Cum On Feel The Noise?

While marshalling at the Eastwood Stages rally at Mallory Park a month ago I started to pick up the first rumblings of potential issues regarding noise levels at the circuit. In the last week I read on the Motorsport Musings blog that, sadly, there are indeed issues around noise at Mallory, which could see in-week testing being restricted, amongst other petty restrictions on the circuit.

We tend to think of any litigious trend as being a thoroughly modern phenomenon, alongside the rise in personal injury claims by people lacking the required intelligence to walk walk down a street without being attacked by inanimate objects. However, noise complaints about motorsport probably started on the day the first internal combustion engine was fired up, and will no doubt be with us for a long time to come (ironically the likely long-term trend towards the much reviled electric / hybrid cars could actually help save the sport from noise issues in the future).

Noise complaints from local residents stopped the Crystal Palace circuit in London from getting back to its pre-war halcyon days when the Second World War ended, restricting the circuit to only 5 days racing a year - a condition that lasted for most of the post-war racing years at the venue (1). Although there was a clear history of racing at Crystal Palace, the intervening years of the Second World War saw huge social change in the country. Pre-war people 'knew their place' and had little power to complain about noise even if they chose to. The war changed all that, and you can see why those living around a tranquil London city park would have concerns about racing being held on too regular a basis. Only five days a year seems harsh though which ever way you look at it!

When reopening Donington Park in the 1960s, Tom Wheatcroft also came up against noise complaints, from both residents of Castle Donington and from Rolls-Royce, who had set up a base at the venue in the years the circuit had fallen fallow. The complaints from both sides however were dismissed when it was considered that Donington is smack-bang next door to East Midlands Airport. Tom Wheatcroft gives an example of the ridiculousness of the noise complaints in his entertaining autobiography (2), recalling how Rolls Royce told an inspector race engines would stop their staff communicating safely, only for an incoming plane to virtually deafen the inspector. When the inspector enquired when the Rolls Royce manager didn't seem too perturbed he answered, foolishly, that they'd all got so used to the planes they didn't even notice them! Despite winning this earlier fight however the circuit still, frustratingly, had more issues after the recent troubles. Despite becoming a key venue in the British (and World) motorsport scene over the 40 years since Tom reopened it, it seems the gap in racing of less than a year caused by the failed British GP bid was enough to give the NIMBYs a new chance to attack Donington, with last year's race schedule needing to be cut back due to restrictions on the number of loud days it could hold.

Some of the complaints made are even more blatant examples of NIMBY-ism than at Donington however, with people seemingly determined to have their own way no matter the consequence on others - such people often seem to be in a minority of the local population too. In recent weeks an appeal court judge ruled in favour of Mildenhall Speedway, when a local couple complained that noise from the venue was causing them distress. The couple had claimed not to know when moving in that the speedway was so close to their house. It's pretty astounding to think that anyone could move into a house without doing enough research on the area to know a motorsport venue is only 500 yards away. Even more astounding is that the case needed to get to appeal - the original High Court ruling was in favour of the couple, leaving Mildenhall Stadium facing costs of £1 million. In this instance justice was, eventually, done, and it has to be hoped the judgement can be called upon as precedent in any future case. (See Matt Salisbury's blog for a more commentary on the Mildenham case.)

As a motorsport fan I find these noise complaints depressing in the extreme. The actions of a few grumpy neighbours can have a serious effect on the sport - not to mention the livelihood of those involved in both running the venues and the wider motorsport industry. Motorsport technology is one of the success stories of modern British manufacturing. That success story is built upon a bedrock of sporting activity over the past century (and more) at circuits across the UK. The track days and experience events that have become so popular over the last decade also fuel British industry, from the cottage-manufacturing level all the way up to some of the country's major manufacturing companies, employing thousands of people. Motor racing is a part of the UK's recent heritage (especially, ironically, its rural heritage) and its such a shame to see it being restricted by the complaints of a minority of people.

