Autosport International

[tator2001uk]

Anyone spotted any promo codes for the NEC weekend?

£100 by the time driven, parked, fueled and got in is a bit of a dear day but any savings to even take a relative in cheap is a good start :-)

[chunder]

Been there, done it when it was good, not a trade show that they charge you insane prices for.

Will never go again. Simple

They dont do promo codes anymore

[MGDavid]

£5 discount for MSA licence holders...

[S griffin]

I might go again, I enjoyed my first visit in January, so I'll have to ask my brother, as he seemed up for doing it again

[old man]

Strange lack of publicity about the show this year. Usually the Autosport website has lots of pieces about who or what is going to be there but very little this year. I don't buy the hard copy every week anymore but got the F1 review on December 8th and no mention in there at all.

Have they lost interest in the event?

[mark_l]

Originally Posted by old man

Strange lack of publicity about the show this year. Usually the Autosport website has lots of pieces about who or what is going to be there but very little this year. I don't buy the hard copy every week anymore but got the F1 review on December 8th and no mention in there at all.

Have they lost interest in the event?

I have seen lots of information/publicity about Autosport International this year, however with the purchase of Haymarket motorsport section by Motorsport Network we will have to wait and see if the show remains in Birmingham in the future.

The show has evolved a lot over the years, and will continue to evolve but I think Motorsport Network will take a couple of years to understand what they have acquired, and how that fits in with their vision of the future.

Motorsport Network do seem to be cash rich at the moment having bought a stake in Formula E, where this spending will end, who knows?.

I can see some rationalisation of resources, they are running 2 weekly motorsport print publications at a time when print media is in steep decline. I can see this situation changing in 2017.

As for online coverage, they have 2 sites that are largely duplicating stories. It is telling that Autosport.com is now starting to mention news originally reported on Motorsport.com, almost pointing its readers to Motorsport.com. Can this situation continue?, only time will tell.

I have bought only 3 hard copies of Autosport and Motorsport News this year, I kind of lost interest in Autosport when they changed the layout, leading with the main feature and relegating news to page no. 20 or so, and when they started covering motorbikes. I have also not renewed my online subscription to autosport.com and cannot see myself ever renewing it.

It will be interesting when attending the show this week to see what presence Motorsport Network has regards branding etc.

[geordiecriag101]

Had a canny day at the NEC yesterday for the annual trip to ASI. Compared to last few years it felt less busy and by the time i left at half 5 most of the stands were busy packing up and sum were already closed for the day. One thing that i did notice was there was a lot more empty floor space in places and the stands seamed to be spaced more apart.

Anyway here's my pics from the day and vid from the live action arena :

https://www.flickr.com/photos/geordi...57677441776931

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrOzl3nq1C0

[chunder]

I think you will find fella that a hell of a lot of punters and potential stand people alike simply can't afford it now.

They will be paying more for that wider stand space too. But if people keep going and their margins get ever larger, they won't change, why would they? I certainly wouldn't when I can keep charging 40 quid a ticket and tens of thousands turn up.

If you look on their woeful facebook feeds, the vast majority of people wanting to go are kids, people my sort of age simply realise it is not worth it.

Such a shame, as it could be a brilliant way to start the year, vibrant, full of like minded people. But it has just turned into a trade show cash cow.

[bella]

i went on saturday for the first time in a long while. the problem remains that you can't buy a ticket without the live action show. personally, i think the trade ticket price is the acceptable one to pay, the difference between that and the public one just shows that the public are being shafted.

anyway. even though i work with racing cars and see a lot of them it was actually really good to see some different ones. i love the lmp2 and lmp3 cars, in a world of nonsense they're proper racing cars. and i enjoyed looking at areas of the sport i wouldn't have the opportunity to look at otherwise.

about just how busy it is.... well when i arrived at about midday it was absolutely heaving. i was actually surprised it was that busy. and there was all sorts of people there, from the real enthusiasts to the casual enthusiasts.

it's not a go every year religiously thing but it's good to go every few years or so. i think if you view it as an annual event and try and justify the cost you're not going to get very far.

and i saw a wide range of ages there, and a wide range of ages. i think a lot of people are industry, there to meet people and make contacts, and the show does a reasonable job of making it appeal to both them and the public.

[VIVA GT]

I went (as usual) on Thursday and enjoyed a look around. Fortunately as it was 'work' the parking ticket was paid for as was my entrance.
I thought the show was noticeably smaller (well, less crowded) than previous years, but again, this seems to be a continuing trend, the advantage being that it made getting around far more easier.
There were a few interesting displays to look at, plus it was interesting to see the latest BTCC and Rally Cars close up, but really I spent most of my time there seeing old friends or networking.
The show has changed noticeably over the last 25 years or so, due to the interweb there's very little actual 'news' to be learned at the show, plus, there's not the 'need' to go to the show and buy your new helmet/gloves/seatbelts or even car anymore so it has had to change to a more showbizzy event (things like the Live Action Arena) to appeal to a bigger/different audience (more Top Gear/Grand Tour viewers than true enthusiasts) but that gets people through the door.

[VIVA GT]

To continue on from my last post. I see the Autosports Engineering Show (only run Thursday & Friday) as closer to the old traditional Racing Car Show of old, but without the helmet & overalls sellers...

