Any One Going To National Ferrari Owners Day?

[m4tti]

As the title, anyone going. Is there any groups heading up from Kent. I’m not a member of the club yet, so just curious if there’s any group drives up.

[Spleen]

I went last year and I must admit I was bored senseless.

[m4tti]

Interesting… This is why I have some reservations around joining the owners club.

[Spleen]

The FOC isn't a 'bad' organisation, just depends what you want out of it really. I joined to get access to insured track days and discounts on insurance, not terribly interested in the social side of stuff really but that's just me. Went on one run and met a few members, nice people, some more eccentric than others and some with lots of pennies but not obvious about it.

The thing with the NFOD last year was that I had to get there early as I'd booked two runway runs and needed to be there for a briefing which meant leaving early doors from home, got there around 0800 some two hours before the event started proper. The weather was garbage and nothing was open until around 0900 so I just had to hang around until 1030 before the first run which was crap as the runway is quite short so by the time I'd got up to about 150 I had to brake and get off. My next run wasn't until 1300ish.

Mooched around, declined the kind offer of spending several thousand pounds on a Spitfire flight, stared at an F40 and an F50 several times, wasn't interested in an auction and got bored very quickly. Left at around 1130 and sacked the last runway run.

I don't know, it was just boring. One can only stare at multimillion pound cars so much before it just gets repetitive and is a stark reminder that I don't move in the right circles with my piffling F430. To be fair, I'm not terribly good with car meets, memberships of car clubs and so on, I prefer to be out and about blasting around country lanes with the roof down.

[rat rod]

Spleen said:

The FOC isn't a 'bad' organisation, just depends what you want out of it really. I joined to get access to insured track days and discounts on insurance, not terribly interested in the social side of stuff really but that's just me. Went on one run and met a few members, nice people, some more eccentric than others and some with lots of pennies but not obvious about it.

The thing with the NFOD last year was that I had to get there early as I'd booked two runway runs and needed to be there for a briefing which meant leaving early doors from home, got there around 0800 some two hours before the event started proper. The weather was garbage and nothing was open until around 0900 so I just had to hang around until 1030 before the first run which was crap as the runway is quite short so by the time I'd got up to about 150 I had to brake and get off. My next run wasn't until 1300ish.

Mooched around, declined the kind offer of spending several thousand pounds on a Spitfire flight, stared at an F40 and an F50 several times, wasn't interested in an auction and got bored very quickly. Left at around 1130 and sacked the last runway run.

I don't know, it was just boring. One can only stare at multimillion pound cars so much before it just gets repetitive and is a stark reminder that I don't move in the right circles with my piffling F430. To be fair, I'm not terribly good with car meets, memberships of car clubs and so on, I prefer to be out and about blasting around country lanes with the roof down.

Like you i'm not a good club member,go to a lot of meeting of various makes but member of none,

In fact the Caterham and F.O,C are the only two clubs i have ever joined ,find i also get a little bored at static shows watching owners picking

grass out of their tread before the concours ,much preferring track day club meets were you meet like minded owners who don't seem to mind

getting a little brake dust on their wheels, Overall i get on well with most of the members ,surprised how down to earth most are even though i forgot

to bring my Harrods Picnic Hamper. ,

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 28th May 21:29

[Mark_Blanchard]

I've been an FOC member for 3 years and our local FOC group is excellent. They lay on lots of good events and have made some friends there.

I have no dealings with the main office (where all my membership money goes) and haven't been to any national FOC events. And there's nothing about Sywell that interests me, loads of clocked Ferrari's in a field.

But I'll carry on being a member for the excellent local events.

[m4tti]

Hmm I’ve paid for Sywell now, you chaps haven’t filled me with enthusiasm

I probably should have checked here first.

[cgt2]

rat rod said:

Like you i'm not a good club member,go to a lot of meeting of various makes but member of none,

In fact the Caterham and F.O,C are the only two clubs i have ever joined ,find i also get a little bored at static shows watching owners picking

grass out of their tread before the concours ,much preferring track day club meets were you meet like minded owners who don't seem to mind

getting a little brake dust on their wheels, Overall i get on well with most of the members ,surprised how down to earth most are even though i forgot

to bring my Harrods Picnic Hamper. ,

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 28th May 21:29

You and I are spoiled by by having experienced Mike's Goodwood days in the 90's, nothing will compare to those.

