not a very healthy sign for sure . . . sounding like another Turkey in the making.. Carol from f1 live: Less than 30 percent of the tickets for the forthcoming European Grand Prix have been sold, organisers of the Valencia street race have admitted. The inaugural event in the Spanish port city, with an attendance capacity of 112,000, was nearly sold out last year. But with only one month to go until the 2009 edition, chief organiser Carlos Garcia revealed that ticket sales this time are not going well. "It is not the best situation. We are content with the rhythm of sales and hope to reach 80 or 90 percent, although at the moment we have about 30,000 sold," he said. "We must not forget that many tickets are sold abroad and many bookings are made by internet at the last moment," Garcia added.
Cool! If I don't like my seats (like last time in Canada) I'll just buy a new one. Glad I get to see the race before they axe it. I'm not surprised however: They added this race for the Spanish fans. Well with the lousy Renault this year, there is not much they can cheer for.
Raising my hand. That "container yard" is one of the most beautiful road tracks ever designed as it used to be host of the Admiral's cup, the world's most prestigious yacht race. As for the parading, well you can have that on almost any track these days. How many F1 races have you seen live? The experience for the on site audience is very different than that for the TV viewers. Amenities, logistics, a neat town in the back is a lot more important than what's going on on the track because you normally get to see only a fraction of it anyway. Point in case: Monza allows for passing, yet having been there was one of my most boring experiences. As a Ferrari fan nonetheless. Fact is that (sadly) most F1 fans are chauvinists. The 2nd Spanish race was added after Barcelona sold out due to Alonso's success. This year he won't win anything and therefore the Spaniards are not going to Valencia anymore. Simple as that.
That, and spain being one of the countries being most affected by the economic crisis might have something to do with it.
+1. If alonso gets a good result tomorrow I'm sure the ticket sales will double. Spanish people are very patriotic. If no Spaniard is doing any good in F1 the tickets won't sell, the races won't be viewed and so on. Right now i'm watching GP2 and the only reason its popular here is because their teams are pretty succesful.
I hate that attitude. The Spanish are no exception. The Germans were the same with MS and the Brits with Hami. To me it should be about supporting your fav driver, irrespective of the country he is from. Yes I'm proud of "my" country's driver(s), but that should come long after anything else. Point in case I much rather cheer for Alonso or Kimi than for Buemi.
Forgetting about the setting, Valencia has got to be one of the worst tracks on the calendar. Major snoozefest.
Again there is a huge difference whether you experience it on site or on TV. And this thread is about the ticket sales, therefore the folks on site. And to them the track layout is a lot less important than the setting it is in.
are you staying in Valencia near the port perhaps??? thinking of maybe going to the America's Cup in February 2010 and Alinghi picks city and it's possible that they could go with Valencia again since so much is already invested in the port facilities.... thanks for any info Carol
Actually staying in the old town in a "niche" hotel. I'll report back how good/bad it was. Should be decent though. I can probably walk to the track.
thanks - much appreciated - would be looking to walk to the port (no rental car - potential parking issues) Carol
Hi! Two facts explain the poor sales in Spain. 1.- The economical crisis, so the people is a bit resilient to spend money on highly priced tickets (compared with averaged salary here in Spain). 2.- The poor results Alonso is getting, so lots of newcomers to F1 are loosing interest... Regards, Alvaro.
Why do you think Alonso is doing so good this weekend. Has the poll and will probably be on the podium. Its the show boys....get used to it.
IMO folk like/dislike drivers for numerous reasons, so it's a bit more complex. My own case example, I would go to a see a F1 race without Brits driving not a problem. I was a fan of Mika H over any Brit, but I didn't drive a Ferrari then, but now this has a bearing on it for me. I have always liked Mclaren cars looks wise I suppose not always the drivers, same as with Ferrari. Loved what Ross B has done this year. I love Ferrari cars, really like LH as a driver, really admire FA, supported him in Spain 1st time round with Renault, whilst wearing a JB BAR shirt! both exciting to watch, really rate Vettel, really like to see a past underdog to do well = Button. I don't have an outright favorite driver, and I don't really dislike any driver, for me it's an amalgam of things, just can't get my head round anyone that has a totally biased blinkered support of any driver beyond reason, and vise visa with dislike.
Good post Steve and I feel exactly the same. I don't mind what reason anyone has for being a fan of a particular driver or team, it's all legitimate. You might support a driver because he once gave you an autograph or you might support him because he is from your own country, both perfectly legitimate reasons - as long as in the latter case you are not motivated by rampant nationalism and a hate for anything outside your own country. The important thing is to keep your support for your driver/team in perspective, I just cannot understand how anyone can 'hate' any driver or team.