Barcelona F1 - LIVE REPORT

mrmac

Ok, I´m not trying to gloat, or rub it in, BUT I´m in Spain for the race!!!!
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Anyway, weather is feckin great, about 24deg, and no sign of a cloud, so not sure where the forcast for showers is coming from.

We´re not based in Barcelona, we´re in a sea-side resort called Calella (spelling?). Had a walk around Barcelona today and it´s a beautiful and interesting place, even from a male perspective!

Away at 7.30am to the track, hope to report back, with a few photos tomorrow night!

Ola!

enzo7

mrmac wrote: »

Ok, I´m not trying to gloat, or rub it in, BUT I´m in Spain for the race!!!!
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Anyway, weather is feckin great, about 24deg, and no sign of a cloud, so not sure where the forcast for showers is coming from.

We´re not based in Barcelona, we´re in a sea-side resort called Calella (spelling?). Had a walk around Barcelona today and it´s a beautiful and interesting place, even from a male perspective!

Away at 7.30am to the track, hope to report back, with a few photos tomorrow night!

Ola!

nah not one bit jealous:mad:

ah just kidding would luv to be there have a good one!!

cashmni1

enzo7 wrote: »

nah not one bit jealous:mad:

ah just kidding would luv to be there have a good one!!

me too, not jealous you know! Please get pics for us.
Enjoy!!

mrmac

Sorry everyone for not updating this as I went along - had to get some pressies for my wee girls, and the I ended up having a few drinks so Sunday evening is a bit of a blur!

Anyway, as an apology to ye all, I'm going to post here some WORLD EXCLUSIVE pics of the aftermath of the four car crash at Barcelona! I haven't had any time to tidy these up yet, and I had a bloody hard time getting any pics as there was a sea of Spanards in front of me - so you'll have to forgive the quality!

























Hope you enjoy these

EvilMonkey

Cool pics

enzo7

thanks for d pics, looks like you had pretty good seats .how was the wkend in all, race? staying by the coast? would you reccomend it?

mrmac

Cheers enzo7!
I didn't have a seat, I couldn't afford that, way too expensive!

I travelled with The Travel Department, mainly because I was travelling alone, and partly because I could pay in for it over a couple of months!

I was on the Belfast trip, which was Friday to Monday, but I'd recommend leaving via Dublin, as they arrived on Thursday and had a day trip to Barcelona city included. Also, the flight back to Belfast meant a 6am start (5am BST!!!), where the Dublin crew didn't leave until 19.00.

Friday morning I left my house at 2am, drove nice and easy to Belast Airport, parked up at the Cosmo car park (£20 for 4 days) and got the shuttle bus to the airport. Arrived at the check-in desk at 4.10am. Check-in opened at 4.30am. Took me 30 mins to get through security, removed my belt, shoes, and then had my camera gear and laptop wiped down (drugs??).

The flight was with Aer Lingus, and was bang on time. Breakfast was a bit poor, and cost €9.00. No hassle at Barcelona airport. Met the travel guide at the airport and we all got on the bus. The hotel was about 1hr from the airport. The Hotel de Catalunya is a cheap and cheerful place, 3 star, basic but functional. There was nothing planed for Friday evening, so I had a walk around and had my dinner in the hotel. It was a €9.00 "all you can eat" buffet. I thought it was great, as I'll eat anything (without a face!), but quite a few Irish people don't do squid! I thought it was that nice, I ate there every night, as did the German and French parties!

Saturday was a 7am start for breakfast, getting the bus at 7.30am. It took us about 1hr 20mins to get to the circuit and parked. There are an awful lot of road developements going on, and we went through 3 tolls between Calella and the track! I really wouldn't like to try that by car!

The track is very easy to get around, but fairly poor "general admission" viewing areas! The ticket was €115 for a three day pass, which is not bad, and by walking the entire circuit on Saturday, I had a good idea where I wanted to go on Sunday. I ended up at the start of Turn 3. It's a fairly small viewing area, so you'd need to get there early!

