Live Action Arena
Discussion
A shadow of its former self. The first twenty minutes taken up with interviews which belonged on the Autosport stage inside the show. No big names, and very little actual action. Terry Grant is always excellent, but appears to have been being paid by the minute. The guys on the motorbikes at the end were impressive, but were they really relevant to the show?.
Add to that six youngsters in Caterhams undergoing the same embarrassing faux reveal of which of them was the (well deserved) winner of the young driver of the year for the fourth time that day, and the apologetic reveal of the top drivers cars (minus one) being driven round at ten miles an hour, including a Ford Fiesta.
A stock Ford Fiesta.
Poor. Really quite poor.
Add to that six youngsters in Caterhams undergoing the same embarrassing faux reveal of which of them was the (well deserved) winner of the young driver of the year for the fourth time that day, and the apologetic reveal of the top drivers cars (minus one) being driven round at ten miles an hour, including a Ford Fiesta.
A stock Ford Fiesta.
Poor. Really quite poor.
BullyB said:
I thought the bikes were probably the most entertaining bit.
The bikes and the grass-trackers with what appeared to be a Mini pickup with a V8 in the back doing wheelies on the straights;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fegZ7wamwo
But the first 20 minutes of cringingly cr@p "banter" between the two talentless non-entities could easily have been dispensed with entirely. And it's about time Terry Grant thought of something new to add to his act - it's always the bloody same. And as for the double ended cars, WTF was *that* all about? TBH, had I not had the Arena bit included in my ticket (which I didn't pay for), I wasn't going to bother, because it's never been worth it. Or the £10.
Edited by Zumbruk on Sunday 12th January 16:38
first year it happened it was fantastic, each year since its more waffle, less action, this year an all time low, nearly fell asleep in first half hour, finally got some cars out and things got better and seamed to keep the show moving, shame it was spoilt before it had started.
ps who were those 2 people? was I supposed to recognise them?? TBH didn't listen to a word they said, gave me some time to catch up on texts
ps who were those 2 people? was I supposed to recognise them?? TBH didn't listen to a word they said, gave me some time to catch up on texts
Jon C said:
A shadow of its former self. The first twenty minutes taken up with interviews which belonged on the Autosport stage inside the show. No big names, and very little actual action. Terry Grant is always excellent, but appears to have been being paid by the minute. The guys on the motorbikes at the end were impressive, but were they really relevant to the show?.
Add to that six youngsters in Caterhams undergoing the same embarrassing faux reveal of which of them was the (well deserved) winner of the young driver of the year for the fourth time that day, and the apologetic reveal of the top drivers cars (minus one) being driven round at ten miles an hour, including a Ford Fiesta.
A stock Ford Fiesta.
Poor. Really quite poor.
Agree with every word.Add to that six youngsters in Caterhams undergoing the same embarrassing faux reveal of which of them was the (well deserved) winner of the young driver of the year for the fourth time that day, and the apologetic reveal of the top drivers cars (minus one) being driven round at ten miles an hour, including a Ford Fiesta.
A stock Ford Fiesta.
Poor. Really quite poor.
This was my first time ever at this show. When the 2 so-called presenters went on and on and on (saying nothing of interest), I nearly said to the other half, 'let's just go now' and miss the crowds. The Touring Car lot seemed very embarrassed and the whole thing was like a primary school pantomime. As for Plato.....
Did wake up though when the F1 stock cars appeared.
Will not return.
GaryThomlinson said:
I quite enjoyed both the main and live shows. Yes the talking was boring but I enjoyed seeing some of the cars and watching stunts etc. If you lot think its crap this year then it must have been spectacular before!
Well, past years have had current WRC cars and drivers doing head to head pursuit races, Pro Modified Drag Racers doing burnouts, single seaters etc. First year I was there Clarkson and Needell were tbe compères and Walter Rohrl and Sebastian Gronholm were amongst the drivers.Agree with everything being said here. A shadow of its former self.
