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Old 31st October 2011, 10:46   #31
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

After the Common wealth fiasco , a lot was at stake !

Fantastic achievement by all involved !

3 Cheers to BIC !!
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Old 31st October 2011, 12:02   #32
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

The event was a grand success, though there are some things i would like to point out

The good

Amazing track, amazing view of the track from the stand, the track elevations were just stupendous I would love to drive on this track ,good food , pricing of essentials like water(Rs 10) and ear plugs(Rs15) was good , do take in mind that Tea was Rs50 and 2 Samosa for Rs100, there was a smoking zone and cig were available inside at regular prices (only Marlboro).

The Bad
1. screens could have been bigger or more in number. The entire classic stand 2 east had just 1 screen for it, which made it had to follow the race, 2 screens would have done the trick. How big are the screen on other tracks? We couldn't read from our screen and had to take pictures of it and then zoom in to see the track positions.

2. Mobile networks were jammed, we couldn't connect to see the live timings through the official F1 App on our phones. I know its not viable to setup more network towers just for 3 days, but i am sure something can be done.

3. The Yamuna express way isn't complete yet, and there was only 1 entry and exit for East zone, this caused a traffic jam. Should be fine next year.

4. Toilets were not working but CLEAN. There was no water and they had placed water buckets and mug besides every washbasin.

5. And lastly there was too much dirt on the track, due to which all the drivers stuck to only one clean racing line. With the dust hopefully gone the next year we can expect more overtaking.

The Ugly

Nothing. There was nothing that could put you off,except for some bimbos who had no idea of what was going on the track, and were busy clicking pictures of themselves and obstructing the view by getting up every now and then.


All in all a good race and big congratulations to the organizers.
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Old 31st October 2011, 12:04   #33
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
I'd like to hear how the fans found it. Jaypee might have satisfied the drivers, media and F1 honchos but what about the fans.

How were the facilities? How was security? Were there long queues due to mismanagement? What about food, beverages and restrooms? Were the stands clean? Big screens working? Anything not yet finished in the stands.

If that was taken care of then it's absolutely brilliant. If not then next year they will have an uphill battle in getting numbers.
Security was really good. Police presence was more than adequate even by the time you crossed over into Noida from Delhi. Within the track facility too there was more than enough cops and private security people.

Food was overpriced (expected) Coke was not (unexpected). No food/drinks could be taken to the stands (expected). You had to stand and eat outside the stands. It was pretty OK.

Restrooms. The East sector where we were at had no running water, but the guys were ready with buckets etc and it was OK and they were pro-active in addressing it.

Stands were quite clean and were reasonably comfortable. Screens worked, though I hope they get slightly larger ones next year, could not make out anything written on them, it was too far away.

The only compliant I had was about the shuttles inside the circuit. They were all mini-buses and the main shuttles that ply from the circuit to park-n-ride joints were the regular big ones. They just did not have enough of the circuit shuttles and it was a mess by the time the race was over.

It was fun to see a Porsche Cayenne and a Maruti 800 part side-by-side and the passengers of both cars queue up without any fuss to get into the rickety shuttles. Who knew that F1 could be a great leveler!
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Old 31st October 2011, 14:09   #34
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Also, as an aside Metallica had a successful concert in Bengaluru (my son was there). Two finger salute to the Jatland!
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Old 1st November 2011, 03:27   #35
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

It was indeed brilliant. I had the tickets for all the 3 days but was only able to go on Day 2 & 3, so I can tell you the look from a fan's (yours truly) perspective.

The Good:

1) The event was very well organised.
2) Clear markings all across the express way telling you how far to go till the next major check-point. Like pass-check point, park & ride zone. Clear markings for people to exit the express way for their respective stands.
3) The moment you get inside the actual facility they had clearly marked the parking slots. I was given a parking ticket, which had clearly mentioned the day, the slot number, the best time to avoid traffic congestion.
4) People present were very helpfulk in guiding you along if you needed them. The signages were so clear that you never really felt the need to do so.
5) Gate numbers well marked on the venue and your tickets. Entry gates on the stands clearly mentioned where to get in from, etc.
6) The track view was amazing and they had taken care of making the stands accordingly to give you the best view.
7) The loud speakers were well placed and you could stil hear them over the deaffening roar of the F1 cars and understand what was happening.
8) The food stalls were well organised, the food was good as well. Aerated beverages were priced normal, pepsi - Rs 20, water - Rs 15
9) I was in West stand and I had no issue with the water in the toilets. They were decently clean despite 1 lakh people being there and using them.
10) The stewards did a great job and so did the organizers given the circumstances, etc.

