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Grandprixcities contributor, G-No, (pic below) : outside Westminster Abbey in London) recently attended a "race day special event" at the Williams F1 Conference Center in Grove UK. I'm told the Center plan others to coincide with F1 race dates As always I'm glad to publish contributors articles about their race travel experience.
Feel free to send me yours via the contact link below
To find out more about the Centre, see their official website: williamsf1conferences.com.
Godspeed on all your motorsport travel adventures, Cvetko Ostroznik
THE PICS
Here's our roving motorsport travel reporter outside Wwestminster Abbey, London.
NOTES: Pass and Information brochure
NOTES: A 2004 show car says hi in the welcome hall
NOTES: Detail, cockpit
NOTES: South African Grand Prix Manufacturer's trophy
NOTES: You know WilliamsF1 has plenty of these
NOTES: Racing suits, then and now
NOTES: F1 Transmission on display
NOTES: Australian Alan Jones' 81 Williams world championship car
NOTES: Nige's ride
NOTES: JV's ride
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THE TRAVEL REPORT
April 4, 2004
At my request, F1 Racing Magazine, who handled the ticketing, included with my confirmation letter, a list of Inns and Hotels in the Oxford / Oxfordshire area . I stayed in Oxford right across from the train station. I paid £40/night for a little room, single bed, and shared bath. Grove was a 20 minute drive from Oxford.
I was told there is bus that goes from Oxford to Wantage and it stops in Grove, and I over heard that some people took a train to closer by Didcot and then a taxi to the factory. I took a taxi from Oxford. For my return trip, the host at Williams (Amish, I think) called a Mercedes Taxi. It upped my return fare by £12 to £35. A little pricey but, I twisted my ankle in London pretty badly, so I was glad to reduces the amount of walking involved.
The passes they sent doubled as a map, (see pic 1) and the directions are pretty straight forward: A34 to A420 to A338. There is a rotary when you cross into Grove and the factory entrance is one of your 4 options. Pretty hard to miss!
If you didn't see the ad for the event in F1 Racing, the "Race Day" itinerary included a presentation in the Senna Room (where the race was watched from), a tour through the Preview Theater, GP Collection, Technology Room, and the Trophy Room. We had brunch in the Piers Courage Room which Included 2 drinks from the Alan Jones Bar.
Sir Frank Williams himself, addressed the audience before and after the race. Their live satellite feed of the Grand Prix in Bahrain didn't work so they put the ITV "official feed" on the main screen and the Timing feed from the F1 web site on the two smaller screens that flank the larger. During commercial breaks Amish updated the crowd on what the pits where telling him (via mobile phone). We knew Montoya's gearbox was broke, well before he had given up 5th.
I was only in the UK for 2.5 Days and London for 12 hours, but I haven't stop talking about it for a week. Other than nearly breaking my ankle, I enjoyed myself greatly. It was the ultimate experience for a diehard Williams fan. With $1 only buying £0.55 (Thanx G.W. ), it was a pricey weekend.
Williams plan on having more "Race Days" this season but, the only one scheduled at that time was during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. They said to check their web site, and I imagine that F1 Racing will have ads running ASAP. Unless you're involved with the team somehow, this is the only way to see the Grand Prix Collection, which is not generally open to the public.
The race day ticket for the Bahrain race day cost £199 (including 17% tax).
Gno
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