Birmingham through the night; no mad rushes or last
minute "oh shit!" moments. We'd pre booked hotel
rooms months in advance so all we really needed to
do was set off from Scotland after work and arrive
in Birmingham some time before the show started.
The trip down was as uneventful as you'd expect being pitch black and bar some memorable one liners from the crew (including one of them saying at the half way point that they needed to get out and spread their legs) all went well, checking into the hotel just after midnight. Everything was set ready to rock so with a decent 7 hours kip we were up and getting ready for the first day of the show.
After getting a decent parking space and not having to walk far to the NEC itself we got in, got our passes and went exploring. We tend to make the trip every couple of years so it's not too similar each visit and for 2011 we certainly saw a lot of changes compared to our 09 trip!
There were a lot of new faces, new companies and of course new promo girls walking the floor (the fleet of Maxxis girls and the two blonde's from RX Racing being top babes this year in our eyes). Autosport is primarily a show dedicated to motorsport from the entry level of youngsters karting through to rallying and on to the dizzy heights of Formula 1 - everything is covered and in great detail. Running along side this is the Pistonheads segment which caters for the road, track and strip genres. With everything from alloy wheel suppliers like Performance Wheels, ALCAR, Wolfrace and Rimstock through to the big performance and tuning companies like MoTEC, Owen Developments, Brembo and Tarox. There was a wealth of specialist car manufacturers along too with Ginetta, Caterham and Arial all showcasing their latest and greatest plus clothing brands, accessory stores and mail order outfits spread across the massive NEC.
We spent the two full days walking tirelessly around talking to new people and catching up with old friends we'd not seen in a while. The FastCar crew were kicking around looking hungover and bewildered with Scary Steve leading the pack. Web editor Glenda had been given a bollocking from the NEC rent-a-cops for not having his photo on his ID card. The problem is the media office don't put any photos on anything and its been that way for years, however the power hungry steward was having none of it and wouldn't let our man Glenda pass. A 2 minutes diversion involving a pair of scissors, sellotape and photo of Burt Reynolds soon fixed that though
"He said I needed a photo on my ID card so I did this. When I came back and showed him he said 'That's not what I fucking meant son'"
The Live Show is always something we look forward to and this year they had more on the billing than ever before. Along with favourites Terry Grant and the EDC drift crew there were rally cars, minis, F1 stock cars and to top things off - Reliant Robin Racing
The commentator hyped things up so much towards the end of the show with F1 sounds, a safety pace car then the theme from Only Fools And Horses came on and the 3 wheels started whizzing round the track, knocking each other over and then wobbling around trying to right themselves. A lot of minor smashes too as the performers really went all out to give the crowd something to remember. If there was to be any constructive criticism to give it would be to say that having Terry Grant only on the tarmac for 1 minute really didn't let people see what he was all about. Maybe trim some of the more sedate staged races and give the showmen more time to perform.
On the second day we caught up with more folks around the show and got a few interviews taped with the likes of NGK, Dodo Juice, Performance Wheels and FastCar. Finding out what was new, exciting and what trends people expected to be hitting the UK big in 2011. Drift legend Mark Luney was at the Maxxis stand with some of the hottest PR chicks from the show eagerly waiting to unveil his brand new for 2011 Supra which we got a sneak peak of before anyone else (you don't ask you don't get) and the guys from Richbrook were showcasing their factory backed 2011 product line for Vauxhall & Ford.
Autosport is still definitely the number 1 show in the UK to give you the full car enthusiast experience. Its massive, its well attended and the spread of companies from one man stalls through the might of BMW, Dunlop and Pirelli show just how varied the event is and how it touches all bases.
I said earlier we usually go once every couple of years but we might just break with tradition and head along in 2012 to get more tyre smoke and petrol fumes in our system!
