[trackbird]

Ok guys, I have been at Beaver Run all day with the AV8SS guys. I also had a chance to sit down with the race director and assistant race director and discuss ideas for events. We talked about all kinds of things and I need input.

First. Would anyone be interested in a time trial event at the road courses. Off the top of my head, we were discussing something like a warm up lap, fast lap, cool down lap and doing multiple runs per day (think "large scale autocross", several runs, etc). And, if you would be interested in such a series, what kind of entry fee might get you guys to come out. Meaning, if it's $500 per car, and 2 cars show up, there's no point. If we make it less (and we'd be planning on it....trust me), at what point would people be interested in coming to try it, and would people be interested in such a format? It would not be a "coned off" road course, it would be a single "flying lap" with a warm up and cool down on each end.

Second. HPDE time. I'm trying to work something out for an HPDE format that would be affordable, but we'd need cars to keep the prices down. I know we like HPDE's here, don't we?

Third. I was discussing the frrax track day idea that we've been bouncing around for the last year or so. We talked about pairing it with an AV8SS weekend. We'd need to find where to hold it (Summit Point, Nashville, and VIR were discussed, but we'd be open to others). Any input?

[Mojave]

For this past weekend with Nasa, 2 days of TT was $275 (DE is $245 for 2 day), transpoder rental $60, garage space $35, and Nasa membership $40 (once per year).

This post has been edited by Mojave: Aug 7 2006, 10:24 PM

[mitchntx]

For this past weekend with Nasa, 2 days of TT was $275 (DE is $245 for 2 day), transpoder rental $60, garage space $35, and Nasa membership $40 (once per year).

Garage space and NASA membership is really outside this hypothetical equation.

I knew they had gone up $30 for the racers, I didn't realize they had raised the price on the DE guys as well.

So it's $15 a day for TT now?

Howdy,

The cost of travel, room and board and car expendables the same during an AX vs track day weekend. I would go through tires at about the same rate. Maybe not brakes. And fuel is definitely more costly for a road course weekend. I burn 3-5 gallons per session! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

Car expendables are the same between a track day weekend and an AX?

Um, not in my experience.

Folks around here get 10 events or so out of their top of the line DOT-R tires before they're unusable (not uncompetitive...) That's about 60 runs. I've never once heard of someone getting 10 days at the track running the latest DOT-R tires.

Brake pads & rotors last indefinately on an autox car. When people are changing them, its because they want a different pad, not because they've worn out. Seems like folks are chewing through brakes a lot faster than that at track days.

The AMV8SS car I crewed for last weekend ran though 20+ gallons of fuel in perhaps 80 minutes or so of track time. Certainly that car drinks fuel, but even if you cut the fuel bill in half you aren't going to come anywhere near that at an autox.

Mark

The great thing about a road course duty is one can have a pretty damn good time on a set of tires that are quite a bit cheaper than the latest incarnation of a Hoosier.

I bought 2 sets of Toyo Proes R1As (8 tires) the begining of last season and still have 3 of them on the ground. I bought a second set earlier this year because my Toyo bucks contingency was about to expire.

I once heard LGs old crew chief say "When compared to a Hoosier, the Toyos suck. But they sure do suck for a long time." You know, he was right.

You are probably right about brake pads. I've gone through 2 sets of pads in the last 2 seasons. But, I still have the original Wagner rotors ...

[marka]

Howdy,

The great thing about a road course duty is one can have a pretty damn good time on a set of tires that are quite a bit cheaper than the latest incarnation of a Hoosier.

I bought 2 sets of Toyo Proes R1As (8 tires) the begining of last season and still have 3 of them on the ground. I bought a second set earlier this year because my Toyo bucks contingency was about to expire.

I once heard LGs old crew chief say "When compared to a Hoosier, the Toyos suck. But they sure do suck for a long time." You know, he was right.

You can run Toyos and have fun at an autox though... You gotta compare apples to apples here. Track days use up equipment way more than an autox ever thought of.

Mark

[killer_bluebird]

You can run Toyos and have fun at an autox though... You gotta compare apples to apples here. Track days use up equipment way more than an autox ever thought of.

Mark

I don't think the idea is is making this program a one to one comparison but to bring it a lot closer than it is at the moment. I believe if we are able to get the cost to about half of what it currently takes it will not only be more apealing to serious AX'ers but provide a transitional platform. Toyo's are a durable platform so you can set it up this way, You can run Dot street tires like Nitto RII, Kumhos MX, BFG KD, and Azeni 615's but if you want to step up to an R compound tire you are limited to Toyo RA's. Or have Nitto or Toyo sponsor the event and offer discounts as part of the price if you use their tires. 20% first place, 15% second and 10% third. I'm throwing ideas out there, I think limiting the tire selection to a tire that would last a whole season is a good start though to keeping it cost effective.