stage/catering area was very well laid out, Stu noted that the sound from the stage didn't carry beyond that area but that's probably not a bad thing as it stops complaints from local residents.
The retro diner trailers looked great and went well with the style of the Ace stage. The Caterhams looked like great fun and were attracting big crowds as did the motorbike stunts.
I got quite excited at the prospect of a fire engine ride as the sign had a shirtless hunk with a big hose on it....a case of false advertising I feel as there was not a 6 pack in sight Still, the children seemed to be enjoying it and judging by the queue of people waiting, it was popular.

Just wondering, as I have a petrolhead mate who is a wheelchair user and a disabled brother who is a biker(trikes these days) who I will talk into coming along on of these days, What disabled facilites are there? Any priority parking or disabled loos? Didn't see anything. Not a gripe personally, just something I noticed which may put off anyone less able which would be a shame as it's a fundraiser for mentally and physically handicapped kiddies.

As part of the Mustang static display this year (and last year) I can say my family and I had a great day out. I thought the pit layout and ticket buying facilities were far better than last year. The layout of the stalls, food and other entertainment was also a vast improvement.
I think the only 2 negative points I have were the not so good car club display for whatever reason that was. I don't know if its because it was a Saturday and maybe work got in the way for some people or maybe even fuel prices affecting the choice of shows people attend. I guess that is beyond anyones control. Maybe if a few more stalls could be incouraged to attend would be good if possible.
Anyway we had a great time watching the cars on track and I think safe but enthusiastic driving should be encouraged as I'm sure no one would want endless parade laps. My son will remember his ride in Mark's Viper for the rest of his life so well done to you all.

We had a very enjoyable day. No major gripes whasoever. A couple of the bands were a tad too loud for me. But, as I'm old, I'll let that one slide.

One minor suggestion. If the hovercraft return next year, maybe there could be a small stand making people aware of the fact and selling ride tickets amongst the main body of the show. They looked rather forlon out there in the middle of the in-field and I think that many people were quite unaware of their existence.

Other than that, we didn't have to wait at all for our Blue ribbon rides, the choice of food was good and it didn't rain.

Roll on 2012.

A couple of minor points -

1/ Better Signposting around the track area is needed - I was asked a fair few times where the ticket tent etc was.

2/ A more powerful PA system (or more speakers) is needed - there were several points around the viewing area that you could not hear anything , not just because of the awesome engine noises (we like those) but sound dead areas.


As an outside suggestion , and I know it may be difficult to incorprate but some of the static display cars could be used (at slow speeds) in a mobile display on the circuit during the lunch break as a bit of variety with some commentary , say one every minute or so just to entertain and educate the public . Pedro would have to behave himself though and not leave any nasty oil slicks on the track.

the commentator this year was much better than the one last year. He seem to know more about the cars etc

.......but, but, how else do you think I catch all those awesome spins on video

ive had another idea after reading the above posts

re lunch time break, now why not use those static car shows,

these guys would love to do just a parade lap, for the pictures alone for there clubs, 10mph max and a photo all together

you could do 2 clubs at a time, one on each side of the club and use the run off before the last 2 bends to escort them back to there static display, and could even use a chairperson or 2 from each club to make sure there toe the line and make this happen without any issues


the static display cars have all payed to get in, have all made an effort to get there including there fuel costs and would make there day


just the thought they could say theve been around the top gear track would be a big thing for many

and it would fill an hour to allow all drivers to cool down

as i said earlier, i didnt even get a chance to get back to the drivers meeting or to play top trumps or even collect some top trumps or if there was any stickers in the drivers bag ? was there ?

just an idea not having a go but it would mean everyone would get a break


also you someone saying about spinnin, if we got real stuck and needed another way to fill the time, i saw a guy in a caterham doing donuts near the food stands, why not let him do some donuts in the last 2 bends in a figure of 8 kind of thing ?

Feedback.................. if only i could keep awake long enough to give any................ yesterday was a darn long day Just off for another power knap Feedback tomorrow

Just a couple of quick observations as a driver (and newbie to PN):-

i) I experienced cars bunching up going into corners (guess who was at the back) - there's no point going into the details here but as previously mentioned, when your paying guest wants you to go as fast as you possibly can, but can't because you need to give-way to slower traffic at a corner, you've no option but to slow down

ii) Also I second the comment that 2 laps seems a very short trip

Ade.

That is a good idea, not sure about the 10mph bit............to slow I think. I should think it might be hard from a logistic point of view getting the cars on track safely with the public walking around. Got to be an idea to think about I imagine.

Ok things I noticed/heard said from other helpers. Splitting the supercar and blue riband car queues was an excellent idea and worked very well. Though a bit more signage to differentiate the queues and where they are would be good as some people were in the wrong queue.

Having food and drink in the pit area was very good as it meant that the helpers could get some lunch and a drink to keep them going. Loos near the pit area was very handy, although some in an area only accessible to drivers/helpers could be an idea. This would give drivers a chance to wash hands etc and take a break if needed.

The only problem I had on the day was registering as a volunteer. Myself and some others got sent in circles as the people doing the signing in didn't know where we should go to sign in. This was a very minor thing in the day.

For the blue riband cars it would be useful to have a list of what cars there are and for which sessions. I got asked more than once if particular cars that I had not seen were acailable. It would also mean that getting them in the correct area would be easier, as the people directing the cars in the pick up area do not necessarily know what cars go in to what categories.

Was a brilliant day and the only comments as a spectator have already been said, which is signage and an extra flying lap. Also love the idea of having a rolling display for the clubs, maybe a pace lap by the S4 support car?