Hmm now this really is a tricky one as I think we’re comparing apples and pears.
The weekender was in its first year but obviously organisation experience from the gathering showed through.
The venue for the weekender (Goodwood) is undoubtedly better than the gathering (Shelsley Walsh). Nicely laid out on flat ground compared to up and down hill calf (of the leg variety rather than bovine) training of SW.
I would also say the quality of cars were better at the weekender (or was that because they’re better displayed on race tarmac or golden gravel?)
Quantity of cars were about equal between the two as far as I could tell.
The big draw for the gathering for me is that the weekender felt more like a “show” and the gathering feels more like a collection of car club meets.
What that means for me is that at the weekender the quality cars I saw I also see regularly on the car show circuit throughout the season and I only expect this to increase next year when word spreads more and people read reviews from this year in magazines and on line. So I’ll be like “oh that’s nice I saw that at players” or “ooh I liked that 3 week’s ago at Japfest” I’ll have another look.
Whereas at the gathering I’ll see a club stand for a local mini / dolomite / bmw / buggies / Citroen / etc club or a club stand for a variety car club like young classic drivers club or Worcester retro or various others and I’ll see cars that I love that I wouldn’t normally see at a car show because they’re not perfect or they’re not in the scene but they go because their car club has their annual get together there. So yes there’s repetitions there but usually because I saw it there the year before and that something has either progressed or my memory is such that I want to look at it again because it’s a year on rather than a few weeks on. This car club gathering mentality gives it bags of community spirit which to be fair was carried nicely into the weekender but that’s probably because I’d guess that 90% of campers at the weekender were gathering regulars.
Now obviously there’s lots of space to play with so maybe in future more car clubs will start to have get togethers at the weekender too but the gathering helps in that it is in the Midlands so attracts people from further North - this could be even better if it was in Staffordshire maybe - not because I live here it just may help in attracting north west people down m6 and north east people down m1 and a38. Not that I can think of a location from top of my head apart from hednesford hills raceway but that’s an oval / 8 and don’t think they hire it out and there’s no camping and it’s probably too small. Maybe Donington but that’s too far East.
Apologies I digress.
Right onto the racing comparisons. I don’t compete because I’m yellow and not afraid to say it but I do get a temptation to trundle my Acty up the hill for the fun of it at RRG but wouldn’t dream of it at RRW for fear of holding up others. So RRG racing has a more of an ad-lib give it a go novice feel to it than the RRW racing but again going back to the venue as a spectator / very amateur photographer it’s much better to watch the racing at goodwood from various points / angles but what you’re seeing is more samey samey than at the gathering with the exception of dick dastardly obviously.
I haven’t helped at all have I?
Go to both.
The weekender for the venue and the gathering for the community spirit / variety.
The weekender was in its first year but obviously organisation experience from the gathering showed through.
The venue for the weekender (Goodwood) is undoubtedly better than the gathering (Shelsley Walsh). Nicely laid out on flat ground compared to up and down hill calf (of the leg variety rather than bovine) training of SW.
I would also say the quality of cars were better at the weekender (or was that because they’re better displayed on race tarmac or golden gravel?)
Quantity of cars were about equal between the two as far as I could tell.
The big draw for the gathering for me is that the weekender felt more like a “show” and the gathering feels more like a collection of car club meets.
What that means for me is that at the weekender the quality cars I saw I also see regularly on the car show circuit throughout the season and I only expect this to increase next year when word spreads more and people read reviews from this year in magazines and on line. So I’ll be like “oh that’s nice I saw that at players” or “ooh I liked that 3 week’s ago at Japfest” I’ll have another look.
Whereas at the gathering I’ll see a club stand for a local mini / dolomite / bmw / buggies / Citroen / etc club or a club stand for a variety car club like young classic drivers club or Worcester retro or various others and I’ll see cars that I love that I wouldn’t normally see at a car show because they’re not perfect or they’re not in the scene but they go because their car club has their annual get together there. So yes there’s repetitions there but usually because I saw it there the year before and that something has either progressed or my memory is such that I want to look at it again because it’s a year on rather than a few weeks on. This car club gathering mentality gives it bags of community spirit which to be fair was carried nicely into the weekender but that’s probably because I’d guess that 90% of campers at the weekender were gathering regulars.
Now obviously there’s lots of space to play with so maybe in future more car clubs will start to have get togethers at the weekender too but the gathering helps in that it is in the Midlands so attracts people from further North - this could be even better if it was in Staffordshire maybe - not because I live here it just may help in attracting north west people down m6 and north east people down m1 and a38. Not that I can think of a location from top of my head apart from hednesford hills raceway but that’s an oval / 8 and don’t think they hire it out and there’s no camping and it’s probably too small. Maybe Donington but that’s too far East.
Apologies I digress.
Right onto the racing comparisons. I don’t compete because I’m yellow and not afraid to say it but I do get a temptation to trundle my Acty up the hill for the fun of it at RRG but wouldn’t dream of it at RRW for fear of holding up others. So RRG racing has a more of an ad-lib give it a go novice feel to it than the RRW racing but again going back to the venue as a spectator / very amateur photographer it’s much better to watch the racing at goodwood from various points / angles but what you’re seeing is more samey samey than at the gathering with the exception of dick dastardly obviously.
I haven’t helped at all have I?
Go to both.
The weekender for the venue and the gathering for the community spirit / variety.
