Jaws911

Okay, all you race heads

My wife , for my b-day, is taking me to the Turkish Grand Prix this summer (fortunately for her, happens to be in Istanbul & near Greece, where she has wanted to go for a long time -what a coink-a dink!). Anyway, except for a 1/2 day at Rennsport at Lime Rock, I've never even been to a race - & attending a GP event has always been a dream of mine.

So any advice ? Esp where to sit/ get tickets? anyway around the serious pricing?
any advice appreciated

TIA

here's the web site...

http://www.gpticketshop.com/index.ph...61&sub_cat=inf

mitch236

Lucky you!! I can't answer your questions except to tell you what my friend told me about his GP experience. He says the best part for him was the "scenery". Now this was in Monaco but he actually watched the race from his hotel's rooftop which also has a pool. Great view of the race and all its trappings!

Jaws911

Hmmm...
Well
A- I've a feeling that the 'scenery' in Monaco is a little more intense than that in in Instabul... &
B- did I mention that this was a gift from my wife...?
anyway - pitpass? grandstand ? at a turn? general ticket OK? the differnce for two tickets between high & low is > than $1,000. so...

Lefty's Deceiver

Take ear plugs - it gets pretty loud.

T

J3

That and a camera for the umbrella girls...

Dave 86 930 Fl

Bring ear plugs and use them, I took mine out at Montreal GP and experienced pain ... good pain, but pain none the less. Binoculars are a good idea, as it is difficult to get really close to the cars and with the binoculars you can see the details of the bodywork.

Nordschleife

unless you get an invitation to a team's box above the pits with suitable passes for everywhere else, forget it. Save the money and spend it on checking into the best suite in the best hotel in Istanbul and watch it in comfort on television. Like the pros do. All those guys sitting out on the wall are watching television, they have cans on 'cos they don't like the noise, the only difference b etween you in your hotel and being there is that the guys on the wall have access to the telemetry and lap position clock.
F1, which I have to attend quite frequently is seriously seedy and I try and avoid it where possible. Le Mans, ALMS and such is quite different and I enjoy that immensely. I was chatting with a bunch of heavyweight F1 dewsigners earlier this year, we talked about Bike racing, GP2 and Hill Climbs, which puts F1 in its true perspective.

R+C

burgass

Try to get a seat on a slow corner. Cars are still sort of flying by at 100 - 160 km/h If you sit on the straight you wont be able to follow them and you will get problems with your neck. Seriously!! Speeds are in another dimension at F1. Sitting near a corner gives you the possibility to see differences between drivers, details, driving styles and speed. Make sure that there is a big TV screen near you seat so you can follow the whole race. Earplugs is a good idea even though the sound IMO a part of the show that you will never forget . On the first lap when all cars pass by is like 5 F16s flying on afterburners just 100 meters above you

John H

Best place to sit is at the end of the longest straight. Usually the only place passes occur. Also, try to figure out where the large viewing screens are as you will watch most of the race that way. The sound and speed is awesome. Enjoy! Oh yeah, take the wife out to the Turk/Greek islands. Beautiful and cheap. My room on Santorini, some years ago now, cost $3.50/ night. Ouzo was cheap too.

Bill L Seifert

I've only been to the USGP at Indy, (Not last year, thank goodness.) I had seats the first year, and only sat there for about 15 minutes. I moved from mound to mound, and then looked for places I could take pictures without fences in the way. Yeah, there are some.

Watch it later on Speed, so you can find out what went on, but don't miss the race in person. I also tried to set close to a big screen, but you really don't know what is going on, but who cares, the race in person is neat, beyond belief.

Only my opinion, and I am probably the only person in the world that hates grandstands.

Bill Seifert

1987 944S Race Car

sjanes

Nope, there are at least two of us that hate grandstands. I used to go to the Montreal F1 back before Villenuve was in F1 and sit in the general area by the hairpin. Good view and nobody sitting on top of you. After Villenuve showed up, it got too crowed to be interesting so I stick to ALMS (Mosport) and Grand Am (Tremblant) races. But I do agree that you have to see an F1 race just once to appreciate how quickly the cars brake and accelerate.

As for advice, to reiterate some of the above:
- bring ear plugs. These cars can be painfully loud if you're close
- avoid the straights, they go by too fast. Hey, which car was that. Uh, I think it was red.
- long straight leading into a slow corner is good place to watch the passing. Although there isn't actually passing in F1, there will be in the support races.
- Being in sight of the large monitors is really the only way to know what's going on.
- try to scope out some of the general admission viewing areas during the support races to check out different views of the track. These area will probably be 5 people deep during the F1 race.
- Tivo the race. You'll probably want to actually watch the race when you get home

burgass

That makes us 3 that hate grandstands! Completely worthless
I agree with every single word from Sjanes!

DJF1

Ahem...there are no Turkish Islands. All the islands in the Aegean are Greek

As for the cost...that has gone out the window I'm afraid. Santorini is a must island to visit as much as Rhodes or Crete in my view. There are over 1000 islands in Greece, best way to visit some is to rent a sailboat and anchors away. They are very reasonable in price and you get a Captain/guide and crew depending on the size.

In Instanbul, my Turkish friends tell me that the best Hotel is the Kampinski Hotel. The next recommendation is the Swiss Hotel. Istanbul is a great place to visit, FANTASTIC Baklava at any Baklavasi Guluoglu store, Top Kapi which is the old Palace a must place to visit along with Saint Sophia Church. The most famous nightclub is called Laila and it attracts the who is who in town.

As for the GP, the guys here gave you a great advise, Gold grandstands in the F1 lingo are the best, followed by Silver and Bronze. As for earplugs... I cant imagine using them, the sound is soooo amazing to miss!

Have fun and enjoy!

Mike K.

Search for F1tours or Formula tours, Grand prix tours etc..... Buy a package with reserved seats or balcony and hotel. These guys are all retailers that buy packages from a wholeseller. Don't buy the top, top package because the retailers do not sell many and their rep.'s are sent to take care of the bulk packages. If things go wrong you are on your own.