Hey there, new motorsport fans, welcome! At the grand old age of 28, with almost as many years of watching motorsport under my belt (F1 especially, though I can be tempted by just about anything with an engine if I have the time), I’ve spent more hours than I can count trackside or glued to a screen. Which is why I’m here to be your resident mum friend in the world of motorsport. And as your mum friend, I have a cracking pro tip for you.

Over the last few years, thanks to Drive to Survive, the F1 film, expanded calendars, and a few absolutely unforgettable title fights (hello, Brocedes 2016 and Hamilton vs Verstappen 2021), the sport has been flooded with fresh, bright-eyed fans. We’re glad you’re here. (Even if we’re a tiny bit salty about ticket prices shooting up since you arrived…)

Motorsport’s new popularity has made it far less accessible for the average fan. Grandstand tickets actually sell out these days, and prices… well, let’s just say I’ve winced more than once while hitting the checkout on a pair of F1 weekend tickets in recent years. I recently rewatched the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix (because I’m just that big of a nerd). Back then, you’d spot whole sections of half-empty grandstands. Now? You’re lucky to claim a decent patch of general admission grass and guard it like a broody dragon. Leave for a toilet break and it’s gone. And that’s the struggle you face before you even factor in the weather. (I was at Spa 2021, in an uncovered stand. I know everything about bad weather…)

And if you’re quietly dreaming of bumping into your favourite driver? Unlikely, unless you’ve shelled out for paddock access, and even then, the odds are slimmer than you think. They’re busy, often avoiding the crowds, and many circuits have backway routes to the fan podium and press pens, so drivers can slip in and out quickly. So that magical, slow-motion meet-cute straight out of your fanfiction? Charming in theory, but sadly extremely unlikely to play out at a Grand Prix weekend.

The solution: Jack’s Racing Day

Here’s the solution nobody tells you about: grassroots events like Jack’s Racing Day in Assen (formerly known as Gamma Racing Day) are the perfect weekend out for both brand-new fans and seasoned veterans like me.

Grandstand access is free. Yes, even the main one on the pit straight. And I’ll give you a quick lowdown on prices: Parking is only a tenner a day (about £8.50). Paddock passes cost roughly €26 (£22.50) for a day or €48 (£41.50) for the full three-day weekend. That’s about the same as a round of drinks at Spa-Francorchamps or a couple of very nice sandwiches at Monza when attending F1.

And the action is non-stop. There isn’t just a single headline race. The 2025 edition was a packed timetable of wildly different series and demos.

You get everything from the nail-biting Mazda MX-5 Cup: identical cars, so it’s all about driver skill. Races run a neat 30 minutes, with constant position changes and the occasional shock winner storming through from fifth on the penultimate lap. To at the other end, the 240 km/h superkarts: they might look a bit makeshift at first glance, but they’re anything but. Their races are chaotic, glorious, and almost guaranteed to deliver incident after incident.

The Supercar Challenge is a feast for car lovers, though you’ll want to pull up live timing on your phone to keep track of the multiple classes sharing the grid. This year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux featured the Iron Dames, flying the flag for women in motorsport, along with familiar names/graduates from other series.

Eurocup-3 brought Emerson Fittipaldi Jr to the circuit, and yes, his dad, two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, was there to cheer him on.

My tip for getting the most out of the racing? Pick a car or a driver to follow. Maybe it’s the only pink car on the grid. Maybe their team name makes you laugh. Maybe you chatted with the driver in the paddock. Or maybe they’re the lone Finn in a sea of Dutch, German, and Belgian competitors. Once you’ve got someone to cheer for, you’re suddenly invested, and that’s when the real fun starts.

The paddock pass

And here’s another beauty of an event like this. With a (relatively inexpensive) paddock pass, you will bump into drivers.

This year I ran into Jan Lammers (ex-F1) and Tim Coronel (Dakar, pictured), both happy for a chat and photo. In past years I’ve met Nyck de Vries (ex-F1, FE), Tom Coronel (Dakar), Richard Verschoor (F2), Jack Aitken (ex-F2, Le Mans), and Nico Hülkenberg (F1).

I’ve even crossed paths with David Coulthard (ex-F1) multiple times, though he was usually en route somewhere and not stopping for selfies.

Compare that to an F1 weekend, where my closest encounters have been seeing Yuki Tsunoda cycle past, Sebastian Vettel on a track walk, and Sergio Pérez arriving at the circuit. Cool moments, but definitely not quite touching distance. Even with an F1 paddock pass, which will set you back an eye-watering £4,000 to £10,000 (€4,700 to €11,700) on average, you’re more than likely to find yourself speed-walking behind a driver who has somewhere to be, isn’t stopping for photos, and definitely won’t be looking into the camera if you do manage to snap one.

I’ve met too many disillusioned new fans who’ve endured a GP weekend with little to show for it beyond damp merch or a grade-A sunburn. (Bring sunscreen and the best poncho you own, no matter what the forecast says.) Jack’s Racing Day is the antidote: more affordable, more engaging, and a far better introduction to life at the track. In the paddock you can get close enough to touch, and at certain moments even sit in, many of the cars, chat with the people working on them, and swap a few words with the drivers themselves.

Even without the F1 demos* (missing this year, though we had Dakar trucks, bikes, classic F1 cars, Boss GP, and Eurocup-3 single-seaters), the variety and accessibility make it worth every cent. And because so many classes run multiple races, Saturday is just as good a choice as Sunday.

Try it for yourself and see if you’d like to commit to an F1 race. For me, the answer’s always been yes, but it’s not for everyone.

*in previous years there were demos from the Red Bull Demo team, Renault Demo team, and more. 2025 was the Racing Day’s 26th edition.

Other events to check out

Can’t make it to Assen? There are plenty of similar events elsewhere. Goodwood Festival of Speed is always worth the trip, though at £67 (€78) for early bird general admission this year, it’s far pricier than Jack’s. In Belgium, I’ve enjoyed Supercar Madness at Zolder and the Spa Euroraces at Spa-Francorchamps. In Germany, the ADAC Racing Weekend at Oschersleben was a bargain day out.

My advice? Check the calendar for your nearest circuit, even without the extra demos, there’s still plenty to see. One more bonus with grassroots events: you can walk the perimeter and visit multiple stands with the same ticket, getting a proper sense of the track layout, the distances between corners, and the natural flow of the circuit. It’s brilliant for visualising the action, and it makes watching F1, MotoGP, or any other big series that much more engaging.

Anyway, for me, Jack’s Racing Day remains a firm favourite. See you at Assen for the next edition in 2026, because I’ll definitely be there!