Hey everyone, Logan from FanAmp here with a very exciting announcement!

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Introducing our newest partner and FanAmp Base… Off to the Races!!

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I had the opportunity to sit down with Alexandra, the founder of Off to the Races, and learn more about her passion for motorsport, travel, and all things planning! We are so excited to be working alongside Off to the Races and there are lots of things coming up for 2024. Stay tuned to find out more! 

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Q: What is Off to the Races and what was your inspiration behind starting it?

Alexandra: Off to the races is a new travel provider working in the Formula One space. It’s something that I started earlier this year to address my own experience of going to Formula One races. I’m sure, for any F1 fan, who’s tried to obtain tickets, you know just how difficult it is to actually physically get to a race. Whether it is buying the tickets, securing the accommodation, or figuring out your travel, it can be quite difficult. With each circuit having their own ticketing systems, different sale times and different price points across the races, it’s really hard to navigate that space.

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As a seasoned ticketing pro, I’ve been to several Taylor Swift concerts, so I feel like I can say that I know what I’m doing! I was surprised just how challenging it was for me to obtain tickets, so I could only imagine how difficult it would be for other people who may not do this as often. 

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Then there’s the in-person experience. When I have attended races, I would look around the crowd and notice that the only women in the grandstands were typically either attending the race with their partner or their family. I was a little bit confused because I wasn’t really seeing this amazing online community of women and creators being translated into that real life experience. I wanted to figure out where the disconnect was and maybe it was those major pain points; the difficulty to obtain tickets, and the overwhelming stress of organizing travel around a major sporting event; especially if it's to a city or country you’re unfamiliar with.

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I did some research and recognized that there are excellent ticket and travel providers out there in the market already, but they typically only offer ticket and hotel packages. What I wanted to offer is something a little bit more elevated. Personally, when I travel internationally for a special sporting event or concert, I not only want to attend the event, but I also want to see the city itself amazing food, local arts and culture, and maybe even a little bit of shopping.

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So I thought to myself, how can we take this, wrap it all in a bow and offer it to Formula One fans? And that’s how Off to the Races came about. Our goal is to offer an all-inclusive weekend where fans can book their package, show up, and have fun; Every hotel, meal, and activity has been hand-selected and personally tested to ensure a seamless race weekend. 

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Q: What does a typical race weekend look like? Is it dependent on the location of the track or do you find similar activities for each race weekend?

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Alexandra: There are amazing ticket and travel providers that service F1 fans, however if you’re looking to join a group and maybe meet other people, their packages might not suit your needs. Or maybe you’re a solo traveler and you want to meet other race fans, we wanted to serve this audience which is why all of our activities are group oriented. That means dinners, time at the track, and all the other activities, you’ll be meeting other fans; you’re never alone. That’s what I love about the atmosphere and camaraderie amongst the fan clubs at the races and I can’t wait to emulate that energy with OTTR. 

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Unlike a fan club, you don’t just “be a Max stan or Ferrari fan” to travel with us, you just have to be a Formula One fan.

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Each weekend follows a similar cadence, but we tailor our itinerary depending on the Grand Prix. For example, in cities like Barcelona and Mexico City, the track is closer to the city center, so we can plan more activities that are located within the city. Whereas our package for Silverstone the core of our offering takes place in London and we only attend the race on Sunday.

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The general cadence of the weekend is you would arrive on Friday midday and check into the hotel. We have our first activity on Friday afternoon and typically kick-off the weekend with a cultural excursion. For example, for the Dutch Grand Prix, we’ll be based in Amsterdam. When guests arrive, we will head straight to the Rijksmuseum private guided tour. In Barcelona, we begin our race weekend with a private guided tour of the Sagrada Familia.

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Friday night, we host our signature welcome cocktail party. In Barcelona, we will have rooftop drinks with views of the Sagrada Familia and I’m really particularly excited for the Dutch GP where our cocktail party will be a canal cruise on a vintage restored wooden boat. 

Saturday morning, guests wake up and we will offer a wellness moment. That could be a light stretch, a yoga session, or a guided meditation, before enjoying breakfast and heading off to the track for the qualifying session. Your packages typically include a VIP hospitality ticket of some capacity which means guests have access to a privatized space, all-day open bar and hospitality, really elevating the race day experience.

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After quali, we’ll come back to the hotel for a little bit of downtime before we head out to our more formal dinner. In each city, we try to select a really interesting restaurant, such as a Michelin star restaurant or something new by an exciting local chef. I’m really excited for this programming element as food is a big passion point for me.