The Opportunity areas:

1) Traffic congestion could have been handled well. Reasoning, they had bottle-necks at entry and exit zones in the facility. Understanding they knew how many people would be visiting, the entry exit points while constructing the venue should have been made wider.
2) Food pricing was way too high. I mean you can raise the bar a bit but not at the point of fleecing the people who were there. Burger/Chole-kulche - 250/-, Biryani - 300/-, samosas - 100/-. Way too much if you ask me.
3) Loose dust all over the place. My car looked like it came out of a demolition derby after I got back to it in the parking at the end on both days.
4) Pick-n-ride ferries driving in the midst of people at crazy rash speeds while everyone was on the road when the event got over on both days. I am surprised they didn't knock people over, they were that rashly driven.
5) Marlboro people offering a free lighter with a pack ran out of free lighters by the mid of last day. What sort of a promotion was that? Couldn't they count the number of packs in the inventory and the lighters to match them.
6) People standing in the middle walk rows on the stands and getting their photos clicked while the one's like me had our views blocked during the race. And no matter how many times you ask them to sit down, they would again get up and do the same. What's with us Indians wanting to get them photos and say 'I was there' while bothering every one around. We got to learn basic ettiquets.
7) People got inside the venue by borrowing the staff I-Cards. I mean, give me a break. I paid for it and there were people all over the stands with 'jugaad' entries. Bad on their part and even worst on the part of the staff who offered to help them. This is highly un-ethical. I even had a couple of them around me boasting about how they got in.

Epic Event which was superbly handled and the few hic-ups are but natural. I am proud of all the people who made it a grand success
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Old 1st November 2011, 14:25   #36
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
I'd like to hear how the fans found it. Jaypee might have satisfied the drivers, media and F1 honchos but what about the fans.

How were the facilities? How was security? Were there long queues due to mismanagement? What about food, beverages and restrooms? Were the stands clean? Big screens working? Anything not yet finished in the stands.

If that was taken care of then it's absolutely brilliant. If not then next year they will have an uphill battle in getting numbers.
The Good :
  • Perfect track condition. Be it the pits (got a friend in Shell who was there the entire three days - the teams were quite satisfed), the stands, the inner access lanes, the equipments & vehicles (for accidents/mishaps) - everything was tops.
  • Finally an event where the parking far exceeded the total crowd capacity. Sufficient place for your cars. And there was also space kept for motorcycle parking.
  • Excellent facilities - clean toilets (yes, they were working & being cleaned by the hour), good seats, good entry & exit points, food options were sufficient
  • Proper signs & demarcations all over the place - be it the Agra - Yamuna expressway, or the parking areas, or the entry/exit routes.
  • Safety being given the top priority - there were checks atleast 10 kms before the race track - in addition to the highway, there were two service lanes on either side that could be used to reach the race track. As a result, people were maintaining proper driving etiquettes, even when there was a jam at the entry/exit point.
  • Extremely friendly cops. We had to reach Galgotia college (Noida) to get our car parking permit - even the college security was helpful. No differentiation between local/outstate cars, hassle free drive(s).
  • Clear demarcations for the different seating arrangements - a good percentage of the crowd were newbies - heard quite a few getting confused & asking directions in spite of their tickets mentioning the stands/sections. To add to it every zone (N/S/E/W) had a "May I help" section.
The Bad :
  • Crappy Delhi - Noida traffic. Of course, nothing much could be done about it - but still that sticks out like a sore point. On both days (qualifying/race day), people got stuck up for hours trying to get back to Delhi.
  • Obnoxious pricing for food. On the race day, they had even forgotten to remove the original price tags from the food items - my burger (which costed me 300Rs) had a sticker for 30 Rs! 1000% inflation! Thankfully water & coke was at normal pricing.
  • Weird ticketing management. First, the bus passes & parking permits got over atleast a few days before the race, but thankfully you had the drive & park option. For those who got the bus permits, there were buses to atleast most parts of Delhi, Gurgaon & Noida (not sure about Faridabad & Ghaziabad). But why keep the option of sepearate booking for bus/car/bike tickets, why not include it in the ticket price itself. Forget the cost factor, most of the spectators would have atleast been saved of the hassles of going through booking a seperate ticket & then getting to the designated points for picking up the passes. Weirdly the permit pickup points were only in Noida & Greater Noida close to the expressway, a better place would have been Delhi/Gurgaon metro stations!
  • Only one entry/exit was being used. There was another entry/exit point at the far end (I used that one) - even while the front one was jammed up completely, the other one was stark empty.
  • More participation required for the F1 village. Overseas the F1 teams participate more, displaying their cars/etc - hopefully this would get better in the coming years.
  • Idiotic rules - food/water wasn't allowed to your seats in most of the stands, but in the mainstand, even beer was sold & allowed to be taken to the seats. Again hopefully, this should improvise in the coming years.
Overall, one of the best managed events - I don't care if by next year the winner has to dance with Mayawati, but F1 @ Noida is to stay!
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Old 1st November 2011, 15:24   #37
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Whereas there were many good points as well as a few rough edges that need to be ironed out , the right phrase to describe my sentiment after attending the event is " I am very proud that we pulled it off "
I think its a fantastic achievement and it helped that govt was kept out of it
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Old 2nd November 2011, 12:33   #38
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
The Good :
Obnoxious pricing for food. On the race day, they had even forgotten to remove the original price tags from the food items - my burger (which costed me 300Rs) had a sticker for 30 Rs! 1000% inflation! Thankfully water & coke was at normal pricing.
I guess the pricing was different in different stands.
In the East stand,
burger was Rs. 150 and biryani, Rs. 200.
But, i actually include food pricing as a good point. Beverages were sold at MRP and food items were not prohibitively expensive.

