[ku69rd]

From TV Viewer perspective, the show was pretty good. The track was a real joy watching it...what more get a call from my manager who is based in London telling me " Good Stuff Mate, was pleasantly surprised with the quality work that has been put on the track. It was a real joy to watch the race, probably they have to do something about the dust and mongrels"
After CWG this show was real good and also shows that we Indians can do better stuff without Government Interference.

[sameern.85]

My two cents.
I attended the F1 GP @ Greater Noida.
The organizing for logistics and transportation was not good at all. Even within the premises were dusty. At least the organizers could have sprayed water or put trees to help settle the dust. The shuttle service at the venue to the outer parking was horrible. It was almost like getting into a general compartment of a train. Will almost half km long queues and growing.
On track - Full marks to Jaypee. Off track not so..!

[Mindgrinder]

no offense but you seem to have feeble political knowledge. I am not a F1 fan, i hardly watch any, because i define sport as totally different category and something more greener. However, kudos to Jaypee group to create such a huge event which would welcome huge revenue's for our country in future. However, it was chandrababu naidu's dream to have first F1 track in cyberabad, but he lost elections and that never happened. Jaypee group acquired land from UP government during Agra Expressway work for cheap prices, its more like a PPP (public private partnership), but yeah i would prefer more worthwhile facilities like soccer and Tennis which have bigger audience and actually define sport to open in India.

Anyways, i hope F1 experience was great for India, looking forward to reading more about it whenever it happens next.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

no offense but you seem to have feeble political knowledge. I am not a F1 fan, i hardly watch any, because i define sport as totally different category and something more greener. However, kudos to Jaypee group to create such a huge event which would welcome huge revenue's for our country in future. However, it was chandrababu naidu's dream to have first F1 track in cyberabad, but he lost elections and that never happened. Jaypee group acquired land from UP government during Agra Expressway work for cheap prices, its more like a PPP (public private partnership), but yeah i would prefer more worthwhile facilities like soccer and Tennis which have bigger audience and actually define sport to open in India.

Anyways, i hope F1 experience was great for India, looking forward to reading more about it whenever it happens next.

Yes sir, it is apparent that you are not an f1 fan.
For throwing the wet blanket of it not being a sport.
No idea why youve mentioned the "political" aspect of it here.

At least this track will be used with all the events lined up already, unlike CWG facilities for other sports which have become huge waste of money post the games.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

but yeah i would prefer more worthwhile facilities like soccer and Tennis which have bigger audience and actually define sport to open in India..

Around 600 million viewers watch every f1 race on television globally. Remember this happens on 19 weekends a year. There are very few sporting events that commands this level of TV audience.

When I was in University (late 90's) - within my reasonably large circle of friends there were certainly more F1 fanatics than football or tennis fans. This is my experience and may not represent the true picture across the country. Sure Cricket was by far the most popular sport.

Im not sure if there are any surveys on TV viewship figures for F1 in India but I can only imagine that the figures are on the rise year after year since the time I graduated.

[Mindgrinder]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Yes sir, it is apparent that you are not an f1 fan.
For throwing the wet blanket of it not being a sport.
No idea why youve mentioned the "political" aspect of it here.

At least this track will be used with all the events lined up already, unlike CWG facilities for other sports which have become huge waste of money post the games.

ok, not going selective i do not say it is a bad idea, i say its a very good idea as it creates a lot of jobs and tourist revenue. How man CWG facility are waste? most sports happened in Sirifort complex and they are all being utilized by people now, may be even utilized if we get olympic bid through.

I am a regular visitor of sirifort so yes they are being utilized, you remember leyton hewitt pulled out of CWG due to security issues and not that we do not have facilities, well lets stick to F1, its my personal opinion and i am not asking anyone to stick with it. However, i will not give full credit to Jaypee its a PPP venture.

Originally Posted by Zed

Around 600 million viewers watch every f1 race on television globally. Remember this happens on 19 weekends a year. There are very few sporting events that commands this level of TV audience.

