Rockingham At Local Asda

[Gasman#99]

Ive just found on rockinghams site that they had the rockingham pickup at the nearby corby asda store today (sat) and were giving out race calenders for 2008, yet there was nothing advertised in the local press about it taken place-may be so hat all us V8 fans would not turn up protesting. God i wish i knew about it. plenty of eggs in asda. he he :mad:

[Nick Brad]

It is a shame this wasn't advertised anywhere, I would have gone along, although I wouldn't have gone with eggs of course as that wouldn't be right to attack my own friends. :dozey:

[charlotte]

it was advertised on the local radio

[Gasman#99]

. God i wish i knew about it. plenty of eggs in asda. he he :mad: [/quote]
only a yoke- i mean joke

[bravheart]

. God i wish i knew about it. plenty of eggs in asda. he he :mad:
only a yoke- i mean joke[/QUOTE]

Thats all white! He He

[Sticker Rub]

They probably would have ducked anyway :D

[Gasman#99]

You're all quackers.

[Gasman#99]

it was advertised on the local radio
what aberdeen local radio, i listen to radio northampton and connect fm and never herd a thing. ahh may be it was one of them typical on the spot things, like one minite your racing-the next your not!!!
May be thats why they didnt advertise it-so as not to have any negative press there, and i feel they would have had loads.

[hicksy]

You're all quackers.

Off your TROLLEY so to speak....

[charlotte]

Gasman#99
do you ever have anything positive to say.

[Gasman#99]

Gasman#99
do you ever have anything positive to say.
all the time-do you??
i take it you are the charlotte from rockingham, and if so im surprised you are on here responding, as my 9 year old daughter emailed rockingham last week, and rockingham not having the decency to reply. May be she should have gone to ASDA-if she had known about it!!

[charlotte]

sorry i have nothing to do with Rockingham i live in northamptonshire started going to rockingham last year with my dad i think its a great place and we all need to be positive about it if we want it to continue.

[racing59]

Rockingham needs publicity, positive publicity, and what it gets from the mainstream motorsport press is a black eye and a fat lip. It's because it IS and oval, and because THEY don't like it.

They don't like the way that it was designed to be operated as an entertainment, rather than another circuit for Tarquin and Horatio to take their MGC's for a jolly spiffing whizz around with their other chums on a whim.

However, WE do like it. And given the chance to see it, I'm sure that there are a lot more out there who would like it too!

As Arnold said (though in plural)... "We'll be back...."

[Jeff Carter]

[quote="racing59"]

They don't like the way that it was designed to be operated as an entertainment, rather than another circuit for Tarquin and Horatio to take their MGC's for a jolly spiffing whizz around with their other chums on a whim.

[quote]

Sorry Rob I have to disagree. MN and Autosport were very supportive from 2001 up to 2005 because they believed Rockingham was on the right track in bringing a new audience through the use of music and other entertainment that the whole family could enjoy. When Jonathan Palmer bought Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Cadwell Park and Snetterton in his first interview with Autosport JP acknowledged that Rockingham was on the right track with trying to attract a family audience, something the magazine supported.

Talking to the media in my role at British F3/GT they still regard Rockingham as an asset to UK motorsport and this has been reinforced by the return of BTCC and F3/GT to the track.

However I do agree they never really 'got' the Stock Cars and never saw them as a rival for BTCC (that was the level the Rockingham management saw for ASCAR). A lot of water has passed under the bridge and the V8's are where they are.

I'm now going to blow my own trumpet a bit - the series has been an easy target for the doom mongers and the media will report what it hears. If you haven't got a press officer fighting your corner (and no I'm not looking for a job here!) you are at a distinct disadvantage with media reporting. In my five years at Rockingham I spent a lot of time behind the scenes working to get the best possible coverage for the circuit and for the race series, sometimes heading off the negative stories before they got into print, something I am doing in my present role. The series has also been very guilty of announcing things (ie we wil have 20 cars next year) and then failing to deliver. This is called setting yourself up for a fall and the media love to knock someone who does this (remember Craig Pollock / BAR!).

My hat goes off Duane and to everyone else who has worked tirelessly to keep the V8's going but don't solely blame the media for the current woes being experienced. There is some serious fence mending to do and the best thing is to start talking to the relevent media people and get them on your side. And be realistic about your aims!

