Mark Webber Is Coming To Perth 28 Nov 2010

[Hanaldo]

Lets see. One was a packed football stadium with standing room only & fenced barriers in front of the spectators. As the mobs rushed to get there in time for kick off the specators at the front were crushed against the fencing. How does that even vaguely relate to being stuck in traffic on the way to Wanneroo?

Wanneroo can and has held far more than the crowd there on Sunday. 30,000+ used to turn up for the V8's. Without the traffic problems experienced on Sunday too I might add.

Football - you are right I don't know which dodgy, busted arse countries will bribe their way to the "earn" the right to host future world cups. I just expect that television rights & timing basically preclude it ever being run here.

Very big call...

Again, I'm not comparing Hillsborough with Wanneroo; I realize there are vast differences between Hillsborough and Wanneroo, that's not my point. My point is large crowds are a huge risk and they need to be managed properly. When that doesn't happen there is a very large risk to peoples health. I'm not pretending to be an expert here, I am not sure what size crowds Barbagallo is set up to handle. From what I've seen at Powercruise and other events, large crowds there start to cause problems.

[djr81]

Again, I'm not comparing Hillsborough with Wanneroo; I realize there are vast differences between Hillsborough and Wanneroo, that's not my point. My point is large crowds are a huge risk and they need to be managed properly. When that doesn't happen there is a very large risk to peoples health. I'm not pretending to be an expert here, I am not sure what size crowds Barbagallo is set up to handle. From what I've seen at Powercruise and other events, large crowds there start to cause problems.

Yes I understand that. My point is that the crowd controllers - in that case the police - were as much as anything the cause of the problem.

Overwhelmingly people are sensible and dont need controlling to anywhere near the extent put about by police & others. As an example wait to you hear the pre game warnings from the coppers when it comes to the Ashes game at the WACA. You would think the place was a powderkeg waiting to go off. I don't need a cavity search to dissuade me from carrying on like a twat when the game gets a bit slow in the post lunch session...

Anyway crowds don't cause problems. Heavy handed muppets working as security on the other hand, do.

[Nizmo]

Very big call...

Again, I'm not comparing Hillsborough with Wanneroo; I realize there are vast differences between Hillsborough and Wanneroo, that's not my point. My point is large crowds are a huge risk and they need to be managed properly. When that doesn't happen there is a very large risk to peoples health. I'm not pretending to be an expert here, I am not sure what size crowds Barbagallo is set up to handle. From what I've seen at Powercruise and other events, large crowds there start to cause problems.

i get what you're saying. There was a fire burning off in the distance in the afternoon and we were standing in the 2nd bus queue for about half an hour amongst the other masses and i go to Paul - 'You know it's an off chance but if a fire was to come through here we'd all be screwed' and he goes 'Yeah it'd be interesting to see what their fire evacuation plan is'

Yes it's a long shot - but these things do occasionally happen and that's why risk management exists.

I do think the crowds were extremely well behaved.

I hope next year they do hold it again but with the street circuit - might be tempted back with a change of venue.

[djr81]

i get what you're saying. There was a fire burning off in the distance in the afternoon and we were standing in the 2nd bus queue for about half an hour amongst the other masses and i go to Paul - 'You know it's an off chance but if a fire was to come through here we'd all be screwed' and he goes 'Yeah it'd be interesting to see what their fire evacuation plan is'

Yes it's a long shot - but these things do occasionally happen and that's why risk management exists.

I do think the crowds were extremely well behaved.

I hope next year they do hold it again but with the street circuit - might be tempted back with a change of venue.

Venue is not the issue. The biggest issues I had were two fold.

1. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of competitors who actually drove hard, F1 car included. On the flip side a lot of them put in a big effort to get here for the two laps offered.

2. The "special guests" appeared to be ensconsed in the VIP area. Apparently Geoff Brabham was there as was Alan Jones. Is it too hard to get them out on track in something?

Anyway I hope they get it up & running permanently. I just cant see how in the absense of an f1 car or similar it can be sustained, however. Too many people there just didn't get it. There was, for example, a T70 Lola as driven by Paul Hawkins. I reckon of the approximately three people who stopped and looked at it only one of them had any understanding of what it represented.

Edited November 29, 2010 by djr81

[tricstar]

This matte black Porsche was porn on wheels...

that matt Black is vinyl wrap

I agree with what has been said, had a good day in marque with Bart & plenty of beers, but think they will struggle to make this an annual event. I didn't get there until 11am and the traffic was at a stand still for kms out. we were lucky enough to sneak in the back door

[Dsturbd]

Apparently Geoff Brabham was there as was Alan Jones. Is it too hard to get them out on track in something?