[chippy348]

Mark_Blanchard said:

I've been an FOC member for 3 years and our local FOC group is excellent. They lay on lots of good events and have made some friends there.

I have no dealings with the main office (where all my membership money goes) and haven't been to any national FOC events. And there's nothing about Sywell that interests me, loads of clocked Ferrari's in a field.

But I'll carry on being a member for the excellent local events.

I used to be a member for a few years, our local group was not very good, really click’y and no one would come to the monthly meets in there car, the main guy who was an American chap did not even own a Ferrari !

The money you give to the main office DOES NOT trickle into your local group, they have to fundraise to buy flags! all while the club office is a ex house ( circa £1 million +) in Whittlebury all paid for by membership money.
The club I found was only as good are your local group of which the main office did not really support.

Quite a odd set up.

[rat rod]

cgt2 said:

rat rod said:

Like you i'm not a good club member,go to a lot of meeting of various makes but member of none,

In fact the Caterham and F.O,C are the only two clubs i have ever joined ,find i also get a little bored at static shows watching owners picking

grass out of their tread before the concours ,much preferring track day club meets were you meet like minded owners who don't seem to mind

getting a little brake dust on their wheels, Overall i get on well with most of the members ,surprised how down to earth most are even though i forgot

to bring my Harrods Picnic Hamper. ,

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 28th May 21:29

You and I are spoiled by by having experienced Mike's Goodwood days in the 90's, nothing will compare to those.

You are bang on there, Maybe if it wasn't for Goodwood getting the planning permission for the Rivival with Charlie March giving away all concessions

regarding decreased decibel levels we may still a Carrera Sport Day or at least it would have lasted a little longer,

Hard to imagine what they where like if you never been to one ,very relaxed and casual affairs with no snobbery from a

eclectic mix of owners. Mind you that also applies to Goodwoods rules and regulations ,they didn't have any !!

Remember driving my Formula 3 Reynard round there in shorts with a short sleeved T-shirt and no helmet in most of my other cars.

Probably a good thing with health and safety but less fun.

Edited by rat rod on Wednesday 31st May 20:11

[jtremlett]

The FOC and the Sywell event are two different things, albeit the former is responsible for the latter. Rather strangely this year, whilst the Ferrari day is on Saturday, there is also an Auto Italia event on the Sunday.

I went to both the previous Ferrari days at Sywell. Last year certainly wasn't helped by the weather whereas the first one was very hot and sunny.

It is basically a load of Ferraris parked in a field and, in my view, could do with a bit more imagination to add interest. I haven't yet decided if I will go on Saturday, Sunday both or neither.

rat rod said:

You are bang on there, Maybe if it wasn't for Goodwood getting the planning permission for the Rivival with Charlie March giving away all concessions

regarding decreased decibel levels we may still a Carrera Sport Day or at least it would have lasted a little longer,

Hard to imagine what they where like if you never been to one ,very relaxed and casual affairs with no snobbery from a

eclectic mix of owners. Mind you that also applies to Goodwoods rules and regulations ,they didn't have any !!

Remember driving my Formula 3 Reynard round there in shorts with a short sleeved T-shirt and no helmet in most of my other cars.

Probably a good thing with health and safety but less fun.

Edited by rat rod on Wednesday 31st May 20:11

There is no chance anything like that could have continued. Times have changed. Just be grateful you had the opportunity to enjoy these things while they lasted. Unfortunately, the propensity to seek redress through the courts when anything goes wrong from people who never take responsibility for their own actions has killed off all these things.

Mind you, my grandparents used to live over-looking Goodwood back then and moan about the noise. Naturally I did point out that they shouldn't have bought a house near a racing circuit if they didn't like it. But I was told that the circuit were flaunting the limits on what they were allowed to do. I don't know if that was true or not but now they are very hot on the limits there.

For much the same reason, a few years ago Brands Hatch put high fencing all round the Grand Prix loop. Now it isn't worth trekking out there with a camera because you can't get a clear shot of anything any more.

