The DareDevil

The question is how much will a track day cost. I can't see the track sitting idle and they certainly won't fill the schedule with major events.

Brian 162

When Mr. Fidani was at the PCA social a couple of months ago he said the DDT track will be re-configured and will include part of the oval (no more stock car racing or king of the hill).
My impression was he wants to promote the newer track for lapping groups.

One other source of revenue could be raising the price of the Mc. Mosport.

pontifex4

Christien

And if they do that, they'll be able to spend less on bathroom maintenance!

mdex

It depends on the investment of the owners and their expected returns on capital. My understanding is they need to see increases on the order of 400% to justify the full improvement plan. Lapping days dont pay those kind of bills, and there is an argument that it is better to have the track empty a few days to limit supply if it drives higher demand.

Pferrf1

That fancy new corporate err control centre is a sign of the future. More corporate/driving experience days with better and newer facilities. That being said, there's some 24 to 30 odd weekends in the season. There will always be track days but they will be at a premium.

I think the ownership realize that the clubs are the grassroots of the track.

jumper5836

When they actually have two tracks worth driving on then it should actually bring in the money. Right now the Gp track is the only thing worth renting unless your driving a civic.
I don't see prices going up to much for the Gp track but they will go up on the go cart track once they expand it and it becomes a real track.

Torontoworker

None of these statements are true except for the DDT redevelopment.

There are many open days between now and Oct 31st. *Some* days the track has been closed for construction reasons but that was mainly through April and part of this month. Do not confuse private companies *choosing* not to rent (for whatever their reasons) with some alleged issue CTMP has selectively renting the track out. If Pro 6 and Riders Choice have fewer moto track days - it is their decision - not CTMP's...

FYI: The patches have a lot more grip even after one of them has a car burn out over it in cor 9. I drove on it 30 minutes after the fire and the pavement was unaffected.

pontifex4

Ahem... I didn't know the Ferrari club's events had already started.

Seriously, though, I hope everyone was okay. What's in a flagger's fire extinguisher bottle, anyway? Does it make the track slippery?

Dale Gribble

That's good 2 know

Christien

mr_fizz

i really, really hope they keep regional racing alive at mosport. it is one of the best things about being in ontario.

Torontoworker

I think you'll see a continuation of the close relationship between CTMP and CASC in the future. CTMP has for years sponsored the season ending 'Celebration of Motorsport' - a considerable sum of money for this weekend and they work closely to make sure that the regional calendar remains close to traditional race dates as they can. Ron Fellows came out of the regional system and while I can't speak for him, it would be IMHO, highly unlikely he would turn his back on local racers and their clubs.

Is it possible that the region would decide to run a few races at a redeveloped DDT? I've heard that mentioned as gossip from both BEMC and BARC members. It would come down to how big this new track would be (challenging and length) and what would the costs be (lower). As a region, CASC barely broke even last year and some of the member clubs live and die on entry levels for their events. BEMC is a perfect case study where this club runs two events a year (Spring&Fall) and poor weather at one out of these events giving them low car counts can put them in the red for the whole year. Having an alternative (cheaper) track that they can rent once out of the two events can act as a safety valve for their budget issues. We don't have the economy any longer where we get 300+ cars in the paddock for a region event - yet the rental costs keep climbing...

A redeveloped DDT may actually be just the thing that helps keep more region racers on the track and I'm quite sure Ron isn't going to go to all that expense and end up with a mickey mouse track. CTMP owns quite a lot of land that extends down past corner 5. In a selfish view - I'd love to have a track that has a few straights that parallel the GP's back straight so we might have car access to the back of cor 6 and 5C's worker stations.

In short - I have no fears that CTMP will get it 'right' in the end knowing the people involved. People may not like an increase in pricing but they will be given options such as another circuit and half day rentals. You can't have world class at socialist pricing!

I remember other owners who couldn't have given a s**t (heard that statement in person) from a long time owner when talking about region clubs concerns or needs and the TOXIC relationship between one short time owner who was a bastard and very nearly ended up killing the place. Don P. did save the place but lost interest later on in his ownership. The person we should thank for helping the regions the most is Myles Brandt. People don't know or understand the roll he has played in keeping this place open during the down turn era's, (which have been many) and many ownership changes.

FYI: Related to my fire comment: The car was a Gateway run Vette (#111) that caught fire (oil leak) just before corner 9 and stopped drivers left at the apex of 9. The fire came through the gap between the gear lever as well as under the front hood. Driver got out after 30 l_o_n_g seconds and just suffered a bit of smoke inhalation and was checked out and released from Lakeridge. There are quite a few region racers looking to buy Nomex bootie's that cover their gear leaver area this week... Surprisingly this item is NOT covered by 'required' equipment rules.

swbatte

I'm not concerned about availability of HPDEs, although the costs will have to go up given the improvements they are making. I think the organizers will have to look at revenues generated and see if they need to combine their events with other groups to get attendance up and offset costs.

Reifle

All over Europe the big tracks have track days and they are very popular! I believe this will continue here just not to the same extent as previous years... We shall see. With Mosport I think the corporate thing is going to happen. Manufacturers may step up and have certain days etc...