There was no banter between the presentors/commentators. You need a pair of celebrities who are pals and not afraid to take the piss out of each other. Also the fact the each race was only about 3 laps ?? It took longer for the cars to form a grid/rolling start, than finnish a race. Blinked and I missed it. The Autocar Sports Car of the Year parade ...couldn't hear a single engine. None of them went faster than walking pace, so no revving. We need unsilenced cars, willing to give it some revs and thump you in the chest with sound.
Terribly disappointed.
There was no banter between the presentors/commentators. You need a pair of celebrities who are pals and not afraid to take the piss out of each other. Also the fact the each race was only about 3 laps ?? It took longer for the cars to form a grid/rolling start, than finnish a race. Blinked and I missed it. The Autocar Sports Car of the Year parade ...couldn't hear a single engine. None of them went faster than walking pace, so no revving. We need unsilenced cars, willing to give it some revs and thump you in the chest with sound.
Terribly disappointed.
My first LAA but not my first time at Autosport. I've never been bothered about it before but I thought I'd give it a look see this time, but left early disappointed. The Autocar top-ten lineup was a particularly boring low point for me...
Overall I had a great day out, but thought the LAA could be so much more! The pace was slow, it was cheesy and there was a lack of road cars being driven in anger in my book. Stock cars and grass track racers are too similar IMO so having three or so lots was a bit pointless. Actually a highlight for me was the e30 and mk2 golf racers; that looked like a hoot! Oh and anti-lag indoors
Overall I had a great day out, but thought the LAA could be so much more! The pace was slow, it was cheesy and there was a lack of road cars being driven in anger in my book. Stock cars and grass track racers are too similar IMO so having three or so lots was a bit pointless. Actually a highlight for me was the e30 and mk2 golf racers; that looked like a hoot! Oh and anti-lag indoors
I never went this year, having been for the past few years, but I think given the very few threads on here and the negative comments, it seems I didn't miss much compared to previous years shows.
Sounds like a fair bit needs to change, especially if Pistonheads are going to put their name to a large part of the show.
Sounds like a fair bit needs to change, especially if Pistonheads are going to put their name to a large part of the show.
James_N said:
I never went this year, having been for the past few years, but I think given the very few threads on here and the negative comments, it seems I didn't miss much compared to previous years shows.
Sounds like a fair bit needs to change, especially if Pistonheads are going to put their name to a large part of the show.
+1. Exactly the same decision made here and the same relief as saved about £100. Given the continuing decline is it even worth staging an event next year unless the organisers are replaced. Notice PH reps are very quite on the subjectSounds like a fair bit needs to change, especially if Pistonheads are going to put their name to a large part of the show.
Not surprised PH reps are keeping schtum as they're probably embarrassed. Live action arena was probably the highlight for me although it wasn't that much different from last year. Too much chat and not enough action and it was saved by the motocrossers who were outstanding. One really cringeworthy bit was the 'Q&A' when Pollyanna wotsername decided to ask a question of the audience - in a darkened NEC arena, I ask you. Some brave soul put up their hand and rather than have someone amongst the audience with a mike to shove under the guy's nose she had to cross the arena herself , trudge up the steps and locate the bloke in the dark. I think they realised this wasn't really the place for that sort of thing and they moved swiftly on to some more inane chat.
Argybargy said:
Not surprised PH reps are keeping schtum as they're probably embarrassed.
Although I'm not a PH rep I am a rep of the show and this is the first time I've seen this thread. And for the record I am far from embarrased. The show went incredibly well and visitor numbers along with exhibitor feedback reflect that.Live Action arena is a tough one to call. The problem is that we are trying to create a race track on a polished concrete floor where there is NO grip at all so there is a limit to what we can do. It's a shame but it is what it is. I agree on the FMX too, I see Freestyle Moto X all the time and as amazing as it is I struggle to get excited by it. However the guys in the Live Action Arena were outstanding!
I didn't see the weekend show with Polyanna Woodward so I cannot comment on that.
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