On my drive back to Florida I had a lot of time to think of our great Rally 4 and the fun activities. I am kind of the analytical type so I was thinking about the events in Texas and what I have experienced here and what we have to compare in South Florida.
I know there has been mention of a rally in Miami but it was a short discussion because we do not have any curvy roads here which is true, But let me tell you what we do have. If you really enjoyed the Rally 4 " Off street " events we have two facilities that would be equal to or greater than our Texas Events and let me explain why.
Track Day :
We could have a track day at Miami Homestead Speedway. ( MHS) This track serves home to premier NASCAR, IndyCar, and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Championships Events each year. It is a relatively new track with modern facilities which include nice fully shaded garages and nice class rooms/ briefing rooms and restroom facilities. http://www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Rentals.aspx
This is a great track. They have a first class road course. It's a 2.21 mile full road course that would be great for the GT's. I will say this if you compare this track to where we just ran at TWS I can say that this track would offer many advantages.
1) This track has (4) straight away sections. Two of the longer sections included the front and back banked straight away's of the NASCAR / IRL oval. Like TWS you get to swoop down off the banking into a high speed sweeper but at Mia you get to do this twice and the pavement is really nice. I will note that TWS has higher banking which was fun I must say !
2) Going back to the (4) straight away's at Mia. I think it is fair to say that the bulk of the drivers at TWS were in the Novice or Intermediate group. I can tell you that having the (4) clearly identifiable straight away's is a big plus for both the drivers with more skills and the drivers with less skills. It takes the pressure off of a driver that has someone on his tail and gives the faster guys plenty of areas to get by. I was in both situations so I know this would be appreciated
3) The track itself would be less than an hours drive from downtown Miami. You would travel to the track via major roads and it is very easy to find.
High Speed Event Day :
Well the Texas mile was a Hoot !! I am happy to say I got to run there !! And if you had as much fun as I did maybe you would like to do a similar type of event at Rally 5. I got to speak with many drivers at the Texas mile and they were all very happy to run the event. For many guys that was the fastest they had ever driven their GT's. I also know that there are many guys that still have the quest to drive their GT's to it's 200 MPH capability.
There is a 10 500 ft Airstrip that is available for rent. This facility just started to be used this year. There is a car group, I think it is World class Driving that uses this place for there 200 MPH exotic car experience. It went to an event there this year that was run in a different format than the Texas Mile.
I would recommend the following format for our GT rally:
1) Recording speeds via GPS units i.e., Garmin nav systems or V boxes / Drift boxes etc.. We would have this place all to ourselves and by using the GPS devices we would not need elaborate scoring and timing equipment.
a) The speed sensing device can be placed directly in front of the driver in his line of site, This way he can watch his speed without looking over at the speedo. FYI the Stock speedo is off by 5 to 6 MPH at 200 . It reads high. GPS reading would be more accurate.
2) Rolling starts: You would not start your high speed run from a dead stop. At this facility you can drive down the parallel taxi way make a big 180* You can hit the main 2 mile air strip with a 50 to 60 mph head start.
a) Rolling starts will take away some of the jitters and the ills of a possible muffed launch. Your clutch may thank you for this
b) The extra speed should help a stock GT reach it's max speed and be able to slow down in a safe distance before you run out of runway. But note even in the two mile distance it will be close for a stock GT to reach 200 MPH and have enough room to stop safely . At the event I attended most of the GT's that were there were pulley and tune or Whipple powered and all ran over 200 MPH.
3) I know Dave will cringe when I write this but I will bring it up anyway. I would recommend this be done at the end of the day when everyone has had there fill of high speed runs. At the event I attended guys were allowed to line up and race their buddies. This could be done safely if we followed the following format.
a) Only two cars at a time. This airstrip is very wide and two cars can run safely with a very wide gap between the two cars.
b) No racing from a dead stop. I would start the cars and have them do roll on races from 1st gear.( approx 15 - 20 mph.) We had a rolling start zone of about 50 yards . One car sets the pace the other car matches the pace and when you hit the start line you hit it. Rolling starts are easy on the tires clutches and reduce the likely hood of someone getting out of shape trying to do a hard launch. The cars could safely race 1/2, 3/4 or 1 mile.
c) If Dave felt this was to big of a risk maybe we could do this after the airstrip runs as an unofficial activity.
