Kligerman: Formula E is an Instagram hit, but attending a race is an out-of-focus experience

Pretty good read and a great viewpoint on the series. Glad he didn't use his press pass and went as a fan but he ended up kind of working the race anyway. Formula E seems to have everything right as far as getting manufacture's on board but sounds like the need some work in fan fare.
 
Doc Austin said:
I remember when racing was about burning as much fuel, oil, and rubber as you could, and, making as much noise, going as fast, and raising as much hell as possible.
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I doubt racing was ever about burning fuel or rubber, or making as much noise as possible. Those were just side effects of going fast.

I'm pretty sure it was never about burning oil.
 
Seems like it a propaganda event but they fail to really cater to the ones they are trying to influence. I watched the race on TV and it really wasn't even presented as a motorsport in my opinion.
 
I don't follow Formula E, but I like the concept and the futuristic sound of the cars. The "pit stops" are pretty lame, but it is what it is. I think it's a little ahead of its time, and the technology has to improve before it will get better.
 
i attended a formula e race during the inaugural season, the miami round. i thought it was great... i did however buy tickets ahead of time, so i had nice top row reserved seats. the sound of the cars is different, but its not a completely bad thing! very unique and interesting i think. parkers comments about no commentary, i have no idea... one of the perks of the cars being quiet i suppose is that you can hear the commentary(i could hear it fine, not that you need to hear it..). sounds like he did not have a real ticket, so he really did not get to experience much of the event... if he had nice grandstand seats maybe his opinion would have been different. i wouldnt bother with an event if the real tickets were sold out. whether they were giveaway tickets or not, doesnt really matter. a lot of new series fill most of the seats with freebie tickets. the majority of people in attendance at all of the red bull grc races received free tickets.
i loved the formula e race i went to, all of the people around me in the grandstands seemed to have enjoyed it. the fanzone was great.
i have been dying to get back to another formula e race, i wanted to this year with races in ny and quebec but im out of the country for the summer unfortunately.
i dont see any value in what parker said because he didnt have a real ticket... it does suck if you cant just walk up day of race and get a seat in the grandstands, but it is what it is...
 
Simple Fan said:
Seems like it a propaganda event but they fail to really cater to the ones they are trying to influence. I watched the race on TV and it really wasn't even presented as a motorsport in my opinion.
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I've glanced at Formula E a couple of times. I liked it better than restrictor plate racing, but let's remember how low my opinion of that is. I'm don't care what the vehicles sound like, so that doesn't play a role in my opinion of the racing. At this stage it reminds me of the early seasons of the Truck series: different, potentially entertaining, but some rough spots still to be worked out, esp. regarding the 'pit stops'.
 
toledo47 said:
i attended a formula e race during the inaugural season, the miami round. i thought it was great... i did however buy tickets ahead of time, so i had nice top row reserved seats. the sound of the cars is different, but its not a completely bad thing! very unique and interesting i think. parkers comments about no commentary, i have no idea... one of the perks of the cars being quiet i suppose is that you can hear the commentary(i could hear it fine, not that you need to hear it..). sounds like he did not have a real ticket, so he really did not get to experience much of the event... if he had nice grandstand seats maybe his opinion would have been different. i wouldnt bother with an event if the real tickets were sold out. whether they were giveaway tickets or not, doesnt really matter. a lot of new series fill most of the seats with freebie tickets. the majority of people in attendance at all of the red bull grc races received free tickets.
i loved the formula e race i went to, all of the people around me in the grandstands seemed to have enjoyed it. the fanzone was great.
i have been dying to get back to another formula e race, i wanted to this year with races in ny and quebec but im out of the country for the summer unfortunately.
i dont see any value in what parker said because he didnt have a real ticket... it does suck if you cant just walk up day of race and get a seat in the grandstands, but it is what it is...
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I'm going to COTA with GA seating this year. You have me stressin out!
 
Guy goes to a race at the last minute and winds up with free tickets to the fan zone and is mad the experience isn't what he wanted it to be...huh? From what I've read (mainly reddit) the main, paid grandstands weren't like that at all, I've seen some American auto racing fans fans that decided to check it out for the first time say there were plenty of comms where the stands actually were.

