What, when and where?- your first motorsporting encounter.

[Lazy B'stard]

Some great memories- we are showing our ages somewhat!
 Pieter- the smell of Castrol R is probably the finest of all smells- I ran my SAAB rally car on the stuff- gorgeous!
 Mark- my geography teacher was a bit tasty but got much more tasty when she turned up to school in her Sunbeam Lotus road rally car. She could drive it too!
 More please!

[pretzel]

On the brink of my teens in 1970/1971 watching the Wembley Lions speedway team at the old Wembley stadium. Again the reek of Castrol R was the catalyst for interest in all forms of motorsport not too much later in life.

[termietermite]

This will make you laugh, Dr S!  Another of my pre-teen photographic efforts - this time Croft, another haunt of my (not) mis-spent youth.

[Piglet]

Blimey, is that the bus that's still there (or was a few years ago when I last went?) it was used by the commentators 

[nickliv]

Karting, watching my dad and uncle campaign a 125 bultaco at Rowrah (not together) . I must have been 5 or 6 years old, so probably 1979 or 1980 ish. I found a fossil in a spoil heap that day too.

And someone broke their collarbone.

You never forget the smell of castrol R do you?

[Jay (Team Cannonball)]

Hmmm think it must be about 1987 (aged 6) and going all over the North East of Scotland to watch the Granite City rally with my Dad. Also used to go to the stock car racing at Stonehaven and Banff.

My first introduction to circuit racing was the French GP at Paul Ricard in 1989 I think. What a glorious circuit it is, Damm the gnome.

[championaudi]

as a eight year old,76, ringwood cheeatas banger racing on dirt oval ,a westminster being unstoppable,
winning the under 6's!!!! running race in the break, scoffing winners bag of sweets,sick in neighbours dads ex bt vauxhall van on way home,
but cycling to & from next meeting as was hooked!!!!!!

[mike(liverpool boys)]

The '96' RAC rally with the legend Colin 'crash' McRae landing upside down in a ditch right infront of me. Still got the wing mirrors from his impreza somewhere.

Its a close 1 for the winner of my favourite ever motorsport experience. Its either Le Mans 06 (my 1st trip) or the competition i won to drive an ex WRC Impreza round 2 stages of the Parks stages leg of the scottish rally championship. Both were awsome  

[keithk]

I know Piglet will reply saying “old git”, I can remember watching TV as a very small child when we lived in Harlow in Essex, they were running test transmissions for ITV, all they showed every day was rallying, through snow and ice on The Monte. In the mid Sixties watching Powerboats race around the Solent in The Cowes Torquay Cowes especially Surfury, which was built at one of our neighbours boatyards in Cowes (Souters).   

About the same time when I lived in Thorness on the Isle of Wight every year a load of blokes visited for the two-day motorcycle trials meeting. Each year I would talk to this old bloke (Sammy Miller) he would practice on the grasses bank just outside our house before setting off.  I can remember watching Brabham crash at Monaco while in the lead of the GP and Stewart’s superhuman drive at the ring in the rain.   

[Boorish Grobian]

1971 Mid-Ohio Can-Am.  The first two racing cars I ever saw come past me at full tilt were the factory McLaren M8F's of Peter Revson and Denny Hulme, under the bridge, through turn one, and up the hill.
Fax

[Paddy_NL]

1971 Mid-Ohio Can-Am.  The first two racing cars I ever saw come past me at full tilt were the factory McLaren M8F's of Peter Revson and Denny Hulme, under the bridge, through turn one, and up the hill.
Fax

Wooh, I'd love to see/hear them one day. Read on the back of a shirt at Sebring this year they are running classic Can-Am races in the US. Is that a regular happening?


As for myself, F1 at Zandvoort in '79 and '80 (with my parents). And then a huge lack of interest untill 1994, started watching F1 on television. Went to the Austrian GP in '02 and '03 before going to Le Mans in '04. The rest is history.

[oldtimer]

Unexpected visit to the '76GP at Brands Hatch.  One of my father's friends had a couple of spare tickets, we had nothing better to do... never looked back.

[Lazy B'stard]

You'll like this...
 One of my customers, a stalwart of rallying recalled his most memorable- the look on a marshalls face after a pretty violent end over end barrel roll on an event in the 80s. Said marshall arrived to find car smashed all over the stage and my friend hobbling around surveying the damage with not 1 but both feet pointing out at 180 degrees to what they should do! He fainted and my friend had to look after him til the medical crews arrived! Adrenalin is pretty good stuff don't you think?

[Neal]

Blimey, is that the bus that's still there (or was a few years ago when I last went?) it was used by the commentators 


Piglet, I was at croft about 4 weeks ago to watch some bike racing, and the old bus is still in use for the commentaries

[Jules G]

What a great thread Prof Cream T

Mine was also a cold february weekend sat in the wood yard in the Dalby Forest complex, North Yorks cannot remember which year 80 or 81. Fantastic