When I was in University (late 90's) - within my reasonably large circle of friends there were certainly more F1 fanatics than football or tennis fans. This is my experience and may not represent the true picture across the country. Sure Cricket was by far the most popular sport.

Im not sure if there are any surveys on TV viewship figures for F1 in India but I can only imagine that the figures are on the rise year after year since the time I graduated.

F1 and cricket are both TV sports lot of ads and sponsors but yes i still know a lot of ppl especially in europe, who would watch a soccer match over F1 anyday. In India anything associated with glamor is a hit for example IPL. so F1 will be a huge hit too, most of the people i know only went to buddh circuit to experience first live F1 event, they hardly watch F1 and will not go again. If i look at global scenario yes F1 is lot of money, even for India. However, i am a believer that in sports man is the machine. I already said no offense this is my personal view, and i am not against the event as it creates lot of money and jobs.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

ok, not going selective i do not say it is a bad idea, i say its a very good idea as it creates a lot of jobs and tourist revenue. How man CWG facility are waste? most sports happened in Sirifort complex and they are all being utilized by people now, may be even utilized if we get olympic bid through.

I am a regular visitor of sirifort so yes they are being utilized, you remember leyton hewitt pulled out of CWG due to security issues and not that we do not have facilities, well lets stick to F1, its my personal opinion and i am not asking anyone to stick with it. However, i will not give full credit to Jaypee its a PPP venture.

So am I.
Siri fort is largely refurbishment.
It is being utilized by the same set of people, like you and I, who were using it before.
Im looking at the rot in other venues devloped/renovated on a GRAND scale.
but lets not clutter up what basically is an adulation thread.

I was there at the race, and i dont care one hoot if it was a PPP, or if bombay/hyderbad/ ncr got it.
I have a team, I have a favorite player, and got to see them play in person, in a fantastic venue.
Mission accomplished, as far as a spots fan's satifaction is concerned.

[Zed]

[


most of the people i know only went to buddh circuit to experience first live F1 event, they hardly watch F1 and will not go again[/quote]

Nothing personal - we are having a discussion and thats that

I disagree with your above comment. Sure there were a VIPs and their paraphernalia in attendance not really for the love of the sport but to witness & be part of the 'tamasha'. But that crowds that filled the grandstands and lower priced (well in a relative sense!!) stands were mostly ardent fans who had turned up to witness an event that they've been longing to witness in our country for decades.

Do remember that your argument can be extended into any major sporting event as there will be people in the audience that are first times, who may never return and also people that are in attendance to show of their clothes, cars, jewellery and arm candies.

[sameern.85]

Dear Mindgrinder,
I have good knowledge of politics..But politics and sports have always been hand in hand and thats no reason for organizing the logistics in an improper way. Irrespective of whether it was Hyderabad or G.Noida what was important is that it happened in India and India is on the global map.
Anyways, I still feel it was a great event, and politics is there in other parts of the world where F1 is organised in a much more sorted manner. Since, this was the inaugural event maybe there where teething problems with logistics and organizing.
Kudos to Jaypee for the great track.!

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

no offense but you seem to have feeble political knowledge. I am not a F1 fan, i hardly watch any, because i define sport as totally different category and something more greener. However, kudos to Jaypee group to create such a huge event which would welcome huge revenue's for our country in future. However, it was chandrababu naidu's dream to have first F1 track in cyberabad, but he lost elections and that never happened. Jaypee group acquired land from UP government during Agra Expressway work for cheap prices, its more like a PPP (public private partnership), but yeah i would prefer more worthwhile facilities like soccer and Tennis which have bigger audience and actually define sport to open in India.

Anyways, i hope F1 experience was great for India, looking forward to reading more about it whenever it happens next.

[Sn1p3r]

I was the Marshal at Post 7.0 and all I can say is F1 coming to India is a dream come true. It was a mammoth task and we (Indians) did it.