Also, LOL if he thinks NASCAR doesn't do some of the same stuff:
And use social media buzzwords such impressions, engagement and KPI (key performance indicator)
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Simple Fan said:
Seems like it a propaganda event but they fail to really cater to the ones they are trying to influence. I watched the race on TV and it really wasn't even presented as a motorsport in my opinion.
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The Formula EJ or whatever it is is terrible.

Mr. Gregory said:
I don't follow Formula E, but I like the concept and the futuristic sound of the cars. The "pit stops" are pretty lame, but it is what it is. I think it's a little ahead of its time, and the technology has to improve before it will get better.
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Yeah, it's mainly a marketing gimmick right now but that was kinda the point while it's in its infancy still. They don't really plan on being an actual sport or auto racing series for a few years as the powertrain development continues to open up and the car swap goes away in a couple of seasons.

Although I wonder, when they do get to that point how long will it be sustainable for? The more development is opened up and the more OEMs join in, the costlier it will be and the ship will in theory right itself. Now that will be interesting to follow.
 
DUN24 said:
I'm going to COTA with GA seating this year. You have me stressin out!
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Well, COTA is a permanent circuit while we are discussing street circuits. Conpletely different, generally a permanent circuit will have better visibility than a street circuit (not 100% of the time of course). I have been to COTA for V8 Supercars. From the grand standa near turn one, i could see almost the entire circuit. You wont get that good of a view, people were setting up lawnchairs next to the grandstand. Those are tall grandstands, you will have a decent view i think, though, there will be many more people at the F1 race than at a V8 supercars race of course, more people makes the viewing tougher
 
toledo47 said:
Well, COTA is a permanent circuit while we are discussing street circuits. Conpletely different, generally a permanent circuit will have better visibility than a street circuit (not 100% of the time of course). I have been to COTA for V8 Supercars. From the grand standa near turn one, i could see almost the entire circuit. You wont get that good of a view, people were setting up lawnchairs next to the grandstand. Those are tall grandstands, you will have a decent view i think, though, there will be many more people at the F1 race than at a V8 supercars race of course, more people makes the viewing tougher
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True, didn't even think about the fact that we are talking about temp circuits.

I'm thinking of migrating between Turn 1/Esses seating and Turn 9(?) in the stadium section.
 
Doc Austin said:
I remember when racing was about burning as much fuel, oil, and rubber as you could, and, making as much noise, going as fast, and raising as much hell as possible.
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and they did for fun, most of them had jobs to go to in mornings. There was no such thing as a millionaire race car driver either.
 
It's amazing how many fans think the noise is the most important thing when attending a race. When Michael Waltrip proposed it, fans raged about it on here and on social, and I don't get it. I love racing as much as anyone, but as someone who is at the track every week, some of us would still like to have our hearing when we get older. Get on Twitter and ask Mark Martin about the volume.

Some of the most entertaining races I see are the Bandolero races at Southern National Motorsports Park. They are quiet but still put on a great show.
 
sdj said:
For a lot of us, when 40 - 850HP Hotrods fire up and get up to speed, or 15 to 30 Super late Models get after it on a hot Saturday night, that is not NOISE young man, that is pure beautiful MUSIC!
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Is there anything wrong with turning the volume down a few decibels? I mean, really? All of us in the sport should get hearing damage because y'all want **** to be as loud as possible?

I've been to tracks that require mufflers and the cars are quieter. In the stands, you really don't notice any major difference, but you sure as hell notice a difference in the pits.
 
sdj said:
For a lot of us, when 40 - 850HP Hotrods fire up and get up to speed, or 15 to 30 Super late Models get after it on a hot Saturday night, that is not NOISE young man, that is pure beautiful MUSIC!
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Yeah, but it's absence isn't going to cause me to stop watching. I've read several posts from people saying they won't watch quieter cars, and I don't get it at all. Geez, they're still going the same speed and making the same turns. Half of y'all have headsets on anyway.

Birds' songs add a lot to birding, and birds can be identified by song alone, but I wouldn't quit birdwatching if I went deaf.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Is there anything wrong with turning the volume down a few decibels? I mean, really? All of us in the sport should get hearing damage because y'all want sh!t to be as loud as possible?