I thought they had Geoff in the driver training BMW taking people for laps , And Jones i thought i seen him in a gofer near redbull tent

Edited November 29, 2010 by Dsturbd

[Appealing]

Hi Guys, I must admit it was pretty annoying sitting for 50 mins at a crawl pace just to get in there.

And a piss-off with them checking my bag but not checking my ticket properly...(It could have been photo-copied, no problems!)

And then they didn't check the paddock pass at all!!

That was crazy because it de-values the whole "Paddock Pass" thing.

The Red Bull race car, is a demo car. It is not the same F1 car that gets raced in the Championship. It is one of two cars like this that get rotated around, except this weekend they were both out. The other one was in Berlin with Sebastian Vettel also doing a demo in the streets, that one then goes to Bangkok for a demo next month. The one here is staying here for the Melbourne GP.

They are de-tuned to 14000 rpm, and about 750hp. They have fans on the rads, and steel rear suspension for doing donuts as this is really hard on the rear.

The race cars have to be checked every 500 miles by FIFA, so doing this type of stuff would mean new suspension!

How do I know.... I was lucky enough to get into the Red Bull Racing tent. I asked one of the mechanics.

He (Anthony) came to our tent (Rob Pilkingtons Funny Car) and had a good chat later. I am a sponsor of the Drag car and other motorsport.

I really thought that overall it was a good day. Lacking in some organisation, but better than not having it at all.

Lots of people said that the Drag car was the best part.... Rob was trying to make it as good as it could be, and really couldn't see very much after the first burn-out.

Of course the track straight is much too short for this really.

Here's a couple of photos.....

I have a video but of course can't post it here.

[Dsturbd]

Lots of people said that the Drag car was the best part.... Rob was trying to make it as good as it could be, and really couldn't see very much after the first burn-out.

Of course the track straight is much too short for this really.

I was impresssed with his " U turn " at cat corner

[JonnoHR31]

yer me too, never expected to see a funny car do a 3 point u turn on a normal width track

his skids were awesome, definately one of the best parts, any idea what sort of speed he was doing down in those skids?

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Not knocking the drag car, but if people are saying that was a highlight, then kinda suggests the rest of the event was an epic fail. I have more fun at a normal Race Meet which is only $10 entry.

[sexzila]

Venue is not the issue. The biggest issues I had were two fold.

1. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of competitors who actually drove hard, F1 car included. On the flip side a lot of them put in a big effort to get here for the two laps offered.

2. The "special guests" appeared to be ensconsed in the VIP area. Apparently Geoff Brabham was there as was Alan Jones. Is it too hard to get them out on track in something?

Anyway I hope they get it up & running permanently. I just cant see how in the absense of an f1 car or similar it can be sustained, however. Too many people there just didn't get it. There was, for example, a T70 Lola as driven by Paul Hawkins. I reckon of the approximately three people who stopped and looked at it only one of them had any understanding of what it represented.

Mate, lets not start this, who wasn't there or what. Lets think before we drag any event down in WA. Alan Jones was on the track in his fusion car. I'm sorry you didn't get to see it. Any way here is a pix for you. See attached. Just to let you know, 6 months ago when this idea got some traction here in WA, we were met with lots of resistance from the GOV as they wanted stupid money to close the Perth Street and even more money to remove concrete barrier down there for the cars to turn around. When they realized, Mark could be a champion THEY came on board to put their logo on the Launch day.... pitiful! They couldn't even organize a few buses.

If people want to see this done in a manner that suits the caliber of cars and personalities, Perth city and Government have to build some roads first and leave their egos at the door. Because will won't see anything in this city apart form the cycle rides for which they can close down the whole freeway ........

Bit of a politics in everything ha boys and girls!

[sexzila]

Not knocking the drag car, but if people are saying that was a highlight, then kinda suggests the rest of the event was an epic fail. I have more fun at a normal Race Meet which is only $10 entry.

Paul, I left you my number so you could call me mate.

You would have been with me all the way with all the VFP's

Never mind , next time

[StealthX]

If people want to see this done in a manner that suits the caliber of cars and personalities, Perth city and Government have to build some roads first and leave their egos at the door. Because will won't see anything in this city apart form the cycle rides for which they can close down the whole freeway ........

QFT.

I love it how the dumb gosh darn general public are jumping on the band wagon blaming Barbagallo and consequently the WASCC for how poorly the event ran. We were only doing the best we could do with what we had i.e. facilities/access roads.