4) This airstrip is west of Downtown Miami . I am guessing would be less than an hours drive from downtown Miami. You would travel to the airstrip via major roads and it is very easy to find.
Event Day 3 :
There maybe be a few options for a non track / open road event. I am going to make some suggestions as if one of my car buddies came into town and see how it sounds to you. I can speak as a car guy and a GT owner and can say that other car guys and GT owners have had fun participating in these activities.
Day 3 : Option 1 could consist of these 3 activities : ( A Friday is required for this venue )
1) An afternoon at the go cart track. (1: 00 PM Start ?? 5 PM finish ?? ) Ft. Lauderdale has a first class high speed track that can cater to large private groups http://www.xtremeindoorkarting.com/index.html
- Race against fellow GT owners , your wife or girlfriend or your children. Some times the other family members feel left out so they could have some fun here as well ?? (This maybe my only chance to beat Roketman around a track !! :lol ) This place also has food, a full arcade, mini golf so there are lots of ways for others to be entertained. They could host a private session for us early in the day and we could have a private banquette room,
2) A visit to the weekly Friday Night car show at the Tower Shops ( 6 to 8 PM ? ) http://www.cruisinsouthflorida.com/CruiseNights.htm#Towershoppes Similar to cars and coffee but at night with more cars of all types and eras. This is a great venue to show your GT to other car enthusiasts . They have a section for car clubs and I am sure they would love to see the GT's evade for and evening. This is in The Ft. Lauderdale area 25 to 30 minutes from the go cart track depending on traffic. ( A Friday is required for the Tower Shops event )
3) official or unofficial GT rally dinner in the Ft. Lauderdale area after the tower shops. 8: 30 to ??
Day 3 Option 2 :
A leisure drive to Key West for lunch. 9: 00 AM - 5 PM
This would not be the typical high speed drive thru the twisties street event. The roads are straight, flat and heavily patrolled, This drive would be a great way to unwind after the track days. This is a very scenic drive and a trip over the 7 mile bridge is worth the efforts to get there. Having lunch and seeing the sites on Duval street can always be entertaining. I drove my GT there back in January 2007 as a nice easy break in run. I can tell you the GT was a super model going down the cat walk as I cruised down Duval street. I found a hotel few block off Duval St. that had a two level parking garage that was open to the public. I parked my GT on the second level and there were not many other vehicles around. It maybe possible to secure the upper level for us for the afternoon visit ?
Day 3 Option 3 :A day at Palm Beach International Raceway http://racepbir.com/
We two options at this facility :
a) - GT owners Go Kart day at Palm Beach International Raceway. They have a great go kart track !! That is open to the public. arrive and drive set up.
b ) - GT Track day at Palm Beach International Raceway. Great new track. The only negative part about this facility is that there are no garages or covered parking. We could run the road course in the GT's which would take more of a commitment. Not sure if everyone would be up for two track days but it is an option
Ok, in closing as I stated this is the Venue I would plan if my GT buddies were bringing there cars here. I would hold the event in Late October early November, This is the end of the Hurricane season and the start of the dry season. Downtown Miami would offer many hotel options and are close to The MHS and the airstrip. I know there are some special event parking lots in the downtown area that could probably be used for trailers and tow rigs.
Staying in Ft. Lauderdale would be an option but it would add about 40 minutes to the drive times going to MHS and the airstrip. I listed the events as just a day. The event days could be arranged during the week or on a weekend at the organizers discretion, The only exception would be if we want go to the Tower Shop car show that is a Friday only event.
So that's it, my two cents :biggrin A near duplicate of Rally 4 . Totally doable, guaranteed enjoyable !! :thumbsup Chicago lost the bid for the Olympics so this my Plug for a S. Florida Rally 5 The east coast is due.