For those against it, please find something palatable to comment, we can be critics all our lives but it takes effort to get something done.

For those who are for it, yay we got our own ring whoooot hoooot.

[Eddy]

Note from Suppport: No off-topic discussions on politics please. Thanks

[suhaas307]

India is well and truly on the World Map, and in big block letters too!

The race was, from what I've head, a grand success. Everything went smoothly, except for Massa and Hamilton, of course.

Even the Metallica concert in Bangalore was a thumping success. An estimated 40,000 fans turned up for the event and James Hetfield even got a little emotional when the crowd continued to hum even after they stopped playing a certain track.

It's great to see India on a roll! Now it's time for India's first Moto GP race and Porcupine Tree's second concert here in India!

[53BHP]

Originally Posted by shortbread

It was a strategic move to get Ms Mayawati up there!!

After holding this event we need to ensure we do not get an burri nazzar!!

Mate

You have to appreciate that this one of the rare events that happened in India WITH the Government, NOT INSPITE of the government, as is usually the case.

I am not a fan of Ms. Mayawati. But in this one case from what I gather from internal sources, she left no stone unturned to help JP and make this happen. She had ordered in cops for bandobast from as far as Meerut

Cheers

53bhp

[Shubz]

^^+1 to that. I have heard cops saying they have to travel to Agra after the event. Ms. Mayawati, despite all the negativity she has managed to garner has done a SUPERB job with this one. She deserved to be on the podium to present the winners cup.

Except for the dust and the travel arrangements (come on - this is the 1st time the event is being held so hiccups are a part of a start up), Everything else was close to perfect. I am sure the next year it will be much better and so on.

Kudos to the Government and JayPee group! I will be there next year too!

[microaubin]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

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 facilities were pretty good for a first time event. The ticketing staff where polite and courteous and directed every one to their seats.

Food and beverages were pathetic. Only Packaged drinking water Rs.15 and Soft drinks like Pepsi, Miranda, Coke etc at Rs.20 per can was the saving grace. I am guessing they cannot charge more where the MRP is printed on the product.

Other food items like Chicken sandwich Rs.200, Chicken burger Rs.250, Chicken patty Rs.200, Chicken pasta Rs.250 Tea/Cofee Rs.50 Gulab jamun Rs.100 kulfi ice cream Rs.100 were not only too overpriced but quite small and tasteless.All they did was turn you from totally famished to still hungry...

The chicken sandwich served by Indigo on my flight to Delhi was not only delicious but it cost only Rs.180 and I struggled to finish it. I am okay with the high prices but it should have been quality stuff even if the serving sizes were small.

Another major grouse was we had to buy food coupons first and then buy the food from different stalls and they were valid only for the particular day So many people seeing the long queues bought plenty of tickets only to be seen begging in the evening if any one wanted to buy extra coupons.

Then again they had only coupons for Rs.15, Rs.20, Rs.50 and Rs.100. Surprisingly no Rs.10 coupons With Rs.15 and Rs.100 coupons in acute shortage mostly everyone at the food stands mastered the basic course of permutation and combination!! Many people even forego Rs.5 each time for a bottle of water as they had only Rs.20 coupons while others where trying to count 1000 Rupees worth of Rs.20 coupons due to shortage in Rs.50 and Rs.100 coupons.

I was in the premium south stand which was covered. Six mall stands together make up the whole stand. Each small stands had individual covers which translated to spectators sitting on the edge of the small stands getting enough sunlight to last them for a long time.

Anything brought from outside were binned at the security check. They were selling Marlboro cigarettes (plus a lighter free) inside. If you buy and bring it the next day, they were binned though. Don't know how they expect a person to smoke a whole packet in a single day(Guess its okay if a couple of friends shared a packet-maybe that's their logic)

Toilets facilities were smart plenty and good enough. But by the end of the day is a different story.

Traffic after the final race was a nightmare.

Nevertheless an amazing event. Pretty sure these niggles will be sorted out and the next year will be even more fantastic.