[rat rod]

jtremlett said:

here is no chance anything like that could have continued. Times have changed. Just be grateful you had the opportunity to enjoy these things while they lasted. Unfortunately, the propensity to seek redress through the courts when anything goes wrong from people who never take responsibility for their own actions has killed off all these things.

Mind you, my grandparents used to live over-looking Goodwood back then and moan about the noise. Naturally I did point out that they shouldn't have bought a house near a racing circuit if they didn't like it. But I was told that the circuit were flaunting the limits on what they were allowed to do. I don't know if that was true or not but now they are very hot on the limits there.

For much the same reason, a few years ago Brands Hatch put high fencing all round the Grand Prix loop. Now it isn't worth trekking out there with a camera because you can't get a clear shot of anything any more.

Until the decibel monitoring machines were put in just before the first Revival i think you are right,the rules were probably flaunted,

When i said there was no rules i meant they were very lapsed keeping to them,

God i wish my parents/grand parents lived next to Goodwood,infact i wished i lived closer to it.

There was some "Who Ha" when a new estate was built some 30 years ago and i was told that the planes and helicopters have to fly around

it ,not sure if that's true or not but when the latest new houses opposite Madgwick corner were being sold there is a clause that states that

the houses are in close proximity to the race track ,His Lordship did try and block the build but was unsuccessful.

Nothing lasts forever but it was good fun while it lasted, Still do the odd track day but just got behave myself.

Edited by rat rod on Thursday 1st June 22:34

[LotusOmega375D]

I’m going tomorrow. I went last year and left early when the heavens opened. That’s when I discovered that my cabrio roof leaks!

I live locally so it’s no hassle to get there and back. I also like planes. However, I wouldn’t bother coming a long way to participate. I am more interested in the older Ferraris, but the vast majority of cars are 21st century fayre. I’ll be back home on my sofa in time for the FA Cup final.

I seem to be like some of the other posters above. I have never been an FOC member and haven’t been a member of any car club for many years. I’m not a very sociable person. In fact I will probably only attend this one car event this year. My enthusiasm for the classic car scene has really diminished over recent years, in part due to the pure repetition of the events and also the influx of modern/modified cars.

[Spleen]

I've got tickets but not going. There's a small Italian Car meet in Alton tomorrow that I'm going to because you can take doggies, only 45 mins away too.

[rat rod]

Spleen said:

I've got tickets but not going. There's a small Italian Car meet in Alton tomorrow that I'm going to because you can take doggies, only 45 mins away too.

Is that at the "Departure Lounge" ,Took the F430 there ,must of been the year before covid arrived,

From memory i think it was only a morning thing as the management were trying to get rid of us to get

ready for another event in the afternoon but like you i didn't have far to drive.

[Spleen]

rat rod said:

Is that at the "Departure Lounge" ,Took the F430 there ,must of been the year before covid arrived,

From memory i think it was only a morning thing as the management were trying to get rid of us to get

ready for another event in the afternoon but like you i didn't have far to drive.

Yep, that’s the one! Starts at 1000, not sure when it finishes. Will stick around for some brekkie, go for a walk and see what’s what.

[rat rod]

Spleen said:

rat rod said:

Is that at the "Departure Lounge" ,Took the F430 there ,must of been the year before covid arrived,

From memory i think it was only a morning thing as the management were trying to get rid of us to get

ready for another event in the afternoon but like you i didn't have far to drive.

Yep, that’s the one! Starts at 1000, not sure when it finishes. Will stick around for some brekkie, go for a walk and see what’s what.

Nice place to visit,people are friendly and being a Italian meet a nice eclectic mix of cars and owners

Promised the mutt's a day on the beach so won't make it but enjoy your day

[LotusOmega375D]

Back home now. Much lower turnout than last year. Mustang and Thunderbolt air display was great, but only about 10 people bothered to wander over to the fence to watch. Best car was this. I believe 1st in class and 5th overall at 1974 Le Mans. Sounded fantastic.

[Spleen]

LotusOmega375D said:

Back home now. Much lower turnout than last year.

Shame really, was there anything different from last year? Apart from the weather!

[LotusOmega375D]

No, same format, but not a bad half day out. If you were there last year, you will remember that there were rows of cars parked against the fence closest to the runway. Today there were none. I would say at least 30% less cars than last year, maybe 40%.