Proposed R Gruppe Monterey 2005 Track Day

[Gburner]

Hey Hayden glad to see you are on board too, I could use a couple of your speed secrets for LS.

So it goes something like this if Cris says check it out.

Middle of July try to find out what dates Laguna Seca has reserved for spring of 2005.

Find the date for next years Laguna Seca Sports car festival and see if that is the date for the 2005 R Gruppe event. Normallly the R Gruppe event in during either the 1st or 2nd weekend in May.

Hopefully there is a Laguna Seca open track day scheduled close to the R Gruppe weekend.

If not,,,perhaps a plan B.
If there is not a DE scheduled near our event date.
If all the planets get in a line..and we can come up with a good number of guys interested and there is an open Friday or Monday surrounding the R Gruppe weekend. We might be able to propose to one of the local Track clubs that they consider holding a DE event with the knowledge that the R Gruppe entries alone might make the DE break even. Maybe we could buy say 4 half hour sessions on a Saturday or Sunday if a smaller event was in progress?

One such club that is very active in that area and rents the LS track frequently is the NCRA. http://www.ncracing.org/
That is the group that had the track rented on the friday before the R Gruppe event in 2003.

Looking at the LS summer schedule it does appear quite full.
http://www.laguna-seca.com/TrackRental/
I expect our chances are good if we can get the missing information asap.
R Gruppe approval
LS schedule
Coordinate R Gruppe and track DE dates.
If required NCRA or NASA or some other Track club interest. (Jack instructed for NCRA, maybe he has a contact? Hayden with NASA?)

Who is doing what?
Lemme know if I can help?

[RSupdate]

It's a given...I'll be there......

[Gburner]

Originally posted by RSupdate
It's a given...I'll be there......

bring one of these too.

[a911s]

Originally posted by Gburner

I expect our chances are good if we can get the missing information asap.
R Gruppe approval
LS schedule
Coordinate R Gruppe and track DE dates.
If required NCRA or NASA or some other Track club interest. (Jack instructed for NCRA, maybe he has a contact? Hayden with NASA?)

Who is doing what?
Lemme know if I can help?

Good! I have a call into Cris to get approval and find out what weekend in May we will be reserving at the Hyatt. Mike, how about if you stay on top of the Spring 2005 LS schedule to be announced in July, 2004? Hayden, can you call your friends at NASA to see what days they are putting in for? Jack, how about calling your contacts at NCRA to see what they have planned? Ed what other groups could you contact?

Once we have more information, we should be able to decide if we can announce a place to sign-up for an R Gruppe run group!

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Gburner


We had limited success when the R Gruppe rented the Big Willow track this year.
Honestly it appears the majority are content with finding their 6/10ths limits on the street rather than 9/10ths at the track. How many members would drive on a track?

My whole campaign in joining the R Gruppe was to support the track events. This is what put me in touch with Chris initially. He emailed me to talk about this. That having been said, I will definately support the popular and practical decision.

If, for some reason, a track day in conjunction with Montery '05 doesn't work out, I could recommend Buttonwillow as a possibility for an R Gruppe exclusive day. Some tracks are just plain outrages in fees, like CA Speedway. Buttonwillow is reasonable to the best of my knowledge. Buttonwillow is centrally located.

Laguna Seca would be awesome, with or without a companion event. Couldn't they establish the R Gruppe as a separate run group? Or does that just make too many run groups? Maybe 2 morning sessions and a blending into other run groups after that th speed things up.

Mike, I have to believe you had your tongue in cheek about the 6/10ths. But, at the bottom line, my answer to your question is that I will run a track event wherever, whenever.

[Gburner]

Originally posted by a911s
[B Mike, how about if you stay on top of the Spring 2005 LS schedule to be announced in July, 2004? [/B]

I'd be happy too. I'll do my best going thru the front door.

Jack and Hayden please ask your contacts if when their 2005 schedules are confirmed does LS happen to provide them with a complete 2005 LS schedule? If so could they provide you a copy?

[Gburner]

Milt glad you are on board, I saw your crazy cart pics on old Rverside T 7. Like racing 120mph creepers!

Originally posted by Zeke
Mike, I have to believe you had your tongue in cheek about the 6/10ths.

Everyone's actual scale may differ but I think we can agree that driving 9/10ths on the street is not a good idea. It can be done, but the consequences are many and severe.

IMHO, If you have never driven on a track and have never recieved performance driving training 6/10ths of your own potential skills and 6/10ths of your car's potential is about all you can experiance.

9/10ths to me means cornering while maintaining the max acceptable slip angle on every turn. Big Willow Turns 1 & 2, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 (that should be 8 and 9) taken at my best speeds are not comparable to any experiances I've had on a public road.

Not to scare anyone off, first time track guys can learn at your own speed and just enjoy driving fast in a safe enviroment with run off areas, medical workers on site and no public traffic or police to distract you.

Best regards
mg

[jim]

i'm in.

i just wish we were talking about track time during the whole weekend of monterey 2005!

lets do the triple of laguna on friday, thunder hill on saturday and sears point on sunday. that would be really cool R GRUPPE!

[Eade Hopkinson]

I think it woud be GREAT to drive on the track for more than a parade lap. I would love to see this happen next year. I also thought that maybe we could have the event start on Thursday, with registration then. We could then have all day Friday, maybe a full or half day track time on Saturday, and then the same schedule we had this year for Sunday. When you consider quite a few of us, from both Southern Cal., and from the Northwest, are driving almost 1,000 miles round trip, and this is THE MAIN EVENT OF THE YEAR, a longer event would be just dandy. Count me in for sure

[Chuck Miller]

Mike,

I couldn't agree more...

I've been aggressively drive'n the hills since '69... 20 years later was my first REAL track experience and there was NO comparison.

Just the ENTITLEMENT knowing that finally your job is to drive as fast as you can... and feel safe...

Realizing that driving at that level brings you into a 'dance' with your car from turn to turn, from one slip angle to the next, from one extended braking zone to the next - that you would never approach in the hills...

And that's just the beginning level that I've tried ...

Knowing enough competitive drivers I realize that taking to the next level, that is racing against other drivers for position and the win instead of just against a clock... is like the difference between hitting a back board and have a good game of tennis...

To Mike G., Jack O., Dave B. and all the other competitors who not only do the dance but REALLY play the game ... I take my Gulf hat off in admiration