Jerez testing 2015

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

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After a fantastic time earlier this year at the Jerez tests (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18578163) I've decided to go again in January and repeat the experience. Very relieved and pleased that Jenson will be there! Is anyone else from here going and want to meet up? EasyJet have flights to Seville next year, making the trip a little easier.

Testing last year was brilliant, perhaps made a fair bit better by the introduction of the V6 engines and Renault's testing woes. But the atmosphere in Jerez was a lot of fun - incredibly low key relative to a race weekend and great access to the teams, if not the drivers. In our hotel this year we had Williams, Marussia and Pirelli, and they were very happy to enjoy a few beers out in the evenings.

If anyone else is going and wants to meet up, just shout. I'm flying out on Saturday and returning on Wednesday, skipping the 4th day of testing.
 
Have looked at it briefly a few times. What's the ball park on total costs?

I went to the Silverstone tests for 4-5 years running and it was a great time to see things without 100k people being there as you say.
 
Flights there and back were under £80 total when I booked a few days ago. The sky's the limit on hotels, but the town doesn't go into crazy price meltdown like other places do when it is a proper race weekend - there are some spartan yet clean hotels available for around £80 a night and what appear to be decent B&Bs for around £60 a night. The hotel we stayed in last year was about £130 a night.

Tickets for testing this year were 10 Euro for limited access and 20 Euro for full track access (only about 2/3 of the track is actually accessibly anyway). Crowds were in the tens of thousands on days when Alonso was testing, and there was a great atmosphere. Track facilities are what you would expect on a race weekend but just far fewer of them. So, food and beers are readily available, and of course the merch stands are there too but we found that they were just dumping last year's gear at not so knockdown prices.
 
I looked at this regularly but always decided against it. I found that Barcelona doesn't go into crazy price meltdown around race weekend and flights were no more expensive, so he cost of getting there and staying there was the same if it was for testing or a race. So based on that I did the race instead.

Obviously the race tickets are a lot more than the testing ones :p, but It isn't the super cheap F1 experience that I previously had at Silverstone. I can even remember the days of the Silverstone test being free!

Not knocking you or anything, just saying that the perception that going to a race is lolwtf expensive to get there and stay isn't necessarily true. Spending a few days in Spain in Feb or May are comparable.
 
Yep, that is true. I went to the Barcelona grand prix this year and it was generally ok. Monaco the year before was ok too. However, the last year at Istanbul was another matter - there it was very much a case of take every tourist for every single penny they have. Then lend them some more and start again.

Part of the difference for me is that for races I take the other half and we stay somewhere nice and get good seats. I slum it a bit more on my own, and of course the tickets are relatively much cheaper. Plus, if you're lucky, you get to meet the teams :)
 
A quick, albeit excited, update: I'll be writing up a report on the comparison between a testing weekend and a race weekend for F1 Fanatic following the Jerez test.

Very excited, as it gives an even better reason to go to the test. Hopefully it'll be good enough to get published :D
 
Well, sitting through FP1 and FP2 at Silverstone in 2013... where the cars came out very infrequently due to torrential downpours, I'd guess that testing is pretty much the same as this, although without the rain. That's what RB's would've been like last year anyway, and then I'd expect FP3 type runs for the mileage clockers.

I would love to go however, I bet there's a great buzz about the cars and all the unveiling / new designs etc. Probably would've gone this year to Jerez but I'm going to Iceland instead :p
 
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The Renault engine cars were out in Jerez last year, but normally for just one or two laps before heading back in. This short clip of JEV was fairly typical of all their runs, and shows just what a great recovery they made over the season

 
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