At the end of the day its the government that's causing all these events (V8s, last Sunday, HQ nats, super trucks, IPC etc..) to be a let down, cos they're the one's refusing to release funding to upgrade things. I stand by my last comment, Barbagallo was never designed to be a world class venue, it's just made out to be cos it's the biggest (read: only) in WA.

Anyone else read that article in the paper?? General Public winging etc...

[Dsturbd]

At the end of the day its the government that's causing all these events (V8s, last Sunday, HQ nats, super trucks, IPC etc..) to be a let down, cos they're the one's refusing to release funding to upgrade things. I stand by my last comment, Barbagallo was never designed to be a world class venue, it's just made out to be cos it's the biggest (read: only) in WA.

Why should tax dollars pay for upgrades ?

[sexzila]

Why should tax dollars pay for upgrades ?

They are not upgrades to the track or facility up there. you need to Listen with your eyes a bit Sorry mate just frustrated at general comments.

There are lots of roads up there and lots of trucks use them every day. Why is it a problem to build an extension or two in to the event.

Why is it so important to put green light cameras all around the city, who pays for that.

Barbagallo track, People running the place are all good.

If the tax dollars should be wasted, lest invest in the City image, its not a nice thing when we are known as a Glassing Capital of the world.....

I wold like to be know for something else for a change......

[StealthX]

Why should tax dollars pay for upgrades ?

Why not?

Upgrades = Better events = more likely to host other events = more people into WA = more tourism = stronger economy + more job opportunities + better motorsport scene in WA.

20,000 people @ minimum $50 entry fee, that's over a million dollars straight into the pocket of the WA economy, show me another sporting event that is classed as a 'failure', and still rakes in that much revenue?

Should I continue?

Tax dollars have been spent on far worse things in WA, think along the lines of speed cameras and aboriginal welfare services.

I've worked at every race meeting and tuning day this year and it's almost painful watching the numbers dwindle. One tuning day this year there was 4 cars on the track from 9am-4pm, it costs f**k all for a years membership to the WASCC and a CAMS license, theres 20+ tuning days a year, I know if my car was up to it, I'd be flogging round the track like mad at every opportunity!

[djr81]

Mate, lets not start this, who wasn't there or what. Lets think before we drag any event down in WA. Alan Jones was on the track in his fusion car. I'm sorry you didn't get to see it. Any way here is a pix for you. See attached. Just to let you know, 6 months ago when this idea got some traction here in WA, we were met with lots of resistance from the GOV as they wanted stupid money to close the Perth Street and even more money to remove concrete barrier down there for the cars to turn around. When they realized, Mark could be a champion THEY came on board to put their logo on the Launch day.... pitiful! They couldn't even organize a few buses.

If people want to see this done in a manner that suits the caliber of cars and personalities, Perth city and Government have to build some roads first and leave their egos at the door. Because will won't see anything in this city apart form the cycle rides for which they can close down the whole freeway ........

Bit of a politics in everything ha boys and girls!

Ah ok I missed it then. I did see the car parked up behind the pits but obviously didn't hear the PA announcement. I saw the BMW doing laps but again the PA is not always audible when you are walking aroung looking at stuff. Hence I didn't realise it was Geoff Brabham driving. Maybe next year they can get him back in his IMSA Nissan.

I understand peoples frustrations. It was a golden opportunity to showcase motorsport in WA. All credit to those who thought it up & put it on. I guess the frustrations creep in when people want everything to be perfect.

Access to Wanneroo has been a problem ever since I have been going there & doubtless before too. There were always huge queues before the touring car races - but it has got better over the years. I think that alot of people who went wouldn't have ordinarily attended anything like that hence whinged. In reality it was no worse than any decent sized festival. For what it is worth I barely got held up on the way in & there was no real problems leaving. There again I didn't try & front at 11:00am.

[djr81]

Why should tax dollars pay for upgrades ?

Because like it or not taxpayers dollars are spent on a huge range of sporting venues across the state. The new athletics track in Bunno for example - tax payers dollars. South West Academy of Sport - tax payers dollars. It goes on & on. Why should motorsport miss out?

The bottom line is the kind of money needed for the upgrades on the cards is not a commercially viable proposition for the WASCC - or anyone else for that matter. So it is either government money or keep what you have got.

[Mckhenry]

My brother in-law had dinner with him the lucky bugger!!

[R34]

Good I thought it was just me.

I thought the event was a waste of my time and I prefer a normal race meeting where there is actual racing.

Poorly organised and what's the go with paying $4 for a bottle of water?

Also what about the Bathurst revisited parade. Did they forget about inviting Bluebirds,DR30's HR31's and Godzilla?