Is it worth going to see Formula 2 / GT Open / F3 Open at Brands Hatch?

[adam46]

I was just wondering if it was worth doing. Has anyone had any past experiences with any of these 3 series? The combination of all 3 events makes me think it's worth going, but I want to be sure it would provide bang for bucks since I (Despite being 13) have to pay for accomidation & admission. In addition I was wondering if 1.2K would be enough to get in & go to a hotel & also for merchandise. I don't need to know about brands as I was there for SuperLeague last year.

I'd appreciate any feedback as I am a bit of a novice to going to Car Racing.

Cheers!!

 

[lbsf1]

£1200 for it?

Lets add up costs.
Hotel (2 nights £60 at premier inn)
Tickets no more that £100
Merchandise you don't need more than £50.

So if you budgeted even half of what you said then it would be enough by miles.

I have seen some Formula renault/palmer audi. F3 is only a step up from that. I would say its worth going, Brands is a great curcuit however F3 isn't really amazing to watch. If you want to spend £1200 then go to the Grand prix, you could easily go to that for that point.

 

[Ardius]

£1200? Where does a 13 year old get money like that?

You are honestly mad to consider paying that for any sporting event, even F1 is far cheaper to go to. Even more so at your age.

You will find its pretty damn cheap to see GT/F3, I'd be surprised if you need more than £200 for the whole thing. It cost me £12 entry to see them at Oulton Park....

As for the event itself, yes its worth seeing it, especially if you are new to motorsport events. I haven't been to Brands, so I wouldn't know about the facilities, best spots, etc but I recommend you have a good look around during the events so you can see some of the paddock and watch the racing in different spots. This helps you learn where you prefer to watch for future events and personally I feel I've made the most of the experience.
I definitely suggest you visit the paddock at some point, being up close to the cars and mechanics as they work on the cars is half of the experience! The general bustle of the paddock is a great atmosphere too.

The GT run an hour-long endurance-style race whereas the F3 and F2 will run shorter sprint races. There should be support races included as well such as VW Cup, Caterham Championship or the Lotus Elise Trophy. Its all good fun and a good introduction into the many flavours of motor-racing (as well as a lesson in the various joys of engine sounds!). Its not worth £1200 though, but it is worth attending.
Personally I'd suggest trying to go to the BTCC races at Brands for a much bigger event and even more "bang for your buck".

If I was spending £1200 though, I would be going to the British Grand Prix, BTCC AND the GT/F3/F2. In fact, I am doing all 3 this year . I'm certainly not going to be spending that silly amount of money though! Why don't you find some way to travel to and from the event in one day rather than spending all this money on accomodation?

 

[Only_in_f1]

I'll be spending a silly amount of money attending every BTCC round this year so I wont make this one. But yes go and see some of the stars of the future.

 

[astrosdude91]

For about $1800? That's a pretty decent weekend pass at the F1 British GP. That sounds way more fun to me.

 

[Speedster502]

You could probably find a more interesting event to attend, I've seen F3 several times now as part of the British GT Championship and also at the FIA GT1 Silverstone round and every time I find myself being bored by it. If you have that much to spend, why not (as much as I hate to say it) go to F1 if your interested in single seater racing?

£1200 will get you a lot of events, last year I went to 8 events and this year I intend to be going to more this year (helps having a local race track). Infact £1200 would probably get me to all the events I want to go too this year.

 

[adam46]

£1200? Where does a 13 year old get money like that?

You are honestly mad to consider paying that for any sporting event, even F1 is far cheaper to go to. Even more so at your age.

You will find its pretty damn cheap to see GT/F3, I'd be surprised if you need more than £200 for the whole thing. It cost me £12 entry to see them at Oulton Park....

As for the event itself, yes its worth seeing it, especially if you are new to motorsport events. I haven't been to Brands, so I wouldn't know about the facilities, best spots, etc but I recommend you have a good look around during the events so you can see some of the paddock and watch the racing in different spots. This helps you learn where you prefer to watch for future events and personally I feel I've made the most of the experience.
I definitely suggest you visit the paddock at some point, being up close to the cars and mechanics as they work on the cars is half of the experience! The general bustle of the paddock is a great atmosphere too.

The GT run an hour-long endurance-style race whereas the F3 and F2 will run shorter sprint races. There should be support races included as well such as VW Cup, Caterham Championship or the Lotus Elise Trophy. Its all good fun and a good introduction into the many flavours of motor-racing (as well as a lesson in the various joys of engine sounds!). Its not worth £1200 though, but it is worth attending.
Personally I'd suggest trying to go to the BTCC races at Brands for a much bigger event and even more "bang for your buck".

