I went to the European Grand Prix this year. It was only my second ever race (first being Silverstone 2007), and a trip which I arranged a month beforehand. I was able to get a cheap Easyjet flight direct into Valencia (sharing with Eddie Jordan), stay in a hostel in the city centre (clean, cheap and in the heart of the city), and a 3 day grandstand pass for the end of the first sector. One of the best weekends of my life! Not only was the F1 race out of this world with an incredible home atmosphere, but the Sunday GP2 race was amazing too. The grandstand was so close to the track, and as you can see from the photos, I got very close to the drivers on the Sunday, and was able to extensively walk the track the following Monday evening. A phenomenal race, and for a sport which can often be quite distant for fans, it was brilliant to see some of my heroes close up. A great city too, and I’m really sad to not be able to return next year!
The photo album is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbodonnell/sets/72157632156127492
Additionally, I video blog under the alias of WildebeestTV. Honestly, this was not some of my best work, but I think the 4th part will be of interest to many people. I walked around the track the day after the event, which was cool given the context of the stories I’d watched the previous day, and it’s just strange to walk around a deserted F1 track – it felt so abandoned!
The whole 4 part playlist is here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3CF09AA9D1F3E2B3