I've been to tracks that require mufflers and the cars are quieter. In the stands, you really don't notice any major difference, but you sure as hell notice a difference in the pits.
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Charlie Spencer said:
Yeah, but it's absence isn't going to cause me to stop watching. I've read several posts from people saying they won't watch quieter cars, and I don't get it at all. Geez, they're still going the same speed and making the same turns. Half of y'all have headsets on anyway.

Birds' songs add a lot to birding, and birds can be identified by song alone, but I wouldn't quit birdwatching if I went deaf.
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You both have good points, but, we all have our ideas and sometimes they are different. Nothing wrong with that, all good. :D
 
sdj said:
If you loose the SOUND of hi performance internal combustion engines running at max performance unmuffled and the Racing fuel smell, well, I will be on to another from of entertainment, that is 85% of the experience live to me, nothing like it anywhere.
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That's what hooked me when I was a 6 year old kid.!
Smell of leaded exhaust , burning rubber , and the sound.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Is there anything wrong with turning the volume d:)own a few decibels? I mean, really? All of us in the sport should get hearing damage because y'all want sh!t to be as loud as possible?

I've been to tracks that require mufflers and the cars are quieter. In the stands, you really don't notice any major difference, but you sure as hell notice a difference in the pits.
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Andy, let me share this observation with you .

1995 - Montreal F1. V12's galore. The first practice was just getting ready to start.
Everyone runs to the fence to get a good look when they first come by on the out lap.
And here they come , the full glory of ear splitting V12's. I saw some newbies on the front row
of the fence who had no ear protection just look at each other with the biggest smiles as
the cars came screaming by . You could tell it was their first F1 experience and impression.
By their reaction, it was a good one. IMO- loud sound and racing go together quite nicely.

Having said that, I have not been to a race in 30 years with out headphones for the scanner/radio.
So sound has never been uncomfortable to me. Only the people trying to have a conversation with me
while I am in my headphones has been more of an issue :director::wacko: .
 
sdj said:
For a lot of us, when 40 - 850HP Hotrods fire up and get up to speed, or 15 to 30 Super late Models get after it on a hot Saturday night, that is not NOISE young man, that is pure beautiful MUSIC!
Click to expand...

Damn right, when you can feel the sound of those cars there is nothing better. Never been one for ear protection either.
 
Hotrod said:
Andy, let me share this observation with you .

1995 - Montreal F1. V12's galore. The first practice was just getting ready to start.
Everyone runs to the fence to get a good look when they first come by on the out lap.
And here they come , the full glory of ear splitting V12's. I saw some newbies on the front row
of the fence who had no ear protection just look at each other with the biggest smiles as
the cars came screaming by . You could tell it was their first F1 experience and impression.
By their reaction, it was a good one. IMO- loud sound and racing go together quite nicely.

Having said that, I have not been to a race in 30 years with out headphones for the scanner/radio.
So sound has never been uncomfortable to me. Only the people trying to have a conversation with me
while I am in my headphones has been more of an issue :director::wacko: .
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Cars that are a little quieter don't take anything away from the experience. You can't tell the difference in the stands. You can in the pits.

It's amazing to me that so many fans think the noise is the entirety of the experience.
 
Simple Fan said:
DAMN RIGHT, WHEN YOU CAN FEEL THE SOUND OF THOSE CARS THERE IS NOTHING BETTER! NEVER BEEN ONE FOR EAR PROTECTION EITHER!
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You missed my point. I'm huge on hearing protection and won't go without it. I have hearing loss problems for other reasons, mostly getting old. It's one of those things that doesn't seem like it could be an issue, until you realize you don't hear the microwave go ding anymore or that the TV volume is max'ed out and it still isn't loud enough.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
You missed my point. I'm huge on hearing protection and won't go without it. I have hearing loss problems for other reasons, mostly getting old. It's one of those things that doesn't seem like it could be an issue, until you realize you don't hear the microwave go ding anymore or that the TV volume is max'ed out and it still isn't loud enough.
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Could care less about that stuff, if I get to your age and am in that kind of shape so be it. I'm not going to worry about older me until I'm him.
 
I always keep about 20 pair of ear plugs in my back pack. If I see anyone covering their ears,
I go give them a pack. If its kids , I give them to the parents and some for themselves. Newbies
are not ready for the decibels sometimes.
 
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