Please note I am not trying to steep on any toes. I just wanted everyone know what is available here. I am willing to help Dave scout hotels and parking. I look forward to your thoughts and comment.
I know there has been mention of a rally in Miami but it was a short discussion because we do not have any curvy roads here which is true, But let me tell you what we do have. If you really enjoyed the Rally 4 " Off street " events we have two facilities that would be equal to or greater than our Texas Events and let me explain why.
Track Day :
We could have a track day at Miami Homestead Speedway. ( MHS) This track serves home to premier NASCAR, IndyCar, and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Championships Events each year. It is a relatively new track with modern facilities which include nice fully shaded garages and nice class rooms/ briefing rooms and restroom facilities. http://www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Rentals.aspx
This is a great track. They have a first class road course. It's a 2.21 mile full road course that would be great for the GT's. I will say this if you compare this track to where we just ran at TWS I can say that this track would offer many advantages.
1) This track has (4) straight away sections. Two of the longer sections included the front and back banked straight away's of the NASCAR / IRL oval. Like TWS you get to swoop down off the banking into a high speed sweeper but at Mia you get to do this twice and the pavement is really nice. I will note that TWS has higher banking which was fun I must say !
2) Going back to the (4) straight away's at Mia. I think it is fair to say that the bulk of the drivers at TWS were in the Novice or Intermediate group. I can tell you that having the (4) clearly identifiable straight away's is a big plus for both the drivers with more skills and the drivers with less skills. It takes the pressure off of a driver that has someone on his tail and gives the faster guys plenty of areas to get by. I was in both situations so I know this would be appreciated
3) The track itself would be less than an hours drive from downtown Miami. You would travel to the track via major roads and it is very easy to find.
High Speed Event Day :
Well the Texas mile was a Hoot !! I am happy to say I got to run there !! And if you had as much fun as I did maybe you would like to do a similar type of event at Rally 5. I got to speak with many drivers at the Texas mile and they were all very happy to run the event. For many guys that was the fastest they had ever driven their GT's. I also know that there are many guys that still have the quest to drive their GT's to it's 200 MPH capability.
There is a 10 500 ft Airstrip that is available for rent. This facility just started to be used this year. There is a car group, I think it is World class Driving that uses this place for there 200 MPH exotic car experience. It went to an event there this year that was run in a different format than the Texas Mile.
I would recommend the following format for our GT rally:
1) Recording speeds via GPS units i.e., Garmin nav systems or V boxes / Drift boxes etc.. We would have this place all to ourselves and by using the GPS devices we would not need elaborate scoring and timing equipment.
a) The speed sensing device can be placed directly in front of the driver in his line of site, This way he can watch his speed without looking over at the speedo. FYI the Stock speedo is off by 5 to 6 MPH at 200 . It reads high. GPS reading would be more accurate.
2) Rolling starts: You would not start your high speed run from a dead stop. At this facility you can drive down the parallel taxi way make a big 180* You can hit the main 2 mile air strip with a 50 to 60 mph head start.
a) Rolling starts will take away some of the jitters and the ills of a possible muffed launch. Your clutch may thank you for this
b) The extra speed should help a stock GT reach it's max speed and be able to slow down in a safe distance before you run out of runway. But note even in the two mile distance it will be close for a stock GT to reach 200 MPH and have enough room to stop safely . At the event I attended most of the GT's that were there were pulley and tune or Whipple powered and all ran over 200 MPH.
3) I know Dave will cringe when I write this but I will bring it up anyway. I would recommend this be done at the end of the day when everyone has had there fill of high speed runs. At the event I attended guys were allowed to line up and race their buddies. This could be done safely if we followed the following format.
a) Only two cars at a time. This airstrip is very wide and two cars can run safely with a very wide gap between the two cars.
b) No racing from a dead stop. I would start the cars and have them do roll on races from 1st gear.( approx 15 - 20 mph.) We had a rolling start zone of about 50 yards . One car sets the pace the other car matches the pace and when you hit the start line you hit it. Rolling starts are easy on the tires clutches and reduce the likely hood of someone getting out of shape trying to do a hard launch. The cars could safely race 1/2, 3/4 or 1 mile.
c) If Dave felt this was to big of a risk maybe we could do this after the airstrip runs as an unofficial activity.