Despite my natural reaction to noise complaints, the legal cases for noise complaints are rarely cut and dry, as the well-known case at Croft illustrate. While we fans may want to characterise each complaint as being clear cut, historic agreements around the number of days allocated to noisy events can often underpin cases, as seems to be the case in the Croft example (though there were many 'intricasies' to that case, including defendants and claimants being divorced from each other!). I can understand why someone would not be happy if they saw a constant increase in the number of days their peaceful meditation was disturbed. Plus, although the sound of race engines is a key reason we love the sport, in some instances a small reduction in noise levels can be enough to satisfy planning conditions. In the Mallory case quoted above it seems that increased enforcement of an existing 105db limit for testing could prevent the sessions being removed. At Croft there have been indications that keeping cars under a 100bd limit could enable some races (in certain circumstances at least) to run outside of the restrictions on the number of 'noisy days' the circuit can host. Would we really rather see events being canned than stick to these noise levels? How much would we really lose in terms of car performance and the sound of the cars by sticking to such limits? If sticking to these noise levels could safeguard racing at the great venues we have across the UK I would be in favour, but this would need to be seen as a clear commitment from the sport - with a corresponding commitment from planning authorities to respect the sports efforts to reduce its impact and to reject speculative complaints from minorities in the local population which go against decades of motorsport precedent.

References

(1) - Motor Racing Circuits in England, Peter Swinger

(2) - Thunder in the Park, Tom Wheatcroft

The Bourne Supremacy (Sorry)

A few weeks ago I head about an event coming up later this year on the Marshal's thread on Ten Tenth's. More details are now coming out, so I wanted to share it, as it sounds like an absolutely fantastic day. The town of Bourne in Lincolnshire will be inviting motorsport fans to line the streets on Sunday 7th October for a celebration of its historic association with Formula 1. The day will involve static displays and a parade through the town's streets featuring classic Grand Prix machinery.

For such a small town, Bourne really does have quite a remarkable pedigree in Grand Prix racing (and in wider motorsports). The historic ERA and BRM teams were both based in the town - usually in workshops owned by local resident, entrepreneur and racer Raymond Mays, who played a leading role in both teams. The involvement of Bourne in motorsport continues today, with the Pilbeam Racing Designs company, founded by ex-BRM designer Mike Pilbeam*, still based in the town.

Bourne has held an F1 demonstration in 1999 to mark the 100th anniversary of Raymond Mays' birth.This year's event will commemorate 50 year's since BRM's 1 and only World Championship winning season, when Graham Hill brought home the driver's title, while the team brought the Constructor's Championship home to Bourne. To mark this achievement the event will be aiming to bring as many classic GP cars from the 1962 F1 season to the streets, with BRM, Lotus and Lola cars on show. In addition there will be a wide range of cars on display from BRM's history, and a general 60's theme to the day.


As soon as I heard about the event I threw my hat in for marshalling duties, and its one of the events I'm looking forward to most this year already. Just in case you were in any doubt as to whether you should attend, have a look (or rather, have a listen!) to the video here, and tell me you don't think its a great idea!

You can find out more about the plans for BRM day at the following links:
BRM day website
BRM Day on Twitter
BRM Day on Facebook


*Father of Ciaran Pilbeam, Mark Webber's race engineer at Red Bull.

(Picture credit - Raymond Mays Memorial)

Motorsport Statues

I had an email today from someone at The University of Sheffield who is running a project to catalogue sporting statues. The project has a website (Sporting Statues), which will eventually act as a gateway for people to explore details of these global sporting monuments.

The aim of the project however isn't simply to catalogue statues*. As its being run by a university there are rather loftier ambitions for the data they collect. I must admit to being unsure what interesting output one could make about statues, but have a look at the video below, showing the rise in numbers of football statues across the UK. The way the numbers skyrocket from the mid-1990s took me by surprise, and you have to admit it does make an altogether more interesting research proposition than you would have initially thought - why did we suddenly become so obsessed with commemorating our sports stars in this way?

Anyway, in order to make clever maps (and I'm a sucker for a map at the best of times), the team behind the project need data. They have already logged the following motorsport related statues in the UK - 

• John Surtees, Colin Chapman, Stirling Moss, Roger Clark, Mike Hawthorn and Jim Clark at the entry to Mallory Park
• Senna/Fangio and Roger Williamson outside the Donington Collection (for these statues the team are missing details of the sculpter and dates - so any more info would be great)
• Hawthorn/England at Goodwood 
• Jim Clark at Kilmany
• Jimmie Guthrie and Steve Hislop at Hawick
• Steve Hislop and Joey Dunlop on the Isle of Man
• Joey and Robert Dunlop at Ballymoney
• Donald Campbell in Coniston 
• Bernard Hiett in Reading cemetery

There is also a memorial to Tom Pryce in Ruthin, but the project is focused on actual statues (rather than memorials or busts).