The good points have all already been mentioned. I would like to add some negatives.

Bad points:
  • Bus service to and from the track were not upto the mark. It was mentioned that buses would start at 7.30am and then consecutive buses at 30 mins interval each. But instead, buses left only once they were full. That means invariably, the 7.30 bus would leave at about 8.45. I missed the first session on all days because of these buses.
  • The dust in the food area was crazy. It was like having food in the middle of a dust storm
  • While there were plenty of food stalls, there was only one coupon stall initially, leading to 15 minute long lines. They corrected it later by opening more counters, but still better solutions can be implimented
  • Also, the coupons were valid for only 1 day. So, each day one had to stand in the long queues. It defied logic. Why not have common coupons for all 3 days. That would reduce load on the coupon counters too

PS: I was in Star Stand 1 East.

Last edited by jalsa777 : 2nd November 2011 at 12:36. Reason: Adding info
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Old 3rd November 2011, 00:56   #39
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

Bravo Mr.Jaypee and his team

The recent chaos witnessed at the Metallica concerts (Blr and NCR) puts it into perspective.

Nothing wrong with India as long as the right team of people are involved.
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Old 3rd November 2011, 02:53   #40
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

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Nothing wrong with India as long as the right team of people are involved.
To put it in perspective, even if 1% of the population are nutters, it still is 1.2 crore people! More than the entire population of some countries!
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Old 3rd November 2011, 10:21   #41
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

We were at Premium Stand South - Gate 12, Block D, Row V, Seats 22-25. Excellent views of Turns 10 & 11 and being right up there on top meant that our line of vision was relatively un-impeded by people who kept standing up & waving!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
I'd like to hear how the fans found it. Jaypee might have satisfied the drivers, media and F1 honchos but what about the fans.
I can tell you, we were very pleasantly surprised. I never thought I'd say this in my life but - Hats off to Mayawati, I don't think this project would have materialized without her silent backing & the Jaypee group have done a super job. Be it the track itself or the roads leading up to it. Man, that Yamuna expressway has to be driven on to be believed. I was so tempted to take the X1 on Sunday but simply didn't because of the unbelievable amount of dust at the parking! In the Fiesta, I was up closer to 170 on the speedo before I realized it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
How were the facilities? How was security? Were there long queues due to mismanagement? What about food, beverages and restrooms? Were the stands clean? Big screens working? Anything not yet finished in the stands.
We reached around 11.30 both days, there were no queues anywhere except at the coupon counter on Day One. The security was effective without being obtrusive - they were firm but polite & didn't unnecessarily harrass or ask any stupid questions. No issues about carrying DSLRs etc, I think it was obvious who the "professional" cameramen were & who the family photographers were so they didn't bother us at all.