4) This airstrip is west of Downtown Miami . I am guessing would be less than an hours drive from downtown Miami. You would travel to the airstrip via major roads and it is very easy to find.
Event Day 3 :
There maybe be a few options for a non track / open road event. I am going to make some suggestions as if one of my car buddies came into town and see how it sounds to you. I can speak as a car guy and a GT owner and can say that other car guys and GT owners have had fun participating in these activities.
Day 3 : Option 1 could consist of these 3 activities : ( A Friday is required for this venue )
1) An afternoon at the go cart track. (1: 00 PM Start ?? 5 PM finish ?? ) Ft. Lauderdale has a first class high speed track that can cater to large private groups http://www.xtremeindoorkarting.com/index.html
- Race against fellow GT owners , your wife or girlfriend or your children. Some times the other family members feel left out so they could have some fun here as well ?? (This maybe my only chance to beat Roketman around a track !! :lol ) This place also has food, a full arcade, mini golf so there are lots of ways for others to be entertained. They could host a private session for us early in the day and we could have a private banquette room,
2) A visit to the weekly Friday Night car show at the Tower Shops ( 6 to 8 PM ? ) http://www.cruisinsouthflorida.com/CruiseNights.htm#Towershoppes Similar to cars and coffee but at night with more cars of all types and eras. This is a great venue to show your GT to other car enthusiasts . They have a section for car clubs and I am sure they would love to see the GT's evade for and evening. This is in The Ft. Lauderdale area 25 to 30 minutes from the go cart track depending on traffic. ( A Friday is required for the Tower Shops event )
3) official or unofficial GT rally dinner in the Ft. Lauderdale area after the tower shops. 8: 30 to ??
Day 3 Option 2 :
A leisure drive to Key West for lunch. 9: 00 AM - 5 PM
This would not be the typical high speed drive thru the twisties street event. The roads are straight, flat and heavily patrolled, This drive would be a great way to unwind after the track days. This is a very scenic drive and a trip over the 7 mile bridge is worth the efforts to get there. Having lunch and seeing the sites on Duval street can always be entertaining. I drove my GT there back in January 2007 as a nice easy break in run. I can tell you the GT was a super model going down the cat walk as I cruised down Duval street. I found a hotel few block off Duval St. that had a two level parking garage that was open to the public. I parked my GT on the second level and there were not many other vehicles around. It maybe possible to secure the upper level for us for the afternoon visit ?
Day 3 Option 3 :A day at Palm Beach International Raceway http://racepbir.com/
We two options at this facility :
a) - GT owners Go Kart day at Palm Beach International Raceway. They have a great go kart track !! That is open to the public. arrive and drive set up.
b ) - GT Track day at Palm Beach International Raceway. Great new track. The only negative part about this facility is that there are no garages or covered parking. We could run the road course in the GT's which would take more of a commitment. Not sure if everyone would be up for two track days but it is an option
Ok, in closing as I stated this is the Venue I would plan if my GT buddies were bringing there cars here. I would hold the event in Late October early November, This is the end of the Hurricane season and the start of the dry season. Downtown Miami would offer many hotel options and are close to The MHS and the airstrip. I know there are some special event parking lots in the downtown area that could probably be used for trailers and tow rigs.
Staying in Ft. Lauderdale would be an option but it would add about 40 minutes to the drive times going to MHS and the airstrip. I listed the events as just a day. The event days could be arranged during the week or on a weekend at the organizers discretion, The only exception would be if we want go to the Tower Shop car show that is a Friday only event.
So that's it, my two cents :biggrin A near duplicate of Rally 4 . Totally doable, guaranteed enjoyable !! :thumbsup Chicago lost the bid for the Olympics so this my Plug for a S. Florida Rally 5 The east coast is due.
Please note I am not trying to steep on any toes. I just wanted everyone know what is available here. I am willing to help Dave scout hotels and parking. I look forward to your thoughts and comment.
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