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Sorry another question about taking the boat from Nice – I’m staying out at Frejus and was going to take the train as I have done before to Monaco. But was thinking it may be nice to drive to Nice then get the boat, does any one know what traffic would be like on the Sun morning and also if there is any parking near where the boat departs?
I’m all booked :-))))))) paid up last week for race day Upper T. Cant wait, only 6 weeks to go! I’m staying quite far up coast near Frejus (St Tropez direction) so will have to get up early for the train, but as I’m on holiday for 10 days it wont kill me lol. Hope to see some of you there :-)
Jon – last year there were loads of children at the event, some as young as 2/3 years old. I would say that general admission might not be so great for the Sunday as you have to sit around for hours to keep your seat for when the race starts. But why not look at a Grandstand seat, then you get a roving seat for Fri/Sat.
There is lots of other stuff going on around the track like bands etc in the “E” Zones, they also had things like bouncy castles at various points, although I’m not sure how much they cost to use.
I think on the whole you will have a great time with them, as long as you plan in advance, come prepared and chill out ; -) try and break up the sitting around and non-stop racing by trips to the E Zones, then fingers crossed they will let you enjoy the F1 without too much interuption. Then if all else fails, bribe them with lots of sweets!
@joetoml1n I’m not 100% sure but I think the seats run from A at the front to around T at the back. The seats numbers run from 1 (nearer vale) through to around 400 (nearer pit straight).
Last year seat 273 was far enough along to look directly up the pit straight, this year I’m in seat 237 and this is in front of the podium. I think this means that 189/190 will be dead centre of the stand, so you should see 1/2 off the pit straigh (inc start/finish line).
I’m only going from memory so please dont hold me to it, but where ever you sit your going to have a great view :-)
We decided to stay up coast rather than Barcelona. we are staying in Calella, which is a crappy sea side resort 40min drive from the track. As it’s the oppisite dircetion than Barcelona there is no real traffic and it’s easier to find parking. It’s also really cheap, we are staying in an all inclusive double room for a single person three nights £102!!! that’s a 4+ star hotel, there were 3 star even cheaper!
@lamo2741 £30 for flight!!! I hoped we would be able to get something like that, but ended up paying £80 with easyjet. We booked back in Oct last year, and the same flight is now going for £160!!
I’m all booked for the last test in Barcelona, fingers crossed it will be a bit warm and we will see a fair bit of car action as it’s the last test before Oz. Flying out first thing Thur and back on Sun evening, so should be at the track all 4 days. I’m not the least bit excited ;-P
@James – I took a cool box with me then every morning went and purchased a bag of ice from the camp site shop, put this in the cool box with your cans then by the time you get back in the evening you have cold cans.
@stustephens no where to charge stuff I’m afraid, I had big problems with my I phone last year, would charge for 15 minutes in my car but battery would be dead within the hour so I could tweet anyone.
Plenty of space on Thursday, they are still squeezing people in on Sat morning!
Right I’m all booked and paid, just mananged to get one of the last tickets for Club with camping at Woodlands lively, yay! see you all there :-)
If you just have a GA ticket (as I did last year) I would imagine that most people stay in the position they found for FP3 which I think starts at 10ish…..I got to a spot at the GA area near Becketts at 9:30ish and had a good spot for FP3, but I didnt feel well so upgraded my ticket for £40 so that I could have a roving grandstand ticket for the Sat…..as there are no reserved seats on Fri/Sat so people where even getting into grandstands around 90minutes before qualifying to get the best seat. As I was alone it meant I could turn up later as there is always single seats spare.
@Paul I can only comment on Woodlands as it’s the only site I have stayed in. I love it there! the entertainment is in a massive Big Top Tent with Films on earlier on the Thursday/Friday then going onto bands and DJ’s until around 1am….last year Eddie Jordan played with the band which was great. You can take you chairs and own beer to the tent which is great. Around the Big Top are around 5/6 vans selling food, everything from Burgers &Chips to fish, pies etc. Just round the corner is the Pub (more of a barn) you can only drink purchased drinks here but it was only £3/£3.50 per pint which I thought was ok, they also have entertainment on here some nights.
Last year new shower blocks were built and to be fair I never spent long waiting for the toilets/showers but that’s because I went late/early.
The complain I suppose most people will make about this campsite is the size and number of people, but that’s what I loved about it…..so what if I had to wait in line at the bar (never more than a few minutes)
The camp site is so big, that I’m sure it would take ages to walk to the main entrance from the back, but there is a tractor that does the rounds. I arrived on the Wed night and was around 7/8 minutes walk from the gate near stowe.
@th13teen I loved sitting at Luffield, the cars slow up to go round the corner so you get a really good look at them, then they excelerate away from you. There was not loads of overtaking, but in the rain some of the cars went off into the gravel.
I would say that if you are staying for three days, use the Friday to walk the whole way round the track. I felt the same as you last year and didnt really understand the viewing situation even though I knew the track layout. Start off early then watch practice and support races from lots of different spots and find the area that feels best for you (it’s a personal thing)
@th13teen There are lots more GA area’s than advertised, I really wanted to sit on the gravel between Club and the international pit straight last year but was told it was noy a GA area and must be left clear, however on the Sun it was packed! This area is as close as you will get to the international straight (if that’s the straight your talking about) due to all the stands.
The other straight (Hanger) has a GA area that runs the whole way along it from Becketts to Stowe, however this in reality is a raised bank that has a drop at the back of around 6/7ft. There is a path along this bank that most people use so that they can see action while walking, the path is only around 10ft wide so I would imagine on race day it gets packed very quickly.
Last year I went GA to Luffield, this area in paved steps and it was full at 6:15!!!! I got up at 4am walked to the closest gate for 5am, then when they opened the gates ran to my seat…. I got to the very front of Luffield and had a great seat, but as I tried to open my seat people were just forcing thier way in and it ended up very cramped and was a pain when it started to rain and everyone opened thier umbrellas!
I think GA is a great idea if you are prepared to get up early, the way I looked at it was that I had paid all that money to get in so I could handle getting up early one day (even though I didnt go to bed until 3:15am!) This year however I’m having a lie in and sitting in Club.
What ever you do your going to have an amazing weekend as the atmosphere is just something else. :-)
@OllyF1uk The shop stock’s everything you should need but at a price. As you would expect, you pay more at the onsite shop as it has a captive audiance. The shop has most camping stiff including BBQ’s, Chairs, Beds etc, then a food section and ice (much needed if you have no hook-up), then usual stuff like papers etc. As with the showers make sure you go early or last thing at night (shops open around 8am-7pm is I think) as the que can be massive. The shop is right next to the main entrance to the campsite.
Another option is to make a trip to Tesco in Buckingham once your all set up camp, it’s only around 15/20minutes drive (that’s on the Thur before the one way system is in place) and of course it’s much cheaper and has more to offer.
I may well see you around as I’m booked in to Woodlands again this year, cant wait :-)
People are still turning up at 4am on Saturday morning so dont worry if you are not going to be there until late Wed or Thur. Getting there early just means you will be closer to the entrance for the track, but dont worry if not as there is a small tractor/train that drives round the campsite and takes you to the entrance to the campsite which is only a few monutes walk from the gate at stowe corner.