If I was spending £1200 though, I would be going to the British Grand Prix, BTCC AND the GT/F3/F2. In fact, I am doing all 3 this year . I'm certainly not going to be spending that silly amount of money though! Why don't you find some way to travel to and from the event in one day rather than spending all this money on accomodation?

My first problem with going to more than one event is I'm going with my nan (who I live with) and she could only really do this once a year. £1200 is enough? Oops, I felt differently because when my mum took me to SF at Brands last year she claimed it was 1K, another lie from mum. Also I went to F1 in '08 at silverstone, which was ok, but I much prefer Brands Hatch. Another problem is my nan has problems driving at night, so we would need to stay until monday which means the event would have to come in the holidays (F2/GT/F3 Is on first weekend of summer holidays.

So reading this maybe I go to Brands this year, and then see the V8 F1's for the last time in Britain next year, before 1.6 4-Cylinder Turbo's come in to effect. Would that be worth doing?

And as for getting the money, washing cars & stuff like that & also helping out clean up the mess form the thatch roof that burnt down a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Ardius]

If you can only make one event, I'd suggest trying to make one of the BTCC events as it is immediately more enjoyable and interesting experience than the GT/F3. As others have said, F3 in particular can become a little dull to watch though I personally enjoyed it - its not everyone's cup of tea.

With the BTCC you get Formula Renault, Ginetta Juniors, Ginetta G50, Porsche Supercup along with it, so its much more value for money. You're also more likely to find the merchandise as its a bigger event.

Leave GT/F3/F2 for when you are older and you can make more events, its certainly special to see the future stars such as Daniel Ricciardo making their way from junior catgories and also to hear a racing Ferrari or Dodge Viper, but its not an event I would single out as "must-see".

 

[adam46]

Ok, I'll have to check when BTCC is on, the other problem is nan wont go beyond kent. How is DTM at brands?

 

[Speedster502]

BTCC is on at the Brands Indy Circuit on April 3rd and then goes to the Brands Hatch GP circuit on the 2nd of October. DTM is generally seen as pretty poor at Brands, they tend to only run the Indy Circuit (the shortest of the two) which doesn't make for the most exciting of races...

 

[Roo]

Single seaters at Brands tend to be fairly dull, apart from FFord. DTM is OK but the main draw is the performance and noise rather than the racing. Basically, if it relies on aerodynamic performance, it won't produce close racing at Brands Hatch, especially on the Indy circuit. Touring cars and racing trucks are the best things to see at BH. The sight of 5 tons of Mack truck drifting through Druids is not a sight I'll forget any time soon.

 

[Clark]

It can't be stressed enough how good the BTCC is to watch. I got to at least 3 race weekends every year as it's the best racing you'll see anywhere.

 

[adam46]

I think I'll do F2/GT OPEN/F3 & BTCC this year (since nan said only 2 then), and go to F1 next year for the last V8 powered British GP.

 

[lbsf1]

Or if you can't make it too the btcc then look if the wtcc is on again at brands. I saw that a couple of years ago, it was great ( esspecially the lada's ).

 

[Speedster502]

Or if you can't make it too the btcc then look if the wtcc is on again at brands. I saw that a couple of years ago, it was great ( esspecially the lada's ).

WTCC is on at Donington this year instead IIRC.

 

[boiltheocean]

WTCC is on at Donington this year

YESSSS! suckstobeyou From my experience at racing events which have hosted big GT, touring and old F1 cars on the same day I definitely got more enjoyment out of the GT and touring car races. The racing is closer and you can really see it when a driver starts to push the limits, ooh also the variety of noise is much better in GT and touring which adds to the experience greatly.

 

[Ardius]

WTCC is on at Donington this year instead IIRC.

Yup, and WTCC isn't looking very strong this year. RML and Chevrolet are likely to run away with it as manufacturer interest is low. There are plenty of independent teams but they are just not competitive enough.

BTCC is a little more even and this year features 10 different makes!

 

[Only_in_f1]

The BTCC Grid looks more exciting by the minute, and it isn't over yet

 

[Speedster502]

YESSSS! suckstobeyou From my experience at racing events which have hosted big GT, touring and old F1 cars on the same day I definitely got more enjoyment out of the GT and touring car races. The racing is closer and you can really see it when a driver starts to push the limits, ooh also the variety of noise is much better in GT and touring which adds to the experience greatly.

Haha, I'm hoping to make it to WTCC with my parents and relatives for our 'annual' motorsport event. Even if the field is relatively low, it should be interesting to see.

Completely agree with the sentiments on the GT/Touring Car discussion too, I can't get into single seater racing it's too same-y. Best racing I've ever seen in person has to be FIA GT, but in a close second place was a club sport event with MGB V8's. Was some of the closest racing I've ever seen! Proves that the high end racing isn't neccessarily the best. Also, the sounds of a GT event is one of my favourite elements. I would record some of the sounds if I could.