Supercar Sunday at Hillsborough Oyster Festival - Sunday 6th September 2015

[onthatB0MBSHELL]

 

[Jonny_W]

Here you go @jonny_w
Reinis Babrovskis Photography: Hillsborough International Oyster Festival Supercar Sunday

Fantastic pictures @Reno_LV some lovely motors that i didn't even see when I was down.

 

[Reno_LV]

Thank you

 

[warren]

Video from yesterday, some exhaust noise and walk about just!

 

[suckindiesel]

That atom impressed me more than anything...thing can seriously shift! I was accelerating foot to floor off the roundabout towards sprucefield and it passed me like I was sitting at a steady speed.

Can't see this event being allowed to continue in current format for much longer though....with the amount people standing on the edge of the road or walking up it and the Sunday day trippers tidling around Sprucefield at 20 mph it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong.

 

[Burt2000]

Agreed, it def needs to be moved off the public roads. I had visons of somebody coming off the roundabout too hard and losing the back end or something, thankfully it didnt happen. There was a fella lying in the middle of the grass verge taking photos as the cars passed him at xxx mph...mental

 

[mike150]

I think the regular participants would be wise speaking to the organisers of the event and see what can be done for next year because I think everyone feels the same way about it.

The big problem with moving it to a track is that I can't see enough of the public taking the time to go to Kirkistown or the like for a quick spin in a car. Where it is works for attracting people but is bad for safety. If it was track based it would end up being a trackday with a few paying punters and would consequently fail.

 

[Gambit]

i was wondering could they not just close that A101 link road & off slip altogether for the day, considering it didnt exist a few years back, and just let traffic filter through the old sprucedfield roundabout way

 

[Burt2000]

It is a tough one to get right, as suggested before could the maze not be used as a good central spot and have like a drag strip set up and a handling course, then people pay to go a spin from say 0-100+ sprint and then a trip around the handling circuit? just a thought. There would be plenty of parking room at the maze too. I heard people got tickets for parking in B&Q which then drove spectators out to the verges to park up and watch.

 

[Burt2000]

i was wondering could they not just close that link road & off slip altogether for the day, considering it didnt exist a few years back, and just let traffic filter through the old sprucedfield roundabout way

I was thinking that too Gambit but is that not the only entrance into the retail park or is there another one they could use? im not familiar with the road network around there. You can imagine the businesses kicking up a huge fuss over it saying they could loose business on a sunday.

 

[Crow555]

I've been going to this since when it started back in 2005 or whenever. It originally was run out of the square part of hillsborough (got a go in a Dax Tojiero) and it was a novel idea back then. After that, it moved to the school in Hillsborough and quickly outgrew that which then forced it to move along to the park and ride and it's painfully obvious the last few years that it's totally unsuited to hold the even there. If you can't get parked in the P&R itself, you park outside B&Q or Sainsburys and then walk down a dual carriageway with performance cars blasting past you. Then you have the barry boys parked up along the A1 not spending a penny for the event and making a nuisance of themselves. I actually didn't attend this year's event after how much of a pain it was to get round last years.

Whilst it would be good to have a closed road or track for this sort of event, you can't realistically do that. It's part of the oyster festival and it can't be moved away. Also, you wouldn't get the same crowds at Nutts corner or worse still, Kirkistown (as @mike150 has said). Closing part or all of the A1 isn't feasible either; people need to get places even on a sunday. While the event is unique and a great fundraising idea, I really think it will be cancelled before there is an accident or fatality.

 

[Gambit]

I was thinking that too Gambit but is that not the only entrance into the retail park or is there another one they could use? im not familiar with the road network around there. You can imagine the businesses kicking up a huge fuss over it saying they could loose business on a sunday.

looks like you can get in via Sainsburys petrol station entrance

 

[RallyCiaran]

Are they building a new road into the Maze from the Sprucefield Park and Ride? That seems like the logical place for it to move to when the road is finished.

 

[Gaz]

Most people are happy for fast straight line runs I'd imagine - to drive otherwise (drifting, cornering hard, etc) in supercars obviously increases the risk stratospherically and nobody's insurance would be that watertight.

With that in mind, a closed airfield setup would be best - somewhere with a decent long runway where people can enjoy a fast sprint in a straight line up into the 100s. Is there anywhere like that round Belfast? What about private air clubs like the one in Ards, do they have a runway? It would surely be much easier to set up and safer to have it somewhere like that that on public road on a Sunday.

 

[mike150]

The maze prison (aka Balmoral Park) has enough tar in and is used for nothing much

 

[EP82JM]

I dont think id pay to sit in a car on a straight line closed drag though. Just something about it being on the road that i think attracts people.

If they are going down that route maybe the maze grounds and have an organised drift display too where you could pay to sit in with the drifters,otherwise i couldnt see it being as good an event turnout wise

 

[Crow555]

That's the thing though. I'd say a significant portion of those taking rides in the cars are kids. To them a short blast up the A1 to NSL is something significant to them. It isn't really catered to hardcore petrolheads so all talk of drifting or handling on a closed circuit is going to make the event less appealing, not more, for the typical punter putting their hands in their pockets (or piggy banks) to avail of the experience.

 

[Burt2000]

i think a drag event would be perfect, especially if they put cars against eachother, kids would love that im sure.

 

[johnb740]

Theres a similar event held at Mondello wherein the public pay to be taken around the track in supercars driven by their respective owners.....

 

[johnboy888]

Are they building a new road into the Maze from the Sprucefield Park and Ride? That seems like the logical place for it to move to when the road is finished.

Think we'd be charged for parking at the maze
I parked at b and q and didn't get a ticket

 

[EP3 James]

some really really nice cars there.. Did anyone see the estate with the minion on the roof? what the..... hahah

 

[Cooper]

Coverage/PR now up - Hillsborough Oyster Festival's Fast Finalé - RMS

@warren - I hope you don't mind that I posted your vid in the article, as well as it captures the whole event perfectly!

 

[mikey]

Great afternoon out! I was impressed by the go out of the AMG estate up the road. A white evo came literally within a foot of me while powering hard out of the roundabout and her spitting and flaming away. Laughed out loud, like something out of the group B days of rallying! Fantastic event to witness before the nanny state inevitably call an end to it.

 

[johnboy888]

Great afternoon out! I was impressed by the go out of the AMG estate up the road. A white evo came literally within a foot of me while powering hard out of the roundabout and her spitting and flaming away. Laughed out loud, like something out of the group B days of rallying! Fantastic event to witness before the nanny state inevitably call an end to it.

there wasn't an evo taking part that I saw

 

[Jones the Boost]

Great afternoon out! I was impressed by the go out of the AMG estate up the road. A white evo came literally within a foot of me while powering hard out of the roundabout and her spitting and flaming away. Laughed out loud, like something out of the group B days of rallying! Fantastic event to witness before the nanny state inevitably call an end to it.

Apologies, I little exuberant driving was the order of the day but that said its nice to see an evo on the road let alone one giving it some beans

Enjoyed the few hours out myself, spent some time in the paddock and then watched some of the machinery from the strip - excellent!