Quote:
Originally posted by danieljboys
Am I the only one here that is going to abstain from going the Festival of Speed now? Over the past couple of years I have found that the event has become a victim of it's own success. Back in the mid 90's you could just wander anywhere amongst the cars, talk to any of the drivers and not get crushed in the crowds.
Now all the drivers of note are surrounded by bodyguards and the attitude of the crowd whenever Montoya was walking around last year (or the year before, I can't remember) was beyond a joke and in the end they just kept him in the driver's restaurant area. Also, you can't walk around any of the shops and stalls without someone coming up and hassling you to sign up for a credit card or a magazine subscription. The September race meetings are definitely my preference now which is a shame because as a teenager I used to look forward to the FoS and save my money to spend there etc. etc.
Nowhere near as good as it used to be :-(
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I can understand what you mean, but it's not a total loss. The current well-known stars are bound to be body-guarded no matter where they go, but may of the other well-know drivers are just milling about.
Last year I said hi to Derek Bell as he wandered past, shook Ricardo Patrese's hand, waved to Murray as he went past on a golf-cart, went to see Allan McNish with his Sportscar and accidentally bumped into Louise Goodman as I rounded a Toyota truck.
It's great to see the drivers and the people involved in other aspects just wandering about the same as everyone else. It's still a great day out.
The only problem is that because it has become so popular, the place is just insane on a Sunday.