OT: F1 Atmosphere

Hi All

Just reading morbid's post about going through withdrawal has inspired me.

I just went for a quick blast down to Albert Park to check on things and I have to say I just love riding around the circuit while they're building it.

Most of the stands are up and the signage is being painted. Huge piles
of gravel are waiting to be raked out into the gravel traps. You can just
_feel_ the excitement.

And I love it when the weekend race starts and you can see tracks through
the gravel where cars have gone off, and the next morning they're all
freshly painted and raked again

It amazes me how quickly they get the circuit ready these days. In 1996 it
took around 3 months to build it. Now it takes about four or five weeks.

Does anyone else live near a street circuit and get to see it built up
in the weeks before a race?


Less than three weeks to go! Woohooooo!!!!!

Cheers
-Nick

That must be really cool - how far (or I should say how close!) are you from Albert Park? I'd love to be able to go for a ride on my bike around a GP circuit as it is being constructed. Unfortunately Silverstone is a full-purpose race track, not using any streets... etc, so I can't pop up to the track for a ride around, and have nothing to boast about! :p

However, me and my bro. often drive up to watch F1 testing for free :D We usually stand at Luffield or the exit to Luffield, because you can no longer get down to Maggotts/Becketts/Hangar Straight/Stowe It's great because there are ussually few people around, so if you don't have pit passes you can still sometimes get into the paddock if the guard is nice :D Or if he isn't you walk in behind a big van :D




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That's what I should have done today instead of mowing the lawn
Alex, your comment about the big van cracked me up, it's always good to put one over somebody isnt it

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

:D - and you have the sense of acheivement to go with it




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I live about 7kms from Albert Park, which is well within cycling distance.
(Actually I rode 70kms last SUnday on by bike)

But today I was on my motorbike - I jus stopped by the park because
I was in the area anyway.


Ahhhh....the grass is always greener isn't it? I'd love to be able to
go and watch F1 tests

Cheers
-Nick

hey alex why cant you get down to becketts or stowe in testing?

anyway you are wrong about that alex, you can just go walk round silverstone, ive done it often, apart from at the grandprix every year we have freinds who live in the village (actually its right off the datford road next to the main feeder road) and offen when we go to visit them we have been to walk the track its fantastic walking the track also Nick i know the feeling as a couple of years ive been to race meatings at silverstone a few weeks before the race, and all the preperations are going on, stands being put up, ads painted or made, it really puts you in the mood and gives you an atmosphere, personally when ever i go to silverstone, that always cold, windy open place its special even more so when in "national/club" mode with no extra stands etc, fantastic :D

I envy you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yo Sup

You lucky sods!! I live up in cold wet, but very beautiful Scotland, the only race track we have is knockhill and to explain how much of a 'joke' the track is the lep record is held by a go-kart and an F1 car was unable to beat the record!




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

Reading this post REALLY made me sad. I remember the old days in Adelaide. Watching the track take shape in the city. The loss of the Adelaide Race really affected people here and I still get excited when I drive past the old circuit. I'm over it now (pretty much) but here is a story I

Pfff....Alex and Nick, you have no idea how lucky you are living so close to a circuit!

I've driven around the Albert Park circuit too....family holiday to visit relatives in Melbourne a few years ago was the obvious opportunity to go driving around Albert Park! I was amazed just to stand on the grid there and see all the tyre marks still there a few months after the F1 guys had put them there. Absolutely amazing. I also stood on the podium...

Over here, we have Kirkistown, which is miles and miles and miles away, but Eddie Irvine raced there as a youngster. His parents live about 10 miles from me.

No good F1 tracks, though! There was an old circuit up at Dundrod, where they used to have TT races, but I don't know what state it's in. I just know that Fangio raced there in the 1950s, so it's obviously hallowed tarmac

Yo Sup

I REALLY want to go live in Australia now! Its freezing cold up here in Scotland, we just had hurricane force winds a few weeks ago, theres slight floodgin in the south of the city, and all you lot celeberate Xmas around the swimming pool and it never snows, your lucky! AND you get a Grand Prix

grrr....

Ellis2kX




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

I live about the same distance as Nick from Albert Park, about 10 minutes drive away. The thing you should envy me for is that my school is about 10 minutes walk away from the track, well within sound distance! It is a buzz in the middle of class on the Friday when practice is on because you hear them screaming, you cant concentrate. I sometimes ride around the track or the Lake as well, it is a great place.

Ozzy

Stop it you're making me cry!

Mind you, im probably the closest to goodwood :D

Yo Sup

:'

why do i live in scotland and not beside an F1 track?

:'




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

"it is a buzz in the middle of class on the Friday"

Oh man, that is too cool What I wouldn't give to have the scream of an F1 engine breaking the boring ramblings of Arthur Miller.....




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I quite enjoyed studying Arthur Miller, actually!

I'd also enjoy hearing the sounds of a wailing V10, though!

"I quite enjoyed studying Arthur Miller, actually!"

So did MM (at least for quite some time)

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

Nick, 70ks? yr as mad as I am, I either have to catch the train with my bike or put the rack on the car, I'll go check out the track next weekend, I was going to do the st kilda festival and the track today but it's pissing down ;-/
might even be a wet race the way the weather is lol

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Yo Sup

"it's pissing down "

nah nah, come to Scotalnd and see some REAL rain!! heehee




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

Wow this thread has really grown overnight !


This week has been good, mortal - 207kms in total.


To Zscott - I have plenty of idea how lucky I am. Imagine how I felt
when we got the news that Albert Park was getting an F1 race.

I work in the Melbourne CBD which is only about 5kms or so from Albert Park and you can clearly hear the F1 cars from there. Although I haven't actually experienced that because I've been to every F1 session at Albert Park since 1996.

It's funny when people complain about the noise - I reckon it's music

ANother thing I forgot - quite often you get to see drivers around the track in the few days before the race weekend starts. Normally the park is open
to the public (no cars allowed though) up until the Tuesday before the race.
Normally there's a few drivers checking out the track. I've seen Jarno Trulli
jogging around it. Just before Button's debut he was there being driven around in aa BMW Z3 (and nobody knew who he was, except us

I even saw Ralf by chance ata nearby hotel, getting into a taxi. Yes, I'll admit it here, we followed him in my car and he went out to Vlado's steak restaurant in Richmond. I think that makes me a stalker

For Ozzy Eagle, you might be interested to know, there's a restaurant in
Church St, Richmond called The Gate. When the timezones are right, they show F1 on StarTV cable. I've been there for the past couple of years to watch qualifying and the race for Malaysia and Suzuka. It's much better than the absolute crap Channel 9 coverage.

How I wish for Digital TV

BTW, anyone tried Phillip Island for GP3 yet? I had a quick look and it
looks great, except that I think it's a bit too flat, but I couldn't even manage to do a crap job of it myself so I'm not complaining.

Another tip for Ozzy Eagle - on 23rd and 24th of this month there is some
historic racing on at Phillip Island. I went last year and they have lots
of old touring cars like old AUssie V8s, minis, capris, MGs, cortinas etc.
But they also have old 60's F2 and FTasman cars as well as 70s F1 cars.
Last year they had Michele Alboreto's 1985 Ferrari 1.5l turbo doing some demo laps. It's well worth a visit, and only about $25 for a weekend ticket, and you get to go into the pits and geta close up look.

Anyway, I think this post is big enough now.

Cheers
-Nick