Donington ELMS

[Gamla Hairpin]

After many years of spectating at venues all around the country I think I've finally gone mad...Why have I bought a weekend ticket in advance (£30 plus booking fee) to watch 13 cars circulate for 6 hours on Sunday?? The LMP2 cars will be a spectacle but the novelty will quickly wear off. I fully admit to knowing full well what I've let myself in for and, as someone who has nothing else better to do it will be a way of occupying the day, but this surely must be on the verge of being one of the most unwatchable events ever in the UK.
When bad races/meetings happen you say to yourself, "well I've seen worse" and move on but I reckon I'll have seen the worst by Sunday evening.
I hope to be proved wrong and it turns out to be a great race, but this is a race that should have either been cancelled, reduced in length or spectators let in for free.

[Alfaholic]

What about breaking the day up by having a wander around the Grand Prix collection? I don't know about this event, but in the past a race day ticket allowed free or discounted entry to the collection during certain meetings - otherwise it's only a £8 fee.

[Gamla Hairpin]

Thanks for the advice Alfaholic but I did spend all weekend trackside for the ELMS at Donington. It was a test of endurance and stamina and that was just watching. I have to say that it wasn't as bad as first feared with the only saving grace being the LMP2 machinery on show as they are fantastic cars to watch.
My mood wasn't helped by spending £5 on a programme that had no entry list for the SPEED Euroseries, did have an entry list for the Caterham Academy but with no numbers and ELMS and Pre'66 saloon entry lists that required a lot of alteration. I could have gone to race control for time sheets but that was another £10 to enter that part of the paddock. Having spent a grand total of £35+ so far, I was anxious to peruse the vast array of food/drink outlets dotted around the circuit...oh sorry there weren't any outside the paddock.The first rule of spectating is bring your own food, the second rule of spectating is bring your own food. I now understand why Donington put on free shuttle buses so they could scoop up fans who were starving and deposit them back to the paddock. I could swear that the shuttle buses did more laps than the very slow No.40 Formula Le Mans car.... At times as a paying spectator you think why bother but I keep coming back for more, as despite it all, it's the on track action that matters most.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Gamla Hairpin

My mood wasn't helped by spending £5 on a programme that had no entry list for the SPEED Euroseries,

A 13 car 6 hour race and then SPEED? That's painful. I think SPEED had 9 cars on the Brands GP loop on the one occasion I've seen it (8 cars after the first lap). It's the only time I've ever fallen asleep at a race meeting. I have to admit if I'd seen the entrylist for Donington I wouldn't even have considered going - I've enjoyed the GT racing I've seen this year but 13 cars for 6 hours doesn't really sound like fun (especially as the support races weren't great either).

[grantp]

To give them their due they sounded noisier than 13 cars.

I thought to check for some live timing near the end only to discover that there had been a live video stream! Doh! Watched the last 3 laps but had to go off to do other things once the podium ceremony was under way.

At least the weather was OK.

The shuttle bus sounds like a sensible idea. If the attendance is not great any caterers around the track might struggle to make it worth the effort - probably cost more to turn up than they would make.

[Gamla Hairpin]

As the European Le Mans Series has now been cancelled for the year (and possibly for ever) I feel as though I witnessed a bit of history. It's not the first time and definitely won't be the last time that one can say "I saw the last ever race for......." It reminded me of witnessing the first and what turned out to be the only Interactive Sportscar Round at Donington in 2001.
In these difficult financial times, one dreads to think of how many thousands of pounds were spent over the weekend for the sake of a 13 car, 6 hour race that turned out to be pointless.