Happy Birthday Re: Fuel SW!
In recent years, car meets have been popping up all over the place… but not in the South West of England it seems. Not until a bunch of Petrolheads got together in 2019 to set up Re:Fuel South West.
They started out with modest ambitions, maybe 100 cars for their first event and then organic growth depending upon how much time effort and money they put into promoting it?
How wrong they were!
350 cars at their first meeting then queues outside their next meeting. They had tapped into a rich vein of latent demand in the South West that was the reason they started up in the first place.
How right they were!
Satisfying demand is one thing, maintaining that demand is something else. That’s where the skill of Dan, George, Josh and their team of eager supporters has paid dividends.
Firstly, they set their brand standards that included behavioural expectations: Re:Fuel was not going to turn into a nuisance drag strip! They engaged with the local police and selected concessionaires so that everyone buying a ticket knew exactly what was expected and included a free coffee on arrival… ‘coffee and cars’ is now a very familiar theme in the UK.
They also created a brand identity that lends itself to T-shirts, key rings, beanie hats and more.
Sounds easy, but anyone who’s ever set up a business or an event will know otherwise!
Twelve months on and we’re here celebrating with them at their now home venue of Mansell Raceway near Honiton. Hard standing for 350 cars is perfect in the damp August weather!
Classic cars, super cars, hyper cars, everyday cars… if you love it, they love it.
350 cars also means that they had to run two events: morning and afternoon, both fully-booked.
The Zeitgeist continues.
So what next?
The small matter of a global pandemic didn’t interfere too much with Re:Fuel’s activities. Like many others, they transferred their attention to Zoom sessions until the lifting of governmental restrictions allowed today’s event.
Perhaps the enforced lay-off gave the team time for reflection and re-energising.
Their first birthday event was certainly energised… and no doubt rather tiring for everyone on duty!
It was great to share time with a sea of happy Petrolhead faces, albeit socially-distanced, naturally.
Happy 1st birthday Re:Fuel South West!
Find out more here about Re:Fuel South West
(Next up, their ‘Revival‘ event for war time and pre-1970 vehicles…)
