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Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:04 pm
by JohnStewart
It's that time of year again when the SIDC have their annual event at Grampian Transport Museum in Alford. This is a great opportunity for car enthusiasts from around the NE (with some even coming from the Glasgow area!) to get together and either have some fun on the track (one car at a time), or just park up, bask in the sunshine and have a good day out.

Although entry is free of charge, the main focus of the event is to raise money for local charities, so donations on the gate will be very much appreciated.

BBQ Catering is being provided by the Inverurie Round table, again with all proceeds going to deserving local causes so please buy lots of food :)

If you want to take your car on track, then a £10 donation will get you unlimited runs (3 laps at a time from a standing start) around the track against the stopwatch. Typically you will get a timed run about once an hour, depending on the number of cars that are signed up.

Last year we raised over £600 in total from gate and track donations, and we are aiming to better that this year.

Hope to see lots of you there.

John

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:53 pm
by markymark
As an ex sidc member :oops: & if I'm not back to work I'll pop along & give the Exige a try,
should be a good day if the weather stays hot :D

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:08 pm
by Scottynic
my missus has an impreza so she keeps asking me to go only problem i want to take the elise so maybe seperate cars LOL

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:37 pm
by JohnStewart
Scottynic wrote:my missus has an impreza so she keeps asking me to go only problem i want to take the elise so maybe seperate cars LOL
Seems like a good idea to me :)

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:38 pm
by Shug
JohnStewart wrote:
Scottynic wrote:my missus has an impreza so she keeps asking me to go only problem i want to take the elise so maybe seperate cars LOL
Seems like a good idea to me :)
Elaine and I have done this more than once....

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:16 am
by I-Mac
Erm...what's SIDC?

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:57 pm
by gambler
I-Mac wrote:Erm...what's SIDC?
Subaru Impreza Drivers Club :thumbsup

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:03 pm
by GenCuster
Did anyone go?

I did - a big 'off' by a TVR on the bottom end corner looked to have written it off.

I would urge anyone attending future events to avoid sitting behind the barriers on the corners and think the organisers should think about where the safest place for folk to watch is - only by chance were folk not badly injured or killed by flying debris.

Bummer for the car owner - but at least no major injuries apparent.

GC

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:14 am
by Gareth
GenCuster wrote:Did anyone go?

I did - a big 'off' by a TVR on the bottom end corner looked to have written it off.

I would urge anyone attending future events to avoid sitting behind the barriers on the corners and think the organisers should think about where the safest place for folk to watch is - only by chance were folk not badly injured or killed by flying debris.

Bummer for the car owner - but at least no major injuries apparent.

GC
Or his mate that was driving...apparently.
*Removed one photo with reg number*

Image

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:55 pm
by Scotty C
I read that a spectator was very lucky. Why would anyone stand/sit at the end of the straight :roll:

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:51 pm
by Mikie711
More to the point, why would the organizers let them ?

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:55 pm
by Shug
Let's not get stuck into blaming organisers. You are warned that motorsport is dangerous at every turn, I see no reason why organisers should insist on wrapping people in cotton wool if they are too dumb to see the dangers. That's how venues get shut down and I'm sick of hearing about that happening...

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:45 pm
by tuscan_thunder
The railway sleepers are sturdy, although from what I could see (I was a small distance away) one was knocked off its posts.

For a motorsport event, bales are a stipulation, for an event like this, they are not.

Many folk there were convinced the throttle stuck open - mechanical failure rather than driver error? I don't know for sure but could explain a lot.

At Alford, it's entirely possible for a car to come off the track (at the crossover) into the barrier in front of the grandstand - the point I'm making is there is, at a motorsport venue, an element of risk at almost any location.

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:07 pm
by woody
Shug wrote:Let's not get stuck into blaming organisers. You are warned that motorsport is dangerous at every turn, I see no reason why organisers should insist on wrapping people in cotton wool if they are too dumb to see the dangers. That's how venues get shut down and I'm sick of hearing about that happening...
The organisers/track operators have a duty of care.

People may well be too dumb to see the dangers, but as you will appreciate are not always so dumb when it comes to consulting lawyers after the event. That is more of a threat to small motorsport facilities.

I was going to post a good bit more on this, but it's perhaps not 100% appropriate or relevant, so I will leave it there. I also post, of course, in general terms and with no knowledge of Alford.

Re: Alford, Sunday 5th July

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:11 pm
by Shug
We've got the same idea Woody, just that you have to deal with the real world aspect of it and I was commenting from a "wouldn't it be good if people took responsibility for their decisions" viewpoint. Totally appreciate that organisers are under pressure to ensure that idiots can't place themselves in danger as said idiots are not likely to take such responsibility.