It's always good to ensure motorsport is well represented in any project like this, So if anyone out there knows of any other motorsport statues across the UK that are missing from this list lets pass the information on. Put any extra information down as comments to this blog post and I'll pass them on. Details of the people involved, reasons for the statue (e.g. was it a fan-led idea), and the sculpters and dates are all needed if possible. Alternatively you can send them direct to the project team via either email (info@sportingstatues.com) or via Twitter (@sportingstatues)

 

* For the record, even if Sporting Statues was just an anoraky site I would still be wholeheartedly in favour, being as I am quite an anorak for motorsport. Two great motorsport sites I can spend hours on are the Motor Racing Programme Covers and the Motor Racing Circuits Database sites. Both do exactly what they say on the tin and both are fantastic!

Testing Times

While decorating at the weekend I took the chance to catch up on Peter Windsor's ever excellent Flying Lap podcast*. The discussion was centred around the recent test in Jerez, and re-triggered an idea I had been mulling a few weeks ago - the potential for F1 testing to return in-season, but in a way that brings some commercial benefit to the sport and engages the fans.

While at university in Northampton I used to work as a plate-waiter at Silverstone. Nearly dropping a plate of half-eaten bacon sandwiches on Felipe Massa is the nearest I've ever come to making a mark in the exclusive world of Formula 1. Table waiting was not my forte. I can't say I was dedicated to the job, and was clearly only there for the chance to get paid to glimpse F1 cars on track. I remember spending my lunch breaks watching the cars and wondering why the invited guests in the executive suites had bothered turning up when they so blatantly had no interest in the sport at all. It was also surprising see very few fans at the tests - I don't even know if the public were able to enter the circuit on the day. The pre-season tests in Spain always seem to attract a decent crowd for a non-competitive even however, as petrol-fume deprived fans get their first chance in months to see and hear the cars.

So, like Peter Windsor, I'm convinced there must be a way to attract paying fans to test events if they feel they are getting something from the event, with the income generated going towards the cost of putting the cars on track. After all, the only reason in-season testing is banned is through a voluntary agreement between the teams to save money. So, my idea is to hold a three day test, with teams mandated to run a combination of at least one race driver and a young driver (plus other drivers if the team chose). On each day of the test the vast proportion of track time will be given over to testing, but each day will also include a competitive element in order to give something to the fans who cough up to attend. These would be (in my blue-sky vision) - Day 1, a one lap sprint with each car getting three timed laps to try to set the day's fastest time. Day 2, a short race in non-F1 cars featuring F1 drivers. Day 3, a half-hour race featuring the team's young drivers.

In addition to the F1 test and competition, the event would also feature F1 displays off-track, alternative track displays from other motorsports, and plenty of off-track activities such as pit stop challenges and simulators. The teams would also be mandated to put on a range of activities to interact with the fans - competitions for garage access, driver signing sessions etc. In short there would be plenty going on during the event, but with time for the teams to get plenty of testing laps in. The events could even be held as a short series, with 3 to 5 events at European circuits (or further afield if the costs allowed) throughout the year.

The benefits to the teams would primarily come from the gate receipts, but they would also get increased merchandise sales, and it would reintroduce the chance to offer corporate events for sponsors and/or paying guests - the famous prawn-sandwich brigade I served so badly in the early 2000s! Young drivers would also get the chance to gain some experience at driving (and potentially racing) F1 cars in a less pressured environment than a World Championship Grand Prix. F1 can have an image as an aloof sport, removed from its fans, and test days like this could begin to change this perception too.

No doubt some (or all!) aspects of this are a touch pie-in-the-sky. The costs involved in running F1 cars may well mean any such event would need to draw a huge income in order to be viable. A race for young drivers in particular could be an expensive proposition if any collisions occurred, as I'm reliably informed carbon fibre is not cheap! But even if the teams don't break even, the events could be structured in a way that at least mitigates the costs enough to justify holding in-season testing again.