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Sunday morning, we wake up, have breakfast, and then hit the glam room. We invite local stylists to offer dry styling, braiding, and makeup touch-ups to get everyone excited and in the mood for the day ahead. We then head to the track for the race for another day of VIP hospitality. After the race, we head back to the hotel to enjoy a casual dinner at the hotel restaurant, just good comforting food after a long weekend of fun. The next morning we say goodbye as everyone heads home or continues on their personal trips which ends a typical race weekend with Off to the Races.

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Q: What is your professional background and how did you get into Formula One?

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Alexandra: Before I entered the exciting world of motorsport, I worked in the art world where a big part of my role was managing VIP strategy and donor engagement for major museums throughout the United States. I would plan international and domestic trips for trustees and other high-level donors to visit artworks, artists, museums and other special experiences all over the world. Taking this specialized experience and applying it to this hobby which has been such an exciting endeavor.

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I initially learned about Formula 1 through a friend of mine who was heading to the race in Montreal, when they were describing the weekend I was not fully understanding the appeal. Then they gave me a crash course and explained how many races there were in the season and how the teams got from Point A to Point B. I love operations and I love logistics, so those two things were the elements that really excited me at first.

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After that, I just went down a deep dive of learning about how they get the cars and the teams to and from each race and it kind of evolved from there. Then of course, I started to watch Drive to Survive. I would sheepishly watch it on my iPhone at Equinox when I was on the treadmill but then it started to become more mainstream and I had more people to connect with around the sport and it just took off from there. 

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Now living in Europe, I am able to access the races a little more easily and having a partner that is open to spending Sundays watching cars go around has been a bonus, and here we are!

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Q: How long after you got into F1 did you start Off to the Races?

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Alexandra: I’ve been a Formula One fan for about the past five or six years and Off to the Races was born earlier this year. As I said earlier, OTTR was born as a result of my own experience at the track and doing my own research when trying to go and attend races. I saw a gap in the market where all these amazing fans were craving an elevated, shared experience. 

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The way I like to describe an Off to the Races weekend is that it has the look and feel of an amazing brand trip, but the vibe of the best destination wedding you’ve ever gone to. 

I really wanted to bring the atmosphere of traveling and meeting new people into a race weekend where people don’t know each other but have the same goal or shared interests. My goal is that, if you’re coming as a solo traveler for a race, it is the last race you attend alone because now you’ll have met new friends to travel the world with and share a passion for this incredible sport. 

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Q: What can your audience expect from a partnership with FanAmp?

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Alexandra: I think FanAmp is a great way to connect with people, connect with other fans and not only at the races but also throughout the year. One of the amazing parts of being a Formula One fan is being a part of a global audience where you can connect with people from all around the world solely because of a shared interest.

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Everything on the app is condensed and the information is all in one place and in chronological order. If I’m ever wondering what is going on, I get to open up the app and see the news without being too overwhelmed. I also love having the different breakout chat rooms where you can follow along with your favorite podcasters, content creators, and really keep those conversations going outside of their regular news cycle. 

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I’m really excited to be working with FanAmp on a couple of different things. While we can’t bring Off to the Races to every race this year, it’s something that we aim to do in the future. In the meantime, we are working on curating our Off the Track travel guides. We will have all the information you need so you know what to expect when you’re at the circuit: how to get your tickets, how to get to the circuit, et cetera. I’ll be offering some suggestions on what to do either when you’re traveling to the cities for those races or if you have a little bit of downtime, or even just how to plan your itinerary around those races.

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I’m really excited to be sharing those travel guides, and it’s been really fun for me to learn so much about all these amazing cities on the circuit. Everytime I work on a travel guide, I’m convinced I need to go to that race now!

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I’m also very excited to use FanAmp as a way to communicate with our travelers, and I can’t wait to have it as a useful tool for our members to stay connected before, during and after the race weekend.

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The initiation of the group chat is a quintessential part of the trip experience. Making sure people can communicate on what they’re wearing, packing, or when they are arriving, just makes FanAmp a great resource and space for everyone to meet online before the actual race. They can start building relationships before they even get on the plane. 

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Q: I know you had a launch party earlier this year, how did that go? What other events do you have lined up for the 2024 season?

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Alexandra: Yes, so we did a launch party earlier this October to celebrate the launch of Off to the Races and we held a dinner at one of my favorite restaurants here in Barcelona which actually has a racing theme. It was so much fun and we were able to invite some of our local supporters and friends who also love motorsport. The dress code was elevated race day and people did not disappoint! I was very impressed. 

It was a wonderful way to kick off Off to the Races and for people to start to get an idea of what the look and feel of an Off to the Races event is like. Our next big thing will be the Spanish Grand Prix in June. It will be our first race weekend with Off to the Races. We then have plans to go to Silverstone, the Dutch grand Prix and we’ll even be doing a four day itinerary for the Mexican Grand Prix later this fall. That is our tentative schedule for the year but as we know, everything can change within a season of Formula One. Next year we would love to try and get some of the races in the Middle East and then also spread our wings to some of the races in Asia. 