Food - our only grouse. As I'd posted on Facebook, choice of items could have been wider, prices should have been way lower & some of it could have been a little more spicy . Good thing was, water & beverages were at MRP.

Rest rooms - as mentioned, HUGE and unbelievably clean, with frequent cleaning by the housekeeping guys. The soap dispensers had liquid soap in them even at the end of Raceday, which is saying something!

Our stand was pretty clean & the big screens worked throughout, as did the microphones (though it was obviously impossible to hear anything when the cars were flying by). Didn't see anything unfinished as such but I did see one chair which seem to have come apart when someone yanked it a tad harder than they should have!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
If that was taken care of then it's absolutely brilliant. If not then next year they will have an uphill battle in getting numbers.
I think they'll get the numbers next year. The one BIG fiasco was the traffic situation after the race got over on Sunday - it took us an hour to traverse maybe a couple of kilometers because of a total gridlock! That's something they need to work on because some of the mindless "No Entry" made no sense to me. They insisted on routing the returning traffic through one exit point & that screwed things up big time.

[Mind you, when I think back to Malaysia (where we had relied on public transport), heck, it took us over an hour to walk to the main boarding point as the circuit shuttles had just disappeared! Singapore was the same till one found their way to the MRT. So that makes me think its a trend where most organizers just wrap up as soon as the race is over.]

All in all, a BIG to the organizers, we were REALLY PROUD TO BE INDIANS!! What a moment it was when the National Anthem was being sung!!
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Old 3rd November 2011, 13:17   #42
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

No doubt it was a well organized event in the history of Indian sports. A well deserving full page advt given by Jaypee group.

My friend commented, "All worked well because it was very close to Delhi. T3, Flyovers, Metro helped indirectly in making this event a big success".
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Old 3rd November 2011, 14:18   #43
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

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Great event,no amount of praise is less for the organizers.Amazing.



BTW UP CM on podium? Why not someone else?

PS. Not meant to offend anyone.
As said earlier.. without her blessings nothing could have been possible. I think that's why the circuit was named as Buddh Intl. circuit as mayawati calls herself a buddhist. She has lord Buddha in almost any big thing she has built in Lucknow and around. None the less, This race went on extremely well thanks to everyone involved. It was also the first ever F1 race I saw from start to end in the last 2 years.
Missed being there :(

Was glued to the screen till the time the next broadcast wasn't started. Thank you Mr. vettel for being so mean. It looked as if you were driving almost on an empty road straight to the finish !!!

Looking forward for the next season...
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Old 3rd November 2011, 17:27   #44
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

The first truly international event we host and make it a success, aren't we all proud!

Here is the case where all things went right, well almost. The event and viewers were international, the organizers were dedicated, media support was there and it got us excited(the middle class).

I hope the track is utilized to host National events around the year. The rumored Motogp and SBK races would also be great, but challenging, as these events aren't at par with F1 on the recognition level in India. Local and National events with good promotion would generate more interest and awareness among the masses.

Profit motive plays an important part for the any events success while the same cannot be said about the Metallica event in Gurgaon where the (mis) organizers fumbled big time.

What I have heard and read, DNA, the Metallica event organizer, were at fault which some miscreants took advantage of, vast majority of the attendees though disappointed, chose to leave the grounds without creating any ruckus.

@sgiitk Technically I would not call this part of Haryana as Jatland.
Gujjar, Ahir or Yadavland would be more appropriate. Jats listening to Metallica!..well in that case whatever happened at the grounds could be compared to a minor scuffle.

Good thing was that nobody got hurt.
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Old 3rd November 2011, 18:29   #45
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Re: BRAVO, Indian F1 organisers!!

All in all it was an excellent event and I am sure it has made every Indian proud of what we can achieve if we set our mind to it! F1 is here to stay for good! Three cheers for the organizers, the construction group and the government for having made this possible!
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