Discussion: Your First Trackside Experience

[RaceWasGood]

Must have been at a folkrace in the late 1970's The race was held at a local gravel/sandpit just a few kilometers outside my hometown. If you're not familiar with folkrace you can check the facts on wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folkrace

The first F1 race experienced on location was the 2008 European GP in Barcelona where Kimi conveniently enough took the pole and won the race

 

[adriandiaz19]

My first race experience on a race track was in the circuit of Cheste, near from Valencia in Spain. The event was a race from the Seat Leon Eurocup or something like that. The year was maybe 2010 or 2009, I don't remember it correctly.
It was a nice experience to hear for the first time a race car engine and see those car racing.

 

[MSKbeans]

Long ago in a time before gatso.
My dad was a banger-racer so my first race, i was about 5 so 45 years ago, 1972 lolol.
But he raced jaguars and i got my first taste when i was 6. I sat on his lap, crash helmet on, 4 point harness around the both of us. He did the pedals i had the wheel. All he said was NOW!!!! As he burried the throttle, my eyes opened really wide as we were only just going into the corner,
Sideways doing 80mph at 6years old.
20 minutes later could'nt move my arms for all the counter-steering.
I started racing Moto-X at 14, oil for blood at that age.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Sideways doing 80mph at 6years old.

Now that is exceptional! That needs adding as quote of the day when Bram is back in office on Monday! Sweet!

@Bram I'll remind you on Monday!

 

[Tom Blackett]

Mallory park for some sort of club racing. Best would have to be Cart @ Rockingham (UK) in 2001, yes those things were scarily fast as said above.

 

[Kubica2012]

The first event for me was WTCC in 2012 on Hungaroring. It was a nice and sunny day and l never forget how everyone screamed "Nor-bi" together after he won Race 1, as l remember it was his first WTCC win so it was really special and an awesome experience

 

[HoiHman]

My first trackside experience was in the weekend of 8 mei 1982 on Circuit Zolder. It was the tragic weekend that Gilles Villeneuve died.

I was 12 years old. When we were at the entrance, we heard the that there was free admission up to 12 years. So i got in free. We walked to the paddock, there you needed special tickets, unless you were younger than 12.

Once we were in the paddock we went up to the pits building. Another special ticket needed, but my nephew and i got in for free. 1,5 hours later we managed to squeez to the front off the pittbuilding, just before the race started. From there we could see the start and all the pitstops below.

We watched the entire race from the best place available for free. Tickets for seats like that are now way above my pay grade.

After the race we saw a lot of people were running towards the good year trucks. So we followed.

There they were handing out the used Good Year slick tires to the public. For free.

We went home with 2 rear slicks tied on the roof of the car. Eventhough it was a tragic weekend with the dead of Gilles Villeneuve in qualifying, for us personally it was the best trackside experience a kid could ever have.

 

[Jefferson Costa]

Mine was in 2015 at Tarumã for the Endurance Brasil championship, invited by a MetalMoro employee that was my colleague in another job. Weather was pretty unstable that day, with rain coming in sparse moments, enough to make everybody go to pits on Lap 1 of a 3-hour race. We didn't care about that and watched the start from the fast Turn 1, which is one of the best experiences I had on a racetrack. Of course I was also happy like a kid by watching the MR18 and the GT3 Gallardos in person.

After that a lot of things happened as a regular spectator of the events of the track, including entering in the winning car of the 2015 12 Hours of Tarumã, and next week I'll be able to see the debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 R in Brazilian lands right here.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Christ don't let Bernie read your post @HoiHman , he'd probably keel over with all that free stuff

 

[pjlee1998]

Mine would technically be a round of the 1997 European Motorcycle Championship from Vallelunga - I wasn't born yet but I existed! The championship was won by Davide Bulega, a name you might know from his son Nicolo who competes in Moto3 at the moment.

After I was born it would probably be a race my dad was competing in (probably at Aintree, Anglesey or Three Sisters) and then the next major one would be the 2000 Italian MotoGP race at Mugello - I was only 2 and met Mick Doohan.

I've also only been to one (from memory) car event at Oulton Park to watch a friends uncle race an old Jaguar.

 

[Slyfrequency]

Rockingham... man that's one bloody windy place

I went to my first oval event for the ASCAR race back in, I think, something like 2000 or 2001? Awesome experience! Was lucky enough to catch the CART race around that same era too, man those cars were quick! Love it

Wouldn't mind going back again some time soon. Did I hear you say the trucks race the oval still?

Man you're lucky to catch CART, would be amazing if Indycar came back, I'd be all over it like a kid in a sweet shop!

British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) Club Race Meeting – 08/09 April, £12 a ticket if you book online

 

[hitm4k3r]

Quite interesting topic, especialy reading stories from people who are a "tad" older than me and experienced a glance of the good old times. Despite being in the mid twenties I think I am quite privileged to have seen so many different races, wich is due to my father and his interest in motorsport.