I also suspect FOM may have reservations about such events, potentially feeling they dilute the value of the main Grand Prix, but this is just my hunch.  The sport's management seems to keep such a tight rein on anything F1 related that getting the idea past Bernie may be the biggest barrier, especially if there was to be any competition involved. These elements aren't essential however (though I do believe they would help draw fans), and don't need to necessarily involve F1 cars. Potentially national race series could be brought in with a few club races interspersed through the day with F1 stars as guest drivers. That also would benefit the sport beyond F1, while still providing an extra element for paying spectators.**

Would you attend a 'test' that was arranged like this? If you would how much would you be prepared to pay to go along? I think there would be thousands of fans across the country, especially families, who would love to attend a Grand Prix but simply can't afford it and would be interested in an event like this. I know I'd pay to come to one or more days of such an event (and that's on top of attending the Grand Prix!).

If you were designing a way of bringing back testing in a way that generated some commercial benefits for the teams how would you do it? If anyone out there has any ideas put them in the comments below or Tweet them to me via @ChrisPageNG. If we get some suggestions together I'll see about firing them off at some of the teams or FOTA to see what feedback they have. In recent years there have been free events in the UK featuring the Brawn GP team, McLaren and Red Bull, all drawing big crowds. I'm sure the teams didn't put these on out of the goodness of their hearts, so there must be a way that paying events can be made to work for all concerned. It would certainly be interesting to hear the reasons why this might not be possible from those involved in the sport.

------------------------

*I was listening to Episode 56 of the Flying Lap, 'Looking Back at the Jerez Test' (from about 22:30). You can access this as a video and sign up to receive The Flying Lap from all RSS and Podcast feeds, including iTunes and I heartily recommend it for insight from a great range of people from within F1, including the great drivers and team representatives as well as those behind the scenes and from the F1 community (for example the excellent ScarbsF1 for technical insight and Keith Collantine from F1 Fanatic).

** I would pay many, many pounds to watch F1 stars racing a grid full of classic Minis. And to forcing Mika Häkkinen to come and play too. Hell, scrap the rest of the idea, I just want this to happen!

Animal F1 (Or How I Learned to Stop Moaning and love the Nose)

After 4 days of testing in Jerez, we've now seen the majority of the 2012 cars, and at least one of our pre-season questions has now been answered. Yes, indeed the bulk of this years cars look much as we feared, developing the kind of looks only a mother could love.

As was predicted by those in the technical know all but one of the 2012 cars has developed a rough hump (quiet at the back!) at the top of the nose after a regulation change to minimise the risk of the high noses of previous years leading to airborne crashes or to the nose intruding into the cockpit area. The great blogs by ScarbsF1 and Badger GP explain to the reasons why the step in the nose appears (essentially equal parts Safety Regulation + Team Intransigence = Ugly F1!).

There have been rumblings about the effect the ugly cars will have on F1, most notably from Paul Hembery of Pirelli, who has expressed concern that the new designs may put people off tuning in to watch the races. I respect Paul's opinion, and he seems to be pretty spot on with a lot of his views on F1, but I'm not sure I agree on this one. I don't think non-F1 advocates or casual fans will particularly even notice the change in the cars, much less be made less likely to be converted by the wonky-noses. Its generally only the more hardcore of us that really have any firm opinion on what a beautiful F1 car looks like. And conventional wisdom says the last truly good looking F1 cars are from the mid-90s, and F1 has attracted a decent mix of hardcore and casual fans since then! The people who may be put off are us hardcore fans, but what we really care about is the quality of the racing. If the new cars put on a good show this year, we'll be in no danger of changing channels.

None of which should suggest I actually like the new cars. I don't. They look wrong. I think that because the change has come from a safety perspective (combined with the teams feeling unable to reduce the area around the front suspension) it makes an intrusive dent in the 'natural' flow of the design. The same issue made the look of the 1996 cars look odd too, with safety changes leaving the cockpit sides looking like they featured pre-deployed airbags. Eventually however, a better solution was found and the padding bedded into the designs more. Let's hope after seeing the 2012 cars the FIA and the teams can sit down and find a more elegant solution for future years! Not for the casual fan though, but for me - they are goning to hurt my eyes at 6am for the early race starts!

Some of the cars with wonky-nose-syndrome look better than others. Red Bull have at least had the grace to make theirs a vent so it looks like it was supposed to be there. I was glad to read in Mark Hughes' Autosport column that I'm not the only one cynical about Adrian Newey's assertion the vent is just for driver cooling! On the Lotus the nose-wobble gives the JPS-style gold stripes an extra few curves to look gorgeous on, which is never an entirely bad thing.

