Petter Solberg opened the final day of Autosport International with Felipe Massa also appearing as a star guest at the show.
Massa drew huge crowds to listen to him speak at the Autosport stage. He was also interviewed in the live action show. On top of this he took over the demonstration of the 1983 Williams FW08C in the live action arena, sliding it even more out of the corners than the regular display driver had been. It was clear he really enjoyed the car;
“It was a real honour to drive the FW08C today, especially as it was the first car Ayrton ever tested,” Massa said in the Live Action Arena. “It’s a great car to drive, very easy to control, very easy to go sideways. The engine sounds fantastic.”
He also spoke about the Williams team
“It is a big honour to work for Sir Frank Williams and the rest of the team. We have a great relationship; it is like a family”
David Croft, the Sky F1 commentator had an “Ask Crofty” session on the F1 racing stand where he answered questions from a huge group of fans gathered there as well as giving his opinions on the future of F1.
BTCC champions Matt Neal (2005, 2006 and 2011) and Gorden Shedden (2012 and 2015) were interviewed on the Autosport stage today with the pressure of the reintroduction of the Type R, the excitement of the last race of the season – which in Shedden’s opinion showed what touring car racing is all about – and their expectations for 2016 all spoken about.
At the other end of the Tintop career ladder, Alice Robshaw Hughes has been spending the show on the 750 Motor Club stand with her Ford Fiesta that she’ll be racing in the Hot Hatch championship. Her aim is to one day join drivers like Shedden and Neal in the BTCC. We’ll be featuring a lot more on Alice throughout her 2016 season.
The rally display is always popular at the show and this year the themes were the Wales Rally GB and the British Rally Championship with cars on display from both events.
The Performance car show is also held at the same time as Autosport and one of the attractions in that show was a display of the best hot hatches of all time. Autocar’s Editor-in-Chief, Steve Cropley and Road Test Editor, Matt Prior, PistonHeads.com Editor, Dan Trent as well as Autocar Contributing Editor and overall curator, Richard Bremner came together to compile the list of contenders, which then went to a public vote. The final top ten that was on display at the show was as follows;
1. Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6
2. Lancia Delta HF Integrale
3. Ford Escort RS Cosworth
4. VW Golf GTI Mk1
5. Renault Clio Williams
6. Renault Clio 182 Trophy
7. VW Golf GTI Mk2
8. Renault 5 GT Turbo
9. Ford Focus RS Mk1
10. Talbot Lotus Sunbeam
The Performance car show was also full of all the usual suppliers of goods and services to the Motoring world as well as some stands actually selling cars.
The Oval and Extreme racing show was the biggest it has been in a few years with large amounts of Stock cars, Auto Grass cars and drift cars as well as displays from both the Police and Fire service.
In addition, the new Fitness and Preparation area showcased fitness equipment and nutritional products used by the world’s top racing drivers, reinforcing their importance to the motorsport world.
Despite snow falling overnight, Sunday’s show was once again a sell out and the tickets went even earlier than Saturday with all tickets sold before midday.
It appears that this years show has been a huge success with record visitors most stands were very busy promoting their particular Championship, products or services.
Of course the motorsport year never really stops around the world with Anna Walewska and her team winning their class in the Dubai 24 hours during the weekend but the Autosport show kicks off the UK motorsport year with most championships getting underway towards the end of March to the beginning of April.
If you’re already looking forward to a visit to next year’s Autosport international, the dates for next year’s show are the 12th-15th January 2017.By Marc Waller
