My first event was with my Dad in 1992 at the British Grand Prix (I was 17). We decided to go support "our Nige" as he was dominating the championship at the time and I'd been watching F1 for about a year (I can still hear Murray on the BBC now!
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We paid for general admission which I think at the time was about £50 each (those were the days!) and we also paid for a centre pass (£25) as we decided to stand on the inside of Copse corner. Didn't see the drivers too much
but (and it's funny how you remember certain things). I was walking past the fencing to the paddock area and there was a small group of Senna fans. Just as I walked passed Ayrton walked from the McLaren garage to the hospitality area and they went nuts!
I remember him waving back and smiling so at least he appreciated the support in what was largely a Mansell crowd
My Dad and I settled down to a nice view on the inside of Copse corner. Enjoyed the warm up (V8's, V10's, and V12's can't beat it), and the build up to the race. The one thing we didn't realise (being our first GP) was the flags....
As the cars went on their parade lap, everyone stood up....and up went about 500 giant Union Jacks (on very tall flag poles). Which basically meant we couldn't see very much anymore!
Anyway the crowd went nuts for the entire race and we saw Nigel completely destroy the competition that day
The race was also memorable for one other thing. This was the time they allowed the crowd onto the track for the podium, and as soon as Mansell crossed the finish line everyone started running for the track...with F1 cars still at racing speed. All I remember is my Dad saying "let's go", me jumping over a fence and seeing Martin Brundle in the Benetton about six feet away from me! We managed to get within 30 feet of the podium so got to see all the celebrations and I just remember my Dad holding onto my arm because with thousands of people (and no mobile phones) if we got split up we'd never find one another again!
The other memory of course is getting out, I think it took 6 hours to get home....
Other stand out memories are tough because I've been very lucky and I tend to like all forms of 4 wheel motorsport so I've enjoyed lots of different events. I've been to Le Mans in '93 (last of the Group C era), and again in '95 (the McLaren win which was very special). I've seen CART race at Rockingham which was amazing as well (yes it is very windy). I've also enjoyed the Super Touring era with all those works teams at places like Brands, Thruxton, and Donington.
My last race that I enjoyed immensely was the Blancpain Series last year. I took my Dad along for the weekend (first race together in about four years) and I managed to bag some grid walk passes for a surprise. Well you can imagine his face when I told him we get to walk the grid before the race! Something that I will always remember fondly (thanks SRO)
My only "must do" is I want to see an IMSA race, maybe Daytona or Sebring would be cool. Maybe in 2018 if I save my pennies.