I watched the Formula BMW, Formula GP, Porche challenge -all on before the F1 stuff.

The bus was fairly sharp for time, returning to the hotel at 5pm each day. In fairness, the guide waited for everyone that had said they where getting the bus back. A few people decided to get the train into Barcelona on Saturday night. The station is 20 mins walk from the circuit and only costs a few euro to the city. You can get the train back to Calella again for €6.50.

I had a great evening back in Calella. Went for a walk through the town. It's not a pretty town, and I don't mean any dis-respect by that. A lot of Spanish people live here, and so there are a lot of multi-storied apartment blocks, with washing etc. It's also one of the oldest resorts on the Costa Brava, and the hotels all look a bit dated.
The beach has a lovely promenade along it, which is tree lined, nice and shaded. The beach, while it looks lovely, has very course sand on it, which cut the feet off me after 20mins! The beach also drops away very quickly in the water - don't know if I'd bring my kids here?

Stopped at Restaurant Junior, along the beach, and had some Tapas. Can't remember what it was called, but it was squid in batter! Freakingly tasty! Everywhere I went, the staff could speak English! So I did know what I was getting to eat, just needed to be brave!

Race day, bus again at 7.30am! Much bigger crowds at the circuit, took us an extra 30mins to get parked. Again, I wouldn't attempt to drive here!
Started the day at the start of the Start/Finish straight. There's a small viewing area here, right beside the main grandstand. Great spot to see the cars coming off the last bend and fly past, but a bit dull! Plus you can't see the cars pass on the pit-lane as there too low, and are hidden behind a wall!

Moved around to Turn 3 before the start of the F1 race, and shuffled my way in! Stayed here for the rest of the day, and my legs where aching by the end of the day. There's very little space here to sit down, and if you do sit, it's hard to see over the safety barrier! Still, probably one of the best viewing areas!

Inside the circuit, be prepared to pay €12 for a LITRE of lager, €8 for a medium and €4.50 for a small. 500ml bottles of water are €3, orange & coke are €4.50. You can get a large hot dog, fries, a large packet of crisps and a bottle of coke for €10.50. That's pretty much all the food choices you have!!! Oh, and a cornetto is €4.50 - but worth every penny!

There are F1 stalls to please everyone. Including one by Mercedes with an 08 L.Hamilton F1 car, and a Bridgestone stand with an 08 Ferrari F1 car. Nice to be able to get within 2 feet of these! Bloody low to the ground eh?

Had a go in the Renault F1 simulator! It's a recording of the circuit taken on board a 2008 Renault! €10 a pop, but great!

I didn't get to go into Barcelona! With the early starts, and the lovely weather, I was knackered! I was in bed Friday and Saturday by 10pm! Sad.

I'd recommend using The Travel Department, as it really did run smoothly, and I had nothing to do but turn up! You probably could do it cheaper, if there where a few of you going, and you stayed closer to the track. There where a number of people on this trip, who have been to this track before, and always use the Travel Department as they reakon it works out about the same price when you include car hire, parking and toll fees, and actual time it would take you to organise it yourself!

I'm planning my own trip next year, because I'm only planning on going to Donnington, but I hope to go to Spa in 2011, and I'll be booking that with The Travel Department.

HTH.

enzo7

thanks for the report, you got a good spot judging by ur pics anyway, ya spa would be a good one to get to, been to monza and silverstone down the yr always did it ourselves , for a fraction of the price the travel dep are charging. but would consider using them for spa alright it seems to be in the middle of no where! going to try and get to monza this yr maybe i dieing to go to a race.

mrmac

Been to Silverstone myself - and it's fairly easy to arrange. Same should be true for Donnington, handy East Midland airport and decent local accommadation. I also have a fellow F1 head to also wants to go to Donnington, so becomes a wee bit cheaper the more that travels