carreracup21

I'm thinking about including a Texas trip in my 2005 schedule. Anyone have any thoughts on what club race event / track is the best. I guess the choices are TWS or TMS. What are these tracks like ?

George A

I believe we have one on Memorial day weekend at MSR, which is about 30 minutes outside of Fort Worth (there is your DFW area). I'm sure you will also hear about dates at TWS in College Station, which is about 3 to 4 hours outside of the DFW area.

George

DJF1

TWS is a great and fast track! I have not driven TMS but the do a big part of the oval i believe and that is hmm...interesting. TWS uses the long main straight but it does not have a banked corner so to speak. Its long (3.9 miles) and it has some great and fast turns. TWS is at College Station about 60 miles North West of Houston.
I personally love TWS, turn 1 at the start makes for some very interesting 6 wide lines

You can see the layout and some generic lines on the track from my video which was posted on this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...=ELUSIVE+VIDEO

George A

From what I understand, no more TMS. From now on, the PCA club race in the DFW area will be at MSR.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.motorsportranch.com/

George

carreracup21

How are people liking the MSR track ? It looks like a small venue. Any video of MSR out there ?

The TWS coarse looks pretty good. I have not been to aggie land in awhile. That might be a good stop.

Ben in Plano, TX

Note I DE, not CR but I have driven both tracks several times.

MSR is a far superior track to TMS in my opinion. It is very technical and much more challenging than TMS. TMS is all about horsepower and brakes - MSR is about driver skill. There was a recent combined BMW/PCA club race held at MSR so perhaps some who drove in that can comment on what it's like from a racing standpoint.

TWS is also a very fun track and is faster than MSR. It uses some of the old NASCAR track along with a much more interesting road coarse addition than TMS ever had. I'm sure other racers can give you feedback on it but I generally hear good things - and it's great for DE.

MSR is a small venue but it is as close to Ft. Worth as TMS so it's not out in the boonies. There are a number of hotels & restaurants available within 30 minutes of the track. The track itself has better facilities than TWS (better bathrooms, clubhouse) while TWS is virtually in College Station so you have access to all the hotels and restaurants there.

Ben

George A

Here is a video of me around MSR for a couple of laps:

993MSR935.wmv

George

carreracup21

Thanks George, That looks like a tight, tough track and very technical. It doesn't look like it has many passing opportunities either. That 935 sounds like a jet waitng to take off, not enough room to let that baby breath on that track. Nice driving by the way !! I think the TWS looks like it might make a better big race venue. That's not a knock on MSR, as it certainly looks like a fun track. It just looks a bit too busy to deal with while you are trying to race. Nice that it's close to my old stomping ground ( TCU 86 ).

Glen

Rob, TWS is a great racetrack and I really mean great. Very fast and very demanding, is actually 2.9 miles and in Your Cup probably 1:55-1:56 lap times with You seeing 140 or so on the main straight I would guess. MSR is a tight technical track with there being alot more passing opportunities than You imagine. It will be a great event as it is a very safe place but is technical and very rewarding to drive. It should really be a great place for a PCA event. On that track, quick in Your 964 Cup I would guess would be a 1:22-1:21? Great speaking with You today btw! There is some good footage of TWS at this link with Danny chasing a CGT at a DE there. http://www.heywaitformeracing.com/DJ...eCarreraGT.wmv

carreracup21

Thanks Glen, I think you may have me mixed up with someone else, but that's ok ( I'm Bill ). I think I'm going to try and make it to the TWS event if I can get the time off. It looks like they already have it on the schedule for March 18 - 20 . I don't think I'll be able to do both.

George A

Bill, thanks for the compliment. You are correct, MSR is tight with few clear passing opportunities. The straits need to be longer. It's not a high hp track. Glen is also right, there are more passing areas than you think. Word is that the track will be expanded with an additional 1.5 mile track and you can join the two for a 3.2 mile track. I have a feeling the addition will be similar to the original with not many clear passing zones. The good news is that supposedly it is going to have almost 70 feet of elevation change. I can't wait for next year. Oh yeah, it's less than 30 minutes from TCU.

I think you would be happy with both TWS and MSR. You can’t make a wrong decision.

George

alexands

What's the news on TMS? Will there be no more PCA races there? Why? I haven't raced it yet (live 8 miles from it), but was hoping to next year.

I've driven MSR and enjoy it, but was sorta looking forward to those NASCAR bank turns at TMS.

4master

Carrera Cup,
I have driven TWS and TMS but never MSR. Of the two I have driven, I prefer TWS. I think it's a more interesting and challenging track to drive. I have a old 944 NA and TMS does not seem to offer much for driver's of momentum cars. If you've got a fast sled, then TMS is probably a hoot because of the banking. But most of the lap is spent on the "nascar" portion of the track and was not very interesting to drive.
TWS offers driver's alot of different types of corners - fast, slow, camber, off-camber and some elevation changes as well. Plus going into turn one is a ton of fun when several cars are on different lines (kind of like turn seventeen at Sebring). Just my .02 cents

Anyone know why no race next year at TMS? Perhaps they raised the rental fees?

Scott Foremaster #909/1985.5 I class 944/Mardi Gras region/"goes like a herd of mice"

bsr_257

No, TMS hasn't raised their fees but renting the Mecca (it has to be one of the nicest facilities in the country) has been expensive. Plus we decided it was time for a change and run on a more challenging track.

I'm as fast, if not faster than most of the F-class guys at TMS (well, except Graydon) but they're all helluva lot faster than me at MSR. Requires a lot more skill and a well set-up car.

FYI, preliminary schedule for the MSR race looks like:
Saturday - Practice/Practice Starts/Fun Race
Sunday - Practice/Qualify/2 Sprint Races
Monday - Practice/60-min Enduro

kev

Noby,

How many racers are you'll anticipating accomadating for? Any ideas what the run group splits will be?

I've got some more questions I'll email you about, thanks.