Jeff

[racing59]

I take your point Jeff.

But it did appear that as soon as you left, and Rockingham was sold, the doom and gloom mongers had got it in for the Stock Cars, in fact for Rockingham, soo much that nearly every story that's run has some negative vibe to it.

That has to come from somewhere.

To the point of "old boys down the club having a brandy and a cigar" ......

Fence mending? It's been so ruddy well battered by the stones that have been thrown to the point where there ain't many panels left, and the posts are all rotten.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's lughole, but you can make it prettier if you spend some money on it, and spend some money on telling people who good it is (for a sow's lughole, made to look like a silk purse!)

From my stand point, there ain't much of that going on.

The Rockingham sponsored Pickup is great, except "what does it mean". It's preaching to the converted. It's like the Pope preaching to his cardinals how wonderful Christianity is!

Rockingham needs to be pushing it's "values" into "Joe Public's" home, how, I don't know for sure, I'm no marketing expert. You did a damn good job when you were there Jeff. Any tips?

Rob.

[pickup]

The Rockingham sponsored Pickup is great, except "what does it mean". It's preaching to the converted. It's like the Pope preaching to his cardinals how wonderful Christianity is!
Rob.

Not quite true Rob, don't forget that truck will be seen at many circuits as well and i'm sure a lot of the spectators at those tracks will not be familiar with Rockingham and what goes on there.HOPEFULLY it will encourage those people to visit and maybe they will become oval fans!

[racing59]

The trouble is - the truck is being seen at circuits, and the average (paying) crowd at a club race meeting in the UK is not much more than double figures. Many of the people who make up the "crowd" are involved with a car/driver at that meeting.

Rockingham needs to become more pro-active, to get Mr & Mrs Joe Public with their 2.4 kids back through the door. But they won't, because that costs lots of money.

Motorsport is very very low in the food chain as far as "watching" is concerned here, and that's because the media are not interested, because they are not being paid to be interested.

It's all about money. Without the many billions of pounds wasted on Premiership football, those teams would never survive on the gate money alone. They need all of the merchandising, the new kit every 3 games, the endorsement deals, etc....

The majority of motorsport is about racing because the driver wants to do it, and joins up with a few "chums" who also have MGC's, and have a jolly wheeze down to Thruxton.

Rockingham was built on different foundations. It was the American way. Entertainment first, racing second.

There are 55000 grandstand seats. £10 a seat. £550K per meeting.
Now sell it. Put something on that 55000 people will want to come and watch, and come back again.

Don't try to sell it at £35 a seat. People won't come. Better to make £50K clear on the day with people feeling happy that they got great value for their money, than go away feeling that £35 was too much and they won't come back next week/month....

There is one major problem. Big names are not interested in one single venue like Rockingham, even if it's in the middle of our little country. There needs to be another one, or two. One near the capital, one somewhere between Brum and Rainchester. Then the concept might work properly through being self perpetuating.

I could go on, but I'm doing my scratched record "if it were done this way" speech, that everyone agrees with, except the people who CAN do it because they own / run the venues.

Speculate to accumulate. The property developers motto!

Rob.

[pickup]

The trouble is - the truck is being seen at circuits, and the average (paying) crowd at a club race meeting in the UK is not much more than double figures.
Rob.

Normally that might be correct but don't forget that the majority of circuit dates we are on with the BTRA and two of those are with the FIA trucks (Donnington and Thruxton) and these meetings do draw good spectator support as we have seen at Pembrey and Brands last year.
As for the rest of your post blimey mate are you quoting from the Rob Compton bible of how to make a success of oval racing LOL (which i whole heartedly agree).

[kjb]

the btra trucks i thought were a bit boring when i saw them race last year, but hey thats my opinion.

[pickup]

the btra trucks i thought were a bit boring when i saw them race last year, but hey thats my opinion.

Yes mine to, but as i said compared to your normal club meeting they do pull in a good crowd and the FIA trucks especially have a huge following.

[acorn]

the btra(motors tv) and fia trucks usually have tv coverage. is there the slimmest chance that as the cameras are already there those of us that can't make the meetings might actually see the pickups on tv?