[bella]

back in the day one of the family companies used to exhibit at some of the classic car shows. it wasn't so much about getting new customers there and then, it was hosting a pretty car and handing out brochures and awareness. the internet wasn't so googlable (it's totally a word) back then, so getting something in potential clients hands and on their desk was an important part.

now i think it's still about that, particularly if you're selling something tangiable like pedals or gearboxes or that kind of thing, but it's mostly an off-season opportunity to catch up with contacts you wouldn't necessarily call up, and to see if there's any business opportunities, actual or potential. i think the word of mouth nature of motorsport employment and business is vastly underestimated, and that's why it survives when the public may see little use for it beyond an opportunity to see cars and collect posters.

on another note, and i'm not sure how to address this without perhaps using problematic terms, but travelling to and from and at the show i encountered a lot of people with various learning difficulties and different needs for whom it's clearly a very important event. i imagine attending races can sometimes be beyond comfort for a lot of fans, and the show gives them an opportunity to see and photograph cars in the flesh without the risk of being overwhelmed or unable to cope. it's far easier to get to the nec by public transport than it is to all of the circuits in the uk, so it's one of the few opportunities non-drivers get to be fully independant.

our sport has lots of different enthusiasts from different background and who get different things from it than we do and i think it's easy to forget that sometimes.

[chunder]

The NEC is a trade show. It never used to be, it used to be more about fans with a trade show tacked on.

Now it is really only a trade show, and the people running it have realised that there is a market for off season race fans to pay extortionate amounts of money to stand in halls and be given leaflets. Add endure Terry chuffing Grant for the 10th time of their life.

There should be a clear option to not attend the live section as that is the same every year nearly and any excuse to NOT have to listen to David Croft has to be taken.

If it was 25 quid or something I would probably go every few years. But at that price with the parking it is simply way, way overpriced. A lot of the people there are industry and for them it is trade, meet and greet, look at what the competition is doing. Trade shows are always expensive for the public for obvious reasons, but this is supposed to be about the public lol!

For the rest it is something to do, yet for some reason they pay more to go there than any other race meeting other than grandee ones.

I worked there once, well worked is not quite right. A helped write a yearbook for a friend. Asked to get in free but was told no. So went anyway, paid to get in and worked on the stand all day handing out fixtures, big events posters, rolling them all up into bundles, answering questions, only to find out the hoy palloy of the sport where doing nothing but criticising what we were trying to do, hadn't paid to get in, had a hotel for three days, had a bar tab to boot and did nothing to help all weekend.

Why would they when idiots like me were doing it for free you say. Suffice to say that weekend ended my involvement with trying to help that sport.

I have never understood the public and I clearly never will! lol

[bella]

Originally Posted by chunder

Add endure Terry chuffing Grant for the 10th time of their life.

funnily enough that terry grant thing is exactly what we said as well, fair play to him for continually making money for old rope but it IS old rope once you've seen him at the live action arena and a few btcc races (does he still do those?).

Originally Posted by chunder

If it was 25 quid or something I would probably go every few years. But at that price with the parking it is simply way, way overpriced.

agree - like i say, the trade price at about £28 is right. i refused to pay for parking so gave my money to the train companies, parked at a localish station and caught a train there instead. marginally cheaper but much more satisfying than just handing the £12 over to the nec blindly!

Originally Posted by chunder

Why would they when idiots like me were doing it for free you say. Suffice to say that weekend ended my involvement with trying to help that sport.

had a few experiences like that. relying on free bodies without covering their expenses at least is no way to do busines. everyone's goodwill runs out eventually. i prefer to help friends now, not bosses. if they can't see the value in what you do and won't put their hand in their (corporate) pocket to make your life easier, they aren't friends.

[NaBUru38]

I would love to see that kind of events in South America.

But I think that it would make more sense to have racing, like Bologna. Even a karting race would make a difference.

[mark_l]

I noticed this year that the amount of 'features' has increased again ,Lotus 49, Historic Formula Ford, Williams.

The Williams feature took up the space of about 4 large stands.

The aisles keep getting wider every year, meaning it looks/feels less crowded, but is a sign there are less stands. I think the attendance figures for the public days were in the region of Saturday 18,000 and Sunday 13,000.

The stands that exhibitors are taking are smaller, Dunlop could fit there tyre arch on the stand this year due to the stand size, although it didn't help that the stand builders couldn't read the plans and built it incorrectly.

[chunder]

I hope that once fans start voting with their feet something might be done with this event.

It could be a fantastic event, that celebrates what we have in the UK, such a diverse love of motorsport.

Instead it is nothing more than a target the captive audience off season cash cow.

Typical, but very sad and rather embarrassing for a country so steeped in motorsport success.

[Sodemo]

I went twice, one in 1997 and in 1999. I think back then I paid about 15 quid to get in, which is kinda about right I think. I flat out refuse to pay whatever outrageous asking price it is now, is it about £35-40? I'd rather go to another race meeting during the year if the costs are that high to attend a glorified trade show.

[chunder]

Lol and you live very locally, imagine forking out 20 to 30 quid on fuel, the rather inhumane parking fee and you are looking at a day more expensive than BSB, BTCC, only the bigger international meetings are dearer.

That is plainly wrong in anyones book surely. Yet nothing changes.

Time to vote with your feet people. for once in your lives.