The car that really does look like it was beaten with an ugly stick is, sadly, the new Ferrari. But for me the worst part is that gaping mouth at the front of it, making it look like a Basking Shark sweeping the race track for Plankton. Maybe it's after some of those bugs from the Silverstone race last year. Can you fuel a car on bugs?!

All the talk of ugly cars this year has lead to some other inevitable comparisons to other ugly F1 cars. Some of these I agree with, but for some I think its a bit harsh. Beuty is in the eye of the beholder after all! You can have a look at some sets at these links and see which you think are ugly sisters, and which you have a secret crush on!
- Badger F1 Top 5 Ugly F1 - Personally I love Damon's '92 Brabham!
- Axis of Oversteer Flickr Gallery - the Eiffelland car gets my nod here, just for that wing mirror!
- Bleacher report Gallery - plenty to argue over here!

I do have to give a shout in favour of one car that always gets dragged up in discussions of ugly f1 cars - the Williams FW26. It seems most people hated this car, and I've always felt a lone voice in favour of the design, which I thought looked aggressive and purposeful. The results just didn't come for the FW23 until they switched the 'Walrus' nose for a more conventional and bland layout, which annoyingly went on to win a Grand Prix, meaning the detractors were proved right. I hate it when that happens!

Anyway, it gives me another excuse for an F1 / animal lookalike to add to the Platypus and Shark above. If anyone else has any other animal impersonators they want to share either add them to the comments or tweet them to @chrispageng and I'll share them, around! Cars or drivers, but don't be too mean folks!

Picture credits for the images above:
- Platypus
- Ferrari 2012
- Basking Shark
- Williams FW26
- Walrus

Highway to Hell?

In Autumn 2011 the BBC ran a short series looking at threats to the country's National Parks. One of these looked at the conflicts caused by off-road vehicle users driving on 'green lanes' for recreational driving. It's no longer available on iPlayer, but the programme's web page is still up, with some information and clips.

Green Laning involves navigating roads which are know as 'Byways Open to All Traffic' (BOAT). These are usually unpaved roads, looking more like a Bridleway or even a footpath, but which are legally open to all road users. Getting a 4x4 or trial bike down these can be a challenge, which makes Green Laning a popular activity for owners of off-road cars and bikes. Fairly predictably however not everyone loves the idea of cars navigating these lanes, with campaigners saying the practise damages the environment and endangers the safety of other users of the lanes.

The issue first came to my notice when it was featured on Countryfile (OK, so Sunday night telly isn't just about Top Gear for me, live with it!), which featured a pretty one-sided debate weighing down heavily on the side of Green Laning's detractors. The National Parks programme, based in my beloved Peak District, was much more even handed - but no side came out of it smelling like roses. Like the stuff you use to help your roses grow perhaps! The anti-Green Laners were a bunch of classic Middle England NIMBYs, determined to stop the use of the lanes for any activity not endorsed by their good selves (picking berries to make sloe gin = good; anything with an engine = bad). The Green Laners started out trying to engage, but after getting the full force of people's angry they instead fell back to resting on the legality of their hobby. Relying on what are fairly antiquated laws that were never intended to allow Land Rovers on country lanes just didn't seem like a particularly safe strategy. In fairness to the National Park Authority they were stuck in the middle doing what seemed a good job of dispassionately taking each reported issue on a case-by-case basis and trying to find solutions. This inevitably led to both sides deriding the authority as ineffectual and biased to the opposite camp.

What bothered me most about the programme though was the desire among Green Laning's opponents to see it stamped out in its entirity. The Peak District Green Lanes Alliance (PDGLA) campaign group seems, for example, to indicate that it accepts a blanket ban isn't possible - but it lists its primary aim as being to, 'campaign for the exclusion of mechanically propelled vehicles, driven or ridden for pleasure (‘offroading’), from the green lanes of, primarily, the Peak District.'

