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Message |
Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Junior Member
Username: Drtax
Post Number: 159
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 10:30 am: | |
Well, I'm going to be in first week in August. So maybe I'll do look see. |
John Ashburne (Jashburne)
New member
Username: Jashburne
Post Number: 45
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 10:30 am: | |
I had heard that the restoration of VIR cost upwards of $16 million. If they have been able to raise money in that ballpark, that's quite a coup for them!
John |
Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1370
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 9:41 am: | |
i have not been able to extract answers to any such questions, john.
all i've been able to get is the statement that they have all the money they need in order to build Phase I - without any membership monies (which will go to maintenance and operations). i don't know what this means specifically, but they say ground will be broken in August whether