GrandSport Group Track Day
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,112
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From: Houston, TX
I sent him another email - that if he's not willing to offer us any sort of deal, since even bringing 6 people is bigger than the whole event I went to, we may look at other options available to us. I said to find out what he may be able to offer and get back to us.
I'm just worried we won't be able to get a solid 15 entries... that's a big commitment for people to make, especially since it's 160 for a weekday. It'll be even more for a weekend, which is when most people would be available.
Serious Interest List. Put yourself down if you have the means (between 175-250ish) and the time to do an event with us in August. No date is set, so this isn't binding - but if we want to rent a track we need a solid group of at least 20, so that even if 5 can't make it to the day it's still affordable.
1. popcornten
2. soundmike
3.
I think most ambulance services will charge for their time, with GS it doesn't seem to be a requisite but it certainly helps. I have put a call in to MSR, as soon as i hear back i'll post their response.
15 entries should be fairly easy, if we keep the price down. The Z Party event had well over 35 people running, granted it happened on a Saturday.
I think we all should pay up-front for the event, or we risk having people not showing up at all... leaving those who join liable for the balance.
Matt (Matt93SE) or Robert (Robert_K), if either one of you are reading this, can you provide us tips on what you guys normally do for the Z track events? Thanks.
15 entries should be fairly easy, if we keep the price down. The Z Party event had well over 35 people running, granted it happened on a Saturday.
I think we all should pay up-front for the event, or we risk having people not showing up at all... leaving those who join liable for the balance.
Matt (Matt93SE) or Robert (Robert_K), if either one of you are reading this, can you provide us tips on what you guys normally do for the Z track events? Thanks.
Just as i thought, MSR is going to cost quite a bit more. They have most weekends in August available for $7.9k for a day, which includes ambulance services. Other items are extra (i.e. workers, gate staff, instructors, etc.).
GS may be our best bet, even TWS can't touch the price.
GS may be our best bet, even TWS can't touch the price.
Spectators are usually ok with these events, unless we decide to charge for those as well (The Z Party did, $10 a pop, but included lunch and some goodies). If we end up with Grand Sport, the fees will hopefully be much lower ... if we manage to get 30 people in this event, that'll be less than $100 a pop for a full day! 
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
I think most ambulance services will charge for their time, with GS it doesn't seem to be a requisite but it certainly helps. I have put a call in to MSR, as soon as i hear back i'll post their response.
15 entries should be fairly easy, if we keep the price down. The Z Party event had well over 35 people running, granted it happened on a Saturday.
I think we all should pay up-front for the event, or we risk having people not showing up at all... leaving those who join liable for the balance.
Matt (Matt93SE) or Robert (Robert_K), if either one of you are reading this, can you provide us tips on what you guys normally do for the Z track events? Thanks.
15 entries should be fairly easy, if we keep the price down. The Z Party event had well over 35 people running, granted it happened on a Saturday.
I think we all should pay up-front for the event, or we risk having people not showing up at all... leaving those who join liable for the balance.
Matt (Matt93SE) or Robert (Robert_K), if either one of you are reading this, can you provide us tips on what you guys normally do for the Z track events? Thanks.
Man, I wish I shared your enthusiasm. I posted in the Texas section over on 350z and in the southwest section on myg37 but I guess noone has looked over here yet...
I hope we can get a solid group of 15, but we'll see what happens.
So the ambulance is a requirement? I didn't realize that based on my discussion with Dave. Hmm... can't hurt, i guess. (no pun intended!)
How about let's set an actual date and make this official? Chances are people are on the fence since nothing is set in stone yet.
How about let's set an actual date and make this official? Chances are people are on the fence since nothing is set in stone yet.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
I'm just worried we don't have enough real interest to make it official, or to even talk to Dave about being official. We've got 5 people, and now Ryan doesn't think he can make it. At this point our best bet is probably just to go out to a track's HPDE together instead of trying to make our own track day, I just don't see enough interest that we won't be stuck with like $500 bills since it's just a small number of us.
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 63
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Pretty much any time you rent the track, you're required to have an ambulance on site. It was required with all of the track rentals we looked at for the Z Club events. (always has been, always will be).
