Thruxton 4th May meeting - free admission!

[TwoLeadFeet]

The 750MC are at Thruxton next Saturday, with MX5, 750 Formula, BMW, Porsche, Ma7da, and Sports Specials - and it's free to get in!

Tickets can be downloaded here https://thruxtonracing.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/750...

Edited by TwoLeadFeet on Saturday 27th April 13:28

[df76]

I went on Saturday. Ideal weather helped bring in a huge crowd (can't remember seeing a Thruxton club meeting like it), and loads of families also. I'd expect that the extra grandstand and food / drink sales made up the difference for not charging entry.

[freedman]

Reported they would usually expect a gate of around 500

On Saturday they got 2500, and hopefully a far bigger return on food around the circuit

Have to say it was nice to be on the grid and see so many people on the banking around chicane and start/finish

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

interesting, so was it the fact that it was free that got so many people out, or the weather, or some promotion because it was free?

I've always thought that club event will attract a crowd if you promote it - it's not any less professional that non league football and they can get crowds of 3000.

Question is how do you monetise it? and use it to offset the cost of the racing for the competitors?

[Drumroll]

Dynion Araf Uchaf said:

interesting, so was it the fact that it was free that got so many people out, or the weather, or some promotion because it was free?

I've always thought that club event will attract a crowd if you promote it - it's not any less professional that non league football and they can get crowds of 3000.

Question is how do you monetise it? and use it to offset the cost of the racing for the competitors?

The problem is that "gate money" goes to the circuits not the clubs. So we end up with a bit of a catch 22. The clubs don't promote meetings as much as they could as they will see little return for doing so. The circuits unless it is a big meeting (which tend to have a different financial arrangements) there is no need to promote as they are getting their costs covered by the circuit hire fee.

[EddyP]

Fabulous! Lets hope that other circuits take note and do similar, it's gone up to £17.50 to come and watch one of our meetings at Silverstone now, just way too much for club level motorsport, so there really isn't any spectators. Make it free, get people through the gate and try to make it on food, drinks, merch etc doesn't cost them anymore money to have the circuit open, charging £17.50 is just greed.

[Truckosaurus]

Good to hear it was a success. Free tickets will always draw a crowd, like when SEAT ran an promotion for Rockingham back in the day and got thousands turning up for, I think, a British GT/F3 round.

Hopefully there will be some punters who attended for the first time and liked it enough to pay for another event (although Thruxton don't seem to run many race events these days).

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

Drumroll said:

The problem is that "gate money" goes to the circuits not the clubs. So we end up with a bit of a catch 22. The clubs don't promote meetings as much as they could as they will see little return for doing so. The circuits unless it is a big meeting (which tend to have a different financial arrangements) there is no need to promote as they are getting their costs covered by the circuit hire fee.

you can negotiate that bit though. Pay a bit more for circuit hire, hope to offset it with gate receipts.