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October 16, 2005
A day out at the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix
I'll start off by saying that attending my 1st ever Grand Prix was absolutely amazing, whether you are into Cars or not, it's a unique experience, and for me experiencing it in China was all the more exciting.
I managed to get some tickets and we headed off on 1 of the 000s of buses provided to get us to the track about 90 minutes from Shanghai city centre, shame the bus driver didn't know where we were going so he decided to stop on a 3 lane highway and ask the driver behind (don't worry, this is China, this kinda stuff happens all the time).
Anyway we got there in time and had a few hours of pure fun, the sound is amazing and seeing the cars so close really lets you get a feel for how quick they actually are.
The track was very close to a sell out (80% - 85% capacity I think)
Some snippets and basic facts about a Chinese grand prix:
Lots of folk selling goods galore outside (F1 hats, flags, T-shirts etc), all very cheaply, so I let you work that on out yourself :)
Inside official stands were selling similar items for 10 times the price, but here obviously IP laws were being observed and the correct parties get their share.
FOSTERS Australian beer had a big presence.
Chinese are quite passionate about F1 it seems and surprise surprise Ferrari and Schumacher are their favourites.
Even with strict security, the Rolex boys were out in full force, as can be seen in the pic below, and NO, I am NOT the guy offering the "Lolex, Too Much Cheap, Too Much Good"
Overall it was a top day out, even if it took nearly 3 hours to get back to Shanghai in the most chaotic traffic jam I have seen so far in China.
Posted by shak at October 16, 2005 10:37 PM