You also need to factor in event insurance. MSR wouldn't let us have the event if we didn't have insurance.
The $10 per spectator at our event was so they would have lunch catered for them (which cost us $12 a head, FYI), because there's no food within 15-20 minutes of the track. Instead of 100+ cars leaving the track for lunch, we brought lunch to the track.
Also, $2000 for track rental is CHEEEEEAP. Don't bother haggling with those guys. They're the cheapest around and they know it. MSR is $9000 a day just for the track. By the time we hired three track instructors (and I still wound up instructing myself since we needed more help), insurance, corner workers, ambulance, and etc, it cost us close to $12,000 to put on an event at MSR.
You will also need at least two or three instructors, depending on how many people show up. Lead/Follow stuff is simply not doable for a large group of people or a bunch of beginners. We had too many people that needed 1-on-1 instruction and we just didn't have enough available to help. I hate taking money from people paying for a track day to learn and then not getting the instruction they need.
Anyway, yeah your best bet is to just join other HPDE groups that are running already. It will cost you a bit more than planning it all yourself and renting the track, but I would GLADLY pay that $50 or $100 difference not to have to deal with all the hassles of planning the event again. There are literally dozens- if not hundreds- of hours of prep work involved in that. So even with 10 hours of prep to organize an event and save $50 for yourself? That makes your time with $5/hour. Screw that. I'd rather work a couple hours of overtime at the office and pay someone else to deal with the hassles!
You also need to factor in event insurance. MSR wouldn't let us have the event if we didn't have insurance.
The $10 per spectator at our event was so they would have lunch catered for them (which cost us $12 a head, FYI), because there's no food within 15-20 minutes of the track. Instead of 100+ cars leaving the track for lunch, we brought lunch to the track.
Also, $2000 for track rental is CHEEEEEAP. Don't bother haggling with those guys. They're the cheapest around and they know it. MSR is $9000 a day just for the track. By the time we hired three track instructors (and I still wound up instructing myself since we needed more help), insurance, corner workers, ambulance, and etc, it cost us close to $12,000 to put on an event at MSR.
You will also need at least two or three instructors, depending on how many people show up. Lead/Follow stuff is simply not doable for a large group of people or a bunch of beginners. We had too many people that needed 1-on-1 instruction and we just didn't have enough available to help. I hate taking money from people paying for a track day to learn and then not getting the instruction they need.
Anyway, yeah your best bet is to just join other HPDE groups that are running already. It will cost you a bit more than planning it all yourself and renting the track, but I would GLADLY pay that $50 or $100 difference not to have to deal with all the hassles of planning the event again. There are literally dozens- if not hundreds- of hours of prep work involved in that. So even with 10 hours of prep to organize an event and save $50 for yourself? That makes your time with $5/hour. Screw that. I'd rather work a couple hours of overtime at the office and pay someone else to deal with the hassles!
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,112
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
Pretty much any time you rent the track, you're required to have an ambulance on site. It was required with all of the track rentals we looked at for the Z Club events. (always has been, always will be).
You also need to factor in event insurance. MSR wouldn't let us have the event if we didn't have insurance.
The $10 per spectator at our event was so they would have lunch catered for them (which cost us $12 a head, FYI), because there's no food within 15-20 minutes of the track. Instead of 100+ cars leaving the track for lunch, we brought lunch to the track.
Also, $2000 for track rental is CHEEEEEAP. Don't bother haggling with those guys. They're the cheapest around and they know it. MSR is $9000 a day just for the track. By the time we hired three track instructors (and I still wound up instructing myself since we needed more help), insurance, corner workers, ambulance, and etc, it cost us close to $12,000 to put on an event at MSR.
You will also need at least two or three instructors, depending on how many people show up. Lead/Follow stuff is simply not doable for a large group of people or a bunch of beginners. We had too many people that needed 1-on-1 instruction and we just didn't have enough available to help. I hate taking money from people paying for a track day to learn and then not getting the instruction they need.
Anyway, yeah your best bet is to just join other HPDE groups that are running already. It will cost you a bit more than planning it all yourself and renting the track, but I would GLADLY pay that $50 or $100 difference not to have to deal with all the hassles of planning the event again. There are literally dozens- if not hundreds- of hours of prep work involved in that. So even with 10 hours of prep to organize an event and save $50 for yourself? That makes your time with $5/hour. Screw that. I'd rather work a couple hours of overtime at the office and pay someone else to deal with the hassles!
