jford

A little traffic is always more fun, I think everyone would agree here but the original point is still valid.

The clubs and regions are non-profit and are to serve the members of the club. That being said it is understandable that the club does need some revenue for operating expenses but there should probably be a limit on DE participation. At what point to you draw the line between making a profit from an event and quality and amount of track time?

I for one would not attend a DE with only 3 sessions. The fixed costs of an event being what they are (gas to and from, hotels, etc.) I would rather pay a little more per day and get 4 to 5 sessions. I've run both Trackmasters and Tracquest (now Chin Motorsports) and even though they cost more I appreciated the 5+ sessoins/day. For PCA events I try to run with regions doing events a bit far form thier geographical locale. There are great PCA events out there you just have to search them out. That being said I always have a great time at the track regardless of how much I drive.

I rented the Glen last Oct. and put together and event designed to break even. I could provide breakfast at the garage, a light lunch in the garage each day and one diner for just under $300/driver gaurenteeing 5 sessions a day with 30 or so cars per run group. In the end my 2 days of driving cost me about $5000 but thats a story for another time. Had a gotton the min. amount of particpants, of course, it would have been a different story.

What I would like to do is put together something like 'Group 52' (52 drivers that share 2 days at the glen of open track) where you have a sort of co-op of advanced DE drivers who rent track time together with the thought of 3 +/- hrs of time a day with 30 - 35 cars on track at a venue like the Glen. I, for one, don't much enjoy running for 30 minutes and not seeing another car...this has happened to me at the Glen on more than a few occasions....so you want to have a fair amount of participants. This is something I will be giving some seriuos thought to over the next couple of months.

Jamie

BrianKeithSmith

Jamie for President!!!!

I'd vote for ya.

Brian

jford

Brian,
My past would never survive the scrutiny, but thanks for your confidance..lol.

I did learn a few things from my failed venture last Oct. My event was at the end of the season at a track a bit notorious for shaky weather that time of year. Also there was only about 6 or 7 weeks of notice leading up to it (it was a weekeday gig) so people didn't have enough time to make arraingments.

What I am thinking now is to start making a list of those interested and then trying an event or two where everyone shares the cost. In this way participants would be encouraged to get other people on board. Obviuosley there is some exposure (as I found out) but with notice and done right I think it could work out pretty well.

Stay tuned.

Jamie

m3bs

I was also at VIR this weekend, running in Red, and with students in Green and Blue. In general, I did not see a problem with traffic, other than one or two folks in each group who either weren't watching their mirrors, or were struggling with an ego problem.

I was put off by the idea of only three sessions at first, but I found I got just as much, if not more, actual hot track time with this format as with the typical 4 x 20 min schedule used at many events here in the Southeast.

Overall, I thought it was a great event. The wind on Friday did make things interesting at speed on the back straight!

9-kevin-11

I was also at VIR this weekend - for my first DE event, and I had a blast!!!. I didn't mind the traffic in the green group - it gives the instructor a chance to remind the student to take his own line. (it was also "educational" to watch what happens when the student ahead of me takes the wrong line!).

I'm definitely addicted now... Going to have to buy a track car (mine is too much to learn in).

P.S. Jeffrey, It was a busy weekend for me - please forgive me calling you "Michael". And, I love the color of your car - looks even better in person than in pictures!!!

BrianKeithSmith

How many students did each instructor have in general? I know that normally Carolinas has 2 per instructor, just wondering if that was the case this weekend.

Brian

m3bs

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How many students did each instructor have in general? I know that normally Carolinas has 2 per instructor, just wondering if that was the case this weekend.
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Their were eight of us lucky guys who got two students. The rest had just one.

BrianKeithSmith

Cool - not for you, but good for the rest of the instructors. I've had 3 students before at an event, and that is a ton of work, and not a very enjoyable weekend.

Brian

Bull

Please keep me advised. I would like to be involved, and have several friends who would participate.

93 FireHawk 968

Jamie;

I like your group 52 idea. Please keep me posted if you decide to move forward with the concept.

Joe

jford

Joe and Bob,

I will keep you in the loop. They way group 52 works is that you have to be 'recomended' by somone already involved...easy enough to facilitate. My idea would take it further by putting together a data base of 'known' drivers so we had a bigger pool to fill the events. For example..it might be possible to do a day at the Glen with 4 hrs/ of track time for under $250/person with 80 or so drivers (no meals however). The event would be posted and emailed to those on the list with strict limits on the number of participants. New members to the pool would be admitted based on recomendations of current memebers. Sounds like a good winter project!

Ideally it would be great to run this co-op through a web site and try to do a few events and tracks each season. In any event I'll put you both on the list of those interested and probably do a post on this board when the time comes to get seriuos...which would need to be in the next month or so.

Jamie

Larry Herman

I would like to be kept informed on this.

jford

Will do Larry. I'll check on some dates for the Glen this week. That is to say that I'll check this week for dates not check for dates for this week of course.

Jamie

Larry Herman

Good thing, I don't think that they make Blizzacks in my size!

jford

Ok, I have a call into Marianne at the Glen. Looking at the schedule for the Glen for 2006 it looks very booked. Although last years dates became available when a PCA region gave them up. I have heard that the Glen will be closing early in 2006 for re-paving and the schedule would seem to bare this out as there are no events booked for Oct.

Interesting note on the Glen schedule...Porsche has product launch for late in June....997 Turbo?

Of course we could have a look at SP and and Shannondoah as well.

Jamie