Thom Kuby wrote:
>
> Thats a fact, Simon...
> this year is probably an even bigger mess than normal, what with the "huns"
> coming to town-50th anniversary bash and all that...I'm a Porsche guy, so I
> really can't pass this one up... BUT, if this were a "normal hassle" I
> think I'd probably give up on the Historics altogether in favor of
> attending more, smaller, local club hosted events...more track time,
> looser, and more fun etc etc. I heard somewhere that rental of Laguna Seca
> alone is something like 45k...that true? Somewhere along the line I think
> we'll see some sort of general backlash against these "big" events in favor
> of smaller, more frequent gatherings at lessor known/used venues...
Yeah, but that's what they said 2 years ago when it was BMW. My comment
was, "The Hun hordes are upon us!" ;=) If you think the overbooking on
hotels is bad, the racers have it worse. The Hysterics get 3-5 times as
many entry forms as they have grid positions. Small events are great,
but you just never know who will show up at one of the big ones. I
raced my Formula Junior in the 96 Historics. Lucky for me BMW never
built any Formula Juniors. It just so happened, the Kingston Trio had
signed on to do a benefit concert there. Nick Reynolds drove my car way
back when. Where else could I have gotten a chance to talk to him? I
actually prefer the Wine Country Classic over the Historics as a racer.
There's more track time, it's less hassle, less crowded, but it's still
a pretty good spectacle to be part of. That's coming up in May.
The other thing to remember about Laguna Seca is that it is run as a
park. Sears Point is run as a business. They actually don't want
Laguna Seca being used as a race track every weekend (bloody neighbors).
Sears Point definitely wants a full dance card. Renting Sears is not
cheap either. The last figure I saw was $35K. Laguna only gets 3 loud
weekends a year (maybe 4?). Running with severe sound restrictions is a
b*tch.
> To be honest...I've ALWAYS had a bit of a problem with great big events
> (read crowds & hype) anyway...be it concerts, playoffs, tournaments,
> racing, whatever...smaller groups and a relaxed pace is more my
> style-perhaps I'm a little weird, but I just seem to get more out of
> that...
But that's why you're IN vintage racing, right? ;=) Smaller groups,
relaxed pace, etc?
Cheers. Your $.02 worth appreciated.
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