You also need to factor in event insurance. MSR wouldn't let us have the event if we didn't have insurance.
The $10 per spectator at our event was so they would have lunch catered for them (which cost us $12 a head, FYI), because there's no food within 15-20 minutes of the track. Instead of 100+ cars leaving the track for lunch, we brought lunch to the track.
Also, $2000 for track rental is CHEEEEEAP. Don't bother haggling with those guys. They're the cheapest around and they know it. MSR is $9000 a day just for the track. By the time we hired three track instructors (and I still wound up instructing myself since we needed more help), insurance, corner workers, ambulance, and etc, it cost us close to $12,000 to put on an event at MSR.
You will also need at least two or three instructors, depending on how many people show up. Lead/Follow stuff is simply not doable for a large group of people or a bunch of beginners. We had too many people that needed 1-on-1 instruction and we just didn't have enough available to help. I hate taking money from people paying for a track day to learn and then not getting the instruction they need.
Anyway, yeah your best bet is to just join other HPDE groups that are running already. It will cost you a bit more than planning it all yourself and renting the track, but I would GLADLY pay that $50 or $100 difference not to have to deal with all the hassles of planning the event again. There are literally dozens- if not hundreds- of hours of prep work involved in that. So even with 10 hours of prep to organize an event and save $50 for yourself? That makes your time with $5/hour. Screw that. I'd rather work a couple hours of overtime at the office and pay someone else to deal with the hassles!
And to be honest, you're making me change my mind because a GrooveUnion event at GrandSport will only cost me $175 from now on hahah, so if we we're able to get a BIG group and plan I'd save all of like $25.
EDIT: Ok so I want to drive TWS before the summer is up and there is one last HPDE there I believe (other than this weekend) on August 15th. Their events are usually $195 for one day and that's from 9am to 6pm. I'm going to head up there, as long as registration works out - TWS fills up QUICK, so if anyone wants to come with me let me know. It's between an hour and an hour and a half from Houston depending upon where you live. Maybe close to two for you, Jeremy.
If we were to do a group day I would for sure pick Grand Sport, but TWS looks like an intense track and I really want to drive another new track to get as much experience on different tracks as I can. There's also a Groove Union at Grandsport on August 16th - but I'm going to pick TWS over GrandSport - and it's actually cheaper for beginners.
So if anyone wants to come, let me know. I'm going to try and figure out registration.
Last edited by popcornten; Jul 23, 2009 at 01:30 AM.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,112
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From: Houston, TX
ryan - you're more than welcome to ride up with me to TWS on the 15th if I can get signed up for it. but it doesn't seem like anyone else really wants to head up there :-/
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 63
Likes: 1
If I'm in town and have the day off, I'll probably take the 240 back up there. I'm just so damn busy with work right now that I can't plan much of anything.
Also, for a noob.. I would suggest you go to the same track a few times in a row to gauge your improvement in performance and skill on the track. The more you're comfortable with the track layout, the less stressed you'll be behind the wheel, which translates into better car control and faster learning since you're concentrating on improving driving skill instead of learning the line.
The TWS events usually don't fill up during the heat of the summer. They had to cancel one just the other day because they only had three people signed up 2 days before the event. The next one will probably be packed, but they generally always make room for the more advanced drivers. (they usually have the vast majority of people in green and blue groups, so they always fill up first. the advanced groups usually don't fill up.)
Also, for a noob.. I would suggest you go to the same track a few times in a row to gauge your improvement in performance and skill on the track. The more you're comfortable with the track layout, the less stressed you'll be behind the wheel, which translates into better car control and faster learning since you're concentrating on improving driving skill instead of learning the line.
The TWS events usually don't fill up during the heat of the summer. They had to cancel one just the other day because they only had three people signed up 2 days before the event. The next one will probably be packed, but they generally always make room for the more advanced drivers. (they usually have the vast majority of people in green and blue groups, so they always fill up first. the advanced groups usually don't fill up.)