It'll now be the worlds most expensive "****ty little go-kart track".

 

Just confirmed...no equity stake. so raising $30mil to repave and build a club house.....hmmm...

 

On the CBS TV coverage of the race today, they talked a little about the club plan and what Skip Barber said indicated that they will use some time from everyone who rents time now to make up the 60 days. Like I said earlier, we'll have to see how this plays out, but I'm not convinced that we won't be renting the track there next year. Too little infomraiton and too many assumptions.

 

Figure that a club with 3 dates now will end up with 1 or none next year. If you get one, it's not going to be in prime time. Plan on snow tires.

 

I have been driving at LRP since 1970. The condition of the track now is pretty much as it was then. We all have been complaining about the track surface for years and whatever money had been invested went to items other than repaving.

I had heard a rumor that LRP was going to a club format but I refused to believe it. A quick visit to the Monticello sight would dispell any desire for joining the Lime Rock Club. Everything at D&R will be specially designed with all the latest monitoring and safety gear available, some of which has never been seen or used on any currect track.

This news only reinforces my faith in the Drive & Race Club and I feel it will help insure its success. Anyone wanting more information about the Drive & Race Club can contact me.

ronaldcohn@gmail.com

 

An except from our host as I don't see the word "Sponsor" in your post -
"Lately, Rennlist has had a number of businesses and "marketers" soliciting their wares in threads and posts. Some are veiled, whilst others are more brazen. Since Rennlist is the single largest Internet site dedicated to Porsche automobiles and enthusiasts, it is bound to happen. But.......

To be clear, Rennlist would not exist except for paying Sponsors and Members - and they, along with us - feel it is unfair that they subsidize non-Sponsor sales and marketing efforts, often times with competing products with Rennlist Sponsors. In short, if you are not a Sponsor, the Rennlist Charter prohibits commercial posts to the Forums."

 

True, but no matter how great Monticello looks on the website Lime Rock is a racetrack today and that's where the rubber meets the road.

 

This really is interesting news... $30 million and $6000 a year for 12 dates. Hardly reasonable unless the target is NOT the current users of the track. Like the WSJ article said, there are many newly-wealthy individuals out there buying super cars that have no idea how to drive them and don't want to get involved in a club like PCA. So maybe a few of them will buy onto the CC concept.

It would be counter-productive for any PCA, BMWCCA, etc. member to join this type of club and will see right through the cost / benefit calculation. It's just ridiculously expensive on a per diem basis that any PCA, BMW, etc. member would have to say "no thanks". So, if we all have to lose a couple of PCA dates during the year in order to infuse LRP with $30 million to allow some super-car owning newly-wealth people to enjoy some fast-paced parade laps, then all the better. I'd have to imagine the facility will be improved greatly and the repaving will finally be realized. This may also enable Skip to bring in more races, which would not be a bad thing either.

In any event, prepare for another increase in rental fees because the supply pool just shrank. Now clubs will be bidding each other up to get the remaining dates -- just a sad thing to think about.

Hmm... Just read the press kit. 60 days a year will be reserved for club member only use and each member can pick 12 days. That way 300 people will equate to 60 people at the track over 60 days. That suggests to me that there will be no rental to clubs like PCA if as I read earlier in this thread that about 60 days are available to car clubs.

Ironically, anyone from one of the clubs like PCA and BMW that joins, is in a way taking the opportunity away from the rest of us members. Perhaps if they took away 30 days from the pool and signed up 150 members, then there could be "peace" between the factions wanting to use the track... $30 million raised builds a new track, spending $30 million to buy into limited "DE days" sure feels greedy.

 

No need to drag karting into it......actually, I've been to some kart tracks that are far superior to LRP.

I will really miss driving LRP.....if that's how it ends.

 

I predict this "privatization" will fail miserably. $100,000 up front + $6,000 a year to drive a 1.5 mile bumpy track?

 

$110K up front (CT wants it's $10K) , / $6600 yearly / $750 per day extra for a "guest"! With the *intention* of new pavement, new clubhouse, new this and new that... Love to see the 50 year contract. The neighbors want the track shut down as it is, do THEY all sign the contract saying they will stop fighting for it's closure? Does the town sign the contract to guarantee the track for 50 years?

 

As with many of the other country club formats I wonder what will happen when the day comes - let's a say a Saturday in June - when there are only three cars using the facility and a car club comes along and is willing to plunk down $20k to rent the track. As upgrades are desired a new cash flow model ensues and the track will have to look really hard at pulling the day from the members and selling it to the club. It's a quick $20k to the bottom line that will be hard to pass up.

 

I think its a total of 20 days per year per member, 12 "Premium" days and 8 "non-premium" days. Kind of cracks me up, I've been to way too many "non-premium" days at LR in March, April or November where snow, darkness at 4 in the afternoon and lakes outside the lefthander can swallow a car whole. I guess on those days Skippy figures you could just hang out in the clubhouse instead or check out the new bathrooms.

 

Correction on my figures... Press kit says 60 days a year set aside for members, which appears to be what was offered to outside clubs. So, unless they create new days of the year, when the club is full, that means our clubs will be out of luck.

Each member picks 20 dates x 300 members = 6000 member days / 60 dates = 100 members a day. As the information states, you may not get the dates you request if they are full, so I expect they will limit things to 100 drivers in say 4 run groups for a maximum of 25 each (sounding like a DE to you?).

I keep hearing people saying (by forum and email) that there will still be plenty of time for our clubs, but how? If there were only 60 dates available for car clubs and they just gave the country club program 60 dates, then what is left for us? And I'm sure there will be all sorts of "outs" for the owners in the event the town changes something, if things fold, etc.

 

I wonder if some of the 60 days for the CC members might not come out of the Skip Barber School days? Now that Skippy has taken over the Panoz program, maybe they'll cut back at Lime Rock.