Technicaly speaking my first event was the F1 race at Hungary in 1990. But I was not even a year old so i can't remember. My first and last F1 race so far has been Spa in 1999 sitting at the old Busstop chicane. Was an incredible experience to see, hear and feel those V10s and especialy the first lap of the GP was breath taking.

Other interesting events have been the German 500 in 2003, one of the few Champ Car races that we have seen in Europe, and especialy Zanardi's first outing in a Champcar after the big crash was something that I feel was a pretty nice experience. I saw him winning his first WTCC race at Oschersleben, wich was another fantastic event as well - still have his podium cap wich is basicly my most favorite souvenire from a racing event. He is propably one of the most inspiring persons I have ever seen, so humble and nice guy. Other interesting stuff was Fia GT at Austria, and Moto GP wich is pretty much best bang for the money you can get. Haven't been at a race event for along time though, as it's not as interesting to watch anymore and prices have raised alot.

 

[Karl Dubois]

http://nl.tinypic.com/r/2m6mxr5/9

1981 Belgian GP @ Zolder, at 11 years old, my older brother and friends took me to my first GP
After the race you could go on track, we heart on the radio that Nelson Piquet made a crash, so we go to the corner and there my brother thought thats was the car of Nelson Piquet, more then 10 years we believed that I was sitting in the car of the Brazilian world champion, any time my brother saw me, he told Nelson to me.
But then I get older and my eyes felt on the number 6.
That was not the car of Piquet, but his teammate Hector Rabaque who made also a crash early in the race in that same corner. Nevertheless I'm still proud to be in real F1.
Later that year I made also my debut for the 24/u of Spa, this year I go for the 36th time to the 24 u

 

[ltcars]

Mine was a trackday at the Circuit de Fontenay-le-comte in 2015 watching hot-hatches race.
Unfortunately the images are o big so I can´t upload them.

 

[Peter Stokman]

My first was with a motorbike racer from my village who i met when i was 15 years old and i was in the hospital already 2 months when he came in the same room as me, before that time i didnt know him. After i recovered i went with him as a helper (or stand in the way) to the race circuits such as Zandvoort , Nivelles Belgium , Assen and Zolder this was in first half off the 70's in that time there was not much secret in the paddock and we went for sugar and spare parts to the garage boxes from drivers like Barry Sheen and other top drivers in that time. The bike he drove was a Aermachi 250cc but the same engine was also used for the 350cc races just by changing the Cylinder block . From that time the Racing Virus got into me and till now never has left or will ever leave

 

[ltcars]

I remember that I was at age of 6 or 7 at a bike race event in Bremerhaven, Germany. I was bored quite quickly because I was stupid and small.

 

[juulm33]

I have been a huge Formula1 fan since I was a little 1 year old. The golden days of Schumacher in the Ferrari, is for me where is all started. I haven't missed a Formula1 race since. But the first time I went to the track was with my dad in 2009 Spa, when I was ten. The Ferrari's were terrible that year, but somehow Kimi won.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I arrived with my Ferrari cap and T-Shirt and you could already smell the cars. The Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella was on pole position and the Ferrari of
Kimi Räikkönen in 6th. It was a great start and a good pass from Kimi going onto Kemmel Straight. He later won that race. Such a shame it further was an uneventful race.

But the thing I will never forget is the sound!! It started of with the Porsche Cup. I thought they were pretty loud. But then, GP2. just WHOW! It couldn't get any louder than that. But it could. Oh yes it could. Formula1 was a whole other level. It was just insane. You could feel it in your seat, you could feel it in your stomach, you could hear it trough your earbuds and your earmuffs. And the speed trough raidillon was outrages!! it's an experience I will never forget and I hope every car enthusiast will have someday.

 

[Vapir]

None, yet. But hoping to pay the Nordschleife a visit as soon as I possibly can.

 

[Karl Dubois]

My first trackside experience was in the weekend of 8 mei 1982 on Circuit Zolder. It was the tragic weekend that Gilles Villeneuve died.

I was 12 years old. When we were at the entrance, we heard the that there was free admission up to 12 years. So i got in free. We walked to the paddock, there you needed special tickets, unless you were younger than 12.

Once we were in the paddock we went up to the pits building. Another special ticket needed, but my nephew and i got in for free. 1,5 hours later we managed to squeez to the front off the pittbuilding, just before the race started. From there we could see the start and all the pitstops below.

We watched the entire race from the best place available for free. Tickets for seats like that are now way above my pay grade.

After the race we saw a lot of people were running towards the good year trucks. So we followed.

There they were handing out the used Good Year slick tires to the public. For free.

We went home with 2 rear slicks tied on the roof of the car. Eventhough it was a tragic weekend with the dead of Gilles Villeneuve in qualifying, for us personally it was the best trackside experience a kid could ever have.

Was there yea before, that weekend I was also 12, but it was my communion, so we missed the race that year, same for Gilles, he was that time my hero

 

[-Alf-]

Rally of Portugal, 1986.
I'll never forget because 4 people died, and many more injured, in an accident in Sintra, Lagoa Azul Stage. This crash was 1 nail more to the Group B coffin, and Group B ended that year.