Quote Originally Posted by Habu View Post
As a member of the paying public, I was disappointed at the quantity of cars in some of the fields, compared to previous Festivals I have attended. Was it because Kumeu was on the same weekend, was it because Taupo was the week before, or was it because the focus was for a marque? I dont have the answers to any of the questions, but I will admit that this years festival didnt appear to have the same kind of "vibe" that every other I have been to had.

I read on another website this morning that the crowd yesterday (incidently the only day I went, or will be going), was said to be the largest so far? I noted a lack of trade support relative to other years, and the timetable was a bit slow.

Dont get me wrong, I appreciate the massive effort to promote and run this event and I know we are damn lucky to have an event like this in NZ. But I was still disappopinted, given the price to attend, the fact that its the only motor racing event I take my teenage son too, and that some classes were appearing a little thin for quantity, or depth of vehicle content.

Oh yeah, yes I've raced, and I know what it takes to prepare and run an older vehicle, and have assisted with promoting and running motorsport events previously..........just saying
Hi Habu.
As one of the directors of the Festival, I can tell you that we think long and hard about the upcoming Festival and try to make each year a bigger and better 'circus'. The competitor entry was down, noticeably the BMW's, but the new class of Sports Sedans added many interesting cars. Next week there will be three new classes, including Formula Libre. The Taupo round the weekend before does impact on the Festival, but HRC has many competitors asking for that event, so what do we do? There were more trade stands than last year, positioned down the wall where the spectators come in. Ray mentioned that some classic and historic events are free for spectators, but these are the low profile events that cater solely for the competitors. All HRC events are marketed and advertised to try to build up classic and historic racing and a gate charge is made to cover these costs. We are trying to build up motorsport overall, firstly by building a circuit and then promoting race meetings to the public. I know the $40 entry charge is at the upper level, but early bird and online purchasing is cheaper. (V8 Supercars are considerably more expensive). My wife and I went to the movies the other night the other night and paid $17 each for a two hour film - 8 hours of motorsport is much better value! I think we have learnt that both competitors and spectators are fickle and we definitely cannot please them all, but I guess we will keep trying!