Since feedback is (in my opinion) the best thing an organiser can get, it might be a good idea to start a new thread. ’08 Round 1 was the first EDC event I’ve been to, so unfortunately I cannot compare it to past rounds, but I guess by using common sense and previous experiences I’m able to give some constructive feedback from a spectator’s point of view. Some of these might not directly involve you as EDC organisers, but could be something to pass on to your colleagues.
So here goes:
i) There were no signs how to actually get in from the non-VIP parking area. There were a couple guys (incl. me), who were looking around without any idea in which direction to go. Simple signs with ‘entrance’ and an arrow would do the trick.
ii) If the EDC round is a part of another event, it would be great if one could buy a ticket either for EDC or the whole event. This would have two benefits: (1) people who are there only for EDC (like me) don’t have to pay the whole price, as they might not be interested in the other content. In round 1, £22 (at the door) is quite a premium price, which many potential EDC spectators are not willing to pay for at this point. (2) It also has a psychological implication: as people buy the ticket, the fact that EDC is something sold separately, makes it something special and draws attention to it.
iii) There was very limited information about EDC in the ‘official show guide’. And even worse than that, the information in there was partly wrong! For instance, the guide says EDC takes place along with the time-attack on the whole track, which it didn’t. As I walked in, I was expecting to see signs telling where EDC takes place. The only clue I got was a couple guys with driftworks-hoodies hanging around, but I wasn’t smart enough to link the hoodies and the event. I saw one(!) sign saying EDC and it pointed to the area with the car clubs and ICE…very helpful. So I looked in the guide and as it told EDC takes place on the whole track, I thought “the Redgate corner must be good as cars prolly have high entry speeds”. How wrong was I. Then I got lost and found myself at the “grandstand” (which was full of spectators willing to see drifting), where one could see the last half of corner four (Goddards). By that time the qualifying had been on for ca. 10-15 mins already and I hadn’t seen one car drifting. I asked a couple guys with neon-yellow jackets – “I don’t know” was the answer. The fact that it was raining didn’t make me feel any better. Ultimately I found the “Dunlop Bridge” (which isn’t in the guide either!) after searching through the whole area and listening to the banging exhausts, but ca. 30-40mins after the qualifying started. Great.
iv) Because EDC was divided into roughly one hour ‘sessions’, it seemed to be more like a show as a part of the ISTS, than actually an independent championship/round. Apart from the 100+ ‘hardcore fans’ (who were probably there only to see EDC anyway), I would bet only a few of those random people watching actually remembers what the series is called… Another negative thing about dividing it into sessions is that it stops just when it gets interesting and people start to understand what it’s all about. It also has this “was that it”-effect on non-hardcore-fans, which is exactly what we don’t want to. And trust me, most people won’t stay there for the next session. This can be seen by comparing the number of people watching 16-8 (full) and 8-1 (half-full). Why? Because the 16-8 was around 15:00, the time, when most people were leaving ISTS and there just happened to be something going on the track near the exit, which was interesting indeed, but lasted only a short time.
Therefore, my suggestion would be to keep the action going. It doesn’t have to be hardcore competing all the time: maybe some interviews (drivers about their cars/past/whatever, organisers, special guests etc.), random drifting (which I’m sure the drivers wouldn’t mind), burnouts or whatever which involves and interests the crowd for longer period of time. Additionally, drivers (with commentary on what they’re doing) could show different techniques to enhance the general understanding of drifting. Otherwise you won’t be able to attract bigger crowds outside the community and, to be honest, you’ll probably end up losing HC-fans, who are now driving 100+ miles to spend a
whole day in the rain/hale/wind at a chav-show only to see a bit of professional sideways action for 2-3 hours. It is important to remember that those HC-fans are a very important part of the event as they are the ones with the ‘new big crowd’, cheering and laughing at the drivers, one-more-time’ing etc. and basically making the happy drifting atmosphere we all love so much.
v) It’d be great if the crowd could have a closer look at the cars in the pit, without having to pay a super-premium price. Again, it would involve the crowd more and give tech-freaks like me a chance to have a closer look at the cars. The flip side of the coin is that the pit might get too crowded in the future, but EDC isn’t that big. Yet.
vi) It’s better when the drivers pass the spectators while going back to the start. One can then have a better look at the cars and the drivers can also show off a bit, which is always a positive thing.
vii) The commentary was simply awesome! If that commentary and the atmosphere in '07 BDC Rd 7 would be combined … I’d be in heaven. So BIG thanks to ‘Sleepy’ and Maz(?), who did a very good job despite the partly horrible weather.
Right, so there are my thoughts for now, I hope they’ve been constructive. I do, however, think that EDC is/was good overall, but there are a couple fundamental things, which need to be sorted in order to achieve something bigger/more spectator friendly. I also understand that some tracks/events have limitations and it’s not always possible to realise everything, but it’s still worth a try.
Finally, I would ask drivers and others to contribute to this as well, but please be constructive.
Thank you for reading through.
