Family value

Sir,

I would like to congratulate the VSCC for its tribute to Ayrton Senna and historic race meeting held at Donington Park on June 21/22. It was the first time that my wife and I had attended a historic event, and the first time we had brought along our two young sons to a race meeting. On arrival we entered the paddock and wandered freely among the cars and motorcycles. What struck me most was how the owners and drivers willingly took time out to talk about their machines and answer questions. Our boys even got to sit in a Maserati 4CLT.

And the highlight of it all was standing by the rear wing of Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari F2002 as they fired it up.

Then it was across to the infield grandstand opposite the pits to witness the racing action. The programme was well set out and allowed us complete amateurs to easily identify makes, types and drivers. The racing was close and the sights and sounds kept us enthralled.

Some of Senna’s cars were given demonstration laps, including a Williams FWO8C and the Lotus 97 and 98, although I was a little disappointed though that no McLarens ran, especially the MP4/8 with which he won the European Grand Prix here 10 years ago. There were also demonstration laps of Ferrari F1 cars which created a great spectacle. The noise from the 412T, the last of the 12-cylinder cars, was awesome!

All this entertainment and invaluable experiences for our sons cost us £24. This means we can visit six similar events for the price of a single admission ticket to stand on a bank for the GP at Silverstone once a year. It does not take a genius to work out where our money will be spent.

I am, yours etc,
Nigel Dawson, Consett, Co Durham