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Q: Will you be doing any more giveaways this season?

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Alexandra: Earlier this month we did a giveaway for the Spanish Grand Prix. When we do giveaways I always want to offer something that is an organic extension of our program. We wanted to do the Spanish Grand Prix giveaway because Barcelona is our hometown and it will be our first OTTR race weekend package. We always want to support the home circuit and so that's why we gave away two GA tickets and then also invited the winners to our cocktail party in Barcelona. The news of Madrid being added in 2026 created a sense of urgency, as we want people to come experience Formula 1 in Barcelona as we don’t know the fate of the circuit.

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We would love to do more giveaways in the future as long as it makes sense and that we can offer prizes which are good and meaningful. 

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Q: What has been one of your most exciting experiences since starting Off to the Races?

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Alexandra: I think one of the most exciting experiences has just been meeting the people who want to travel with us to a Grand PrixI think, when you start an idea and you start a new business, it’s not until you launch and have real interactions with customers that puts it all into perspective. It’s been amazing being able to interact with real fans who are excited to have an opportunity to participate in a weekend like this that has been designed for them.

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It is also amazing to see a variety of age ranges that want to join a race weekend. When I started OTTR I had a preconception that the audience might look like X, Y, and Z and I was completely wrong. It has been really fun to see the groups form, we have travelers who are planning on coming to the race with their girlfriends, their partners, and family members to these weekends - including quite a few mom and daughter trips!

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Q: Do you have a race that you’re looking forward to the most this year?

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Alexandra: I think what's exciting about our program is that there’s an element for every weekend that I’m particularly excited about. The Spanish Grand Prix weekend ends on the eve of a major holiday in Barcelona When the Grand Prix ends on Sunday, the city transforms and kicks off into an all night party celebrating the shortest night of the year with fireworks all over the city. It is an amazing cultural event that people get to experience in addition to an exciting weekend of racing. 

For the Dutch Grand Prix, I am looking forward to their VIP hospitality. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about the track experience there and Amsterdam is known for their very easy transport, great logistics, and also it’s a beautiful city, so I’m very excited to bring the group there.

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If you haven’t been to Mexico City, you must go to Contramar, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. We’ll be having lunch there one of the days before going to the Frida Kahlo museum. We will be sitting in the legendary Foro Sol so we’re going to get that true Mexican GP experience.

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Q: If you could plan any race weekend experience with no budget, what would it look like?

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Alexandra: Oh I’m so glad you asked, this is my Roman Empire… So I actually have two answers, the first one will seem a little on the nose.

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I obviously would love to go to the Monaco Grand Prix. I would probably stay somewhere else in the South of France like Cannes or Nice, and then we’d have a helicopter, of course, to take me to Monaco. Then we would land at the heliport or we could land on another boat and be tendered to the Marina. Then I’ll join a party on a boat, just so we have options. That evening, we’ll go to a fabulous party at night, basically there just has to be a yacht involved. Light coloured linen clothing, champagne, excellent lighting, all the works!

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My other dream scenario also involves a boat, but mainly because I think it’s hilarious. I would love to go to the Miami GP and sit on one of those ridiculous boats that are in the middle of the parking lot. I really love Miami’s commitment to the bit. Like how they said, we’ve got boats, but we’ve only got a parking lot. They said Abu Dhabi’s got boats, Monaco’s got boats, and you know what? We have boats too. I just really need to go on one of the fake boats ideally. 

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Q: Do you have a favorite driver or team?

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Alexandra: So, living in Spain and my husband being Italian, I have unfortunately pledged allegiance to Ferrari. It was part of the deal of moving to Europe. I’m able to get Italian citizenship, but you do have to make some concessions. So here we are! It is a Ferrari household and we are a Carlos Sainz household. He’s not a bad driver to look at and you know what? 53 second pitstop? They were probably just trying to get some dry shampoo in there or something. So yes, I’m a part of a Ferrari household: the life chose me, I did not choose the life!

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Q: Where and how can people find Off to the Races?

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Alexandra: It’s really easy to find us, we are on Instagram and TikTok, but to find all of our itineraries, pricing, and the answers to our frequently asked questions, just head to our website. Everything’s there and it has all the information you need. 

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Also feel free to set up an appointment for a zoom or a call, I’m always happy to chat and walk you through any questions you have. I’m really excited to welcome people this summer and want to make sure that guests have everything they need when they’re planning out their race weekend this year. 

We are so excited to have Off to the Races on board with FanAmp. This season has just become even more exciting for us and you guys!

Be sure to download FanAmp and check out their website so you don’t miss out on anything important.