Impressions of ADI 2016?

[Tips]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to this forum and therefore new to the whole 'enthusiast' scene and had never been to such a meet before. Seeing as it was an Audi meet, supported by a magazine with Audi themselves there, at a race circuit, I had quite high hopes of what to expect. And at £10 an adult I assumed it would be quite a show.

However, I feel I may have set my expectations too high as I was quite disappointed to be honest. Don't get me wrong, there were some fabulous cars there that I enjoyed seeing but that was about it. Probably spent no more than an hour there having walked around twice. Not many stalls with Audi parifinalia and such like. One or two hardcore tuning stalls which I'm not knowledgeable enough to appreciate. But that's my issue.

I suppose it felt less of a 'show' and more of a 'meet in a car park'. Maybe if it cost more like £5 to get in then I'd have reset my expectations. Felt more like it should have been free and I'd have walked away happy that it had been worth the drive and walk round.

So the point of this post ... to see if that's what such Audi enthusiast events actually are like and as such I can readjust my expectations, or was this particular event not up to the usual level you'd all expect?

Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of effort goes into organising things and I expect the majority of people with far more mechanical knowledge than I have would get a lot more out of the day than I would have done.

I did walk by the ASN stand a couple of time but guess it was bad timing on my part as there were plenty of smart vehicles but no one about to have a chat to.

What are your views?

 

[Gazwould]

First time I haven't gone in years .

What's happened to the attendees numbers ?

This year just 22 , in 2014 there were 57 , was something else on ?

 

[TonyH38]

It was the first time there and was a bit disappointed great turnout of Audi's and a thank you to the people that showed them, just expected more Audi accessories on show and sale alike to A.I.T.P which I really enjoyed.
I would also like to mention on the way home there was an accident between junctions 7&8 M25 I did spot a black Audi estate damaged parked hope it was not a forum member and that all escaped injury.

 

[Lavis89]

It was my first time there and i spent most of my time wondering around meeting people that i've spoken too online but never met in the flesh so didn't really spend much time on the ASN stand sadly because i kept bumping into other people on what was susposed to be my quick walk around! (i really wish i spent more time on the asn stand, but i'll be back next year). For me the defining thing was having the track there, kept it a lot more entertaining than a car park meet. And even the missus enjoyed it considering she usually hates car events, the track seemed to keep her entertained. Also seeing a 8L a3 outpacing a R8 every lap was fun.
I did notice that there wasn't a massive selection of trade stands around compared to what i've seen at other shows, off the top of my head, ebiach, a few tuning companies, milltek and juicy details and maybe 1 or 2 people selling usual autojumble stuff are the only ones i remember seeing.

 

[jojo]

This event/show for me has always been about the track! I've attended every year of ADI since the beginning, this was the first year I didn't hit the track, and due to work commitments, I myself left around 12ish!

Of course the people and clubstands make the show also, you need to connect with fellow members/enthusiasts, new and old. Having attended previous ones, of course I'm spending a good few moments to chat and catchup with old buddies I maybe only see once a year. The whole day is easily taken up for me this way, so I don't see a 'tenna' as anything relevant.

Sorry to those I didn't get to speak to or meet, it was all over for me before it began! Lol

 

[Audimad]

The wife and i always go down on the Friday and make a weekend of it. We attend the awards dinner on the Saturday night as it is always good fun with the disco afterwards.

Did you all get your free gift?

 

[AndyT306]

I really enjoyed it, having been to many car shows in the past I'd say it isn't as big or eventful in some respects, but most don't have a track! We spent a good couple of hours looking around the cars and talking to other owners and some of the trade stands

As always when I visit a circuit for BTCC events, I like to walk the circuit - which takes a good hour if you pause to watch the cars on track too - the big bonus was that the track was live virtually all day

At £10 for a day out it's good value, I did get my free gift so now another copy of the Audi Magazine to add to the one they posted me, but it was nice to get something (USB stick)

I suppose distance could be a factor for some, I'm only an hour away so it was no real trouble

I do agree with jojo's comments elsewhere that I am used to 15-20 car convoys to events, so it was a shame it was just me and him travelling from the Midlands together - although keeping up with his BiTDi finally ran mine in lol

 

[Audimad]

This event/show for me has always been about the track! I've attended every year of ADI since the beginning, this was the first year I didn't hit the track, and due to work commitments, I myself left around 12ish!

Of course the people and clubstands make the show also, you need to connect with fellow members/enthusiasts, new and old. Having attended previous ones, of course I'm spending a good few moments to chat and catchup with old buddies I maybe only see once a year. The whole day is easily taken up for me this way, so I don't see a 'tenna' as anything relevant.

Sorry to those I didn't get to speak to or meet, it was all over for me before it began! Lol

Sorry we didn't get to chat. The wife and i spent over 3 hours in a room next to the shop putting the USB sticks in the ADI boxes and then bagging them all up with the Audi magazine, over 500 in total.