Now, I may write this blog as a motorsport fan, but that isn't where my interests end. I walk most weekends, especially in the Peak District. If you met me on a walk you'd think I'm very much the stereotypical rambler - big boots, map case, flask of tea, bobble hat, vaguely-lost-but-refusing-to-admit-it, that kinda thing. Last year alone I spent many fine weekends walking in the Peaks, from Matlock in the south up to Castleton and Edale. I've been known to mountain bike too - but this really is too much like hard work for me, so I stick to the walking. So I'm certainly not simply a petrol-head demanding the natural environment be turned into a vehicular-playground. I'd lose as much from that as anyone. In all my walks however I have only come across Green Laners once. It was a group of trial bikers, on a lane at Dirtlow Rake near Castleton. I wouldn't say the group went out of their way to doth their helmets to us - but they certainly didn't cause my group of walkers any more hassle than a group of mountain bikers or horse-riders would have.

In many countries National Parks are almost pristine and untouched landscapes, sheltered from human contact and often greatly restricted. In the UK our parks are a more human environment, with towns and villages, and a much wider recreational use. They have huge natural beauty sure - but people are also a key part of their charm. We also dedicate more of our land to our parks than the vast majority of other European countries - not bad for a 'crowded' little island. Visitors are encouraged and the environments are there to be enjoyed by us all. And that's where the campaigns against Green Laning are, in my opinion, at their most dangerous. If one group of users is banned from accessing National Parks (or any environment) a precedent is set that can then be used against others too.


Erosion is a concern in all popular recreational environments - walkers and cyclists cause huge erosion to the Peak District (see this photo of Peak District erosion too). Who is to say these groups won't be the next to get restricted? On the recently reopened sections of the Monsal Trail there have been complaints about cyclists riding without consideration for other users. Again, if one user group is banned, who is to say more can't be in the long term? I'd be surprised if many farmers and landowners aren't keeping an eye on this issue too. If 4x4s can be banned for causing erosion, why not walkers for damaging crops and fields or threatening livestock? We are living in times when our ability to access the countryside for our leisure is being extended ever more, with Open Access areas, new footpaths and better facilities for all groups. We should be celebrating this and finding ways we can work together to ensure this trend continues for many years to come.

All the above may sound like a monologue against those who don't like Green Laning. It isn't intended to be. The groups involved do have many valid concerns which deserve to be heard. My issue isn't with the fact that different groups have concerns, but only that the way to rectify these concerns is to involve the Green Laning community rather than seek to ban it. I hope the Green Laning community does find ways to engage with such groups to find ways of working together where possible.

This spur to write this blog came from a link I spotted to a consultation currently being run by Derbyshire County Council (which covers most of the Peak District), which is gathering feedback on their new Policy for the Management of Motorised Vehicle use in the Countryside. To my eye this looks like a good effort at balancing the use of the countryside for all the different groups that wish to have access, with reasonable provisions for monitoring different routes to assess damage being caused. The coucil has a survey which is available for anyone to complete to give their views on the proposed policy. I would encourage anyone with an interest in this problem to fill it in (it takes 5 minutes at most) and help contribute to a lasting solution.

Eastwood Stages, Mallory Park

The BMMC held their annual marshal training days at Donington Park last weekend, Iand since attending I've been looking forward to getting back out on the banks again this year. I only did two events last year, but caught the bug, and getting the orange overalls out on Sunday got me in the mood for the year to come. This despite me busting the zip open on them trying to squeeze my carcass in after lunch!

It's a while until the circuit racing season starts, but this weekend I'll be marshaling on my first rally, the Eastwood Stages at Mallory Park. I've been to the rallies in Sherwood Forest a few times but never to a single venue rally, so I'm quite excited about getting down there and getting involved. Thankfully rally marshaling doesn't need the orange overalls either so I have some time to get the zip fixed (my pride will take longer to heal)! With this being a single-venue rally, there should also be more chances to be involved on the stages - without dragging myself across half of England to keep up!

The event has over 40 cars confirmed, including classic Escorts (it wouldn't be a rally without classic Escorts), Evos, Imprezas, and an RS2000. But most exciting for me is the Metro 6R4 taking part, which is the hot favorite to take the victory. I've seen static 6R4s at displays before, but never seen one of the snarling little beasts in action before, relying on You Tube video like the one here.

Who could possibly pass up the chance to see one of these tearing up the tarmac?!

The Eastwood Stages is open to punters, with the first car off at 9.30. Its only £5 per car entry - so fill a car up and its only a quid each. You really can't say fairer than that! If you've never been to Mallory Park I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The place is the very definition of small but perfectly formed, with a great view of a large proportion of the track from most of the banks. The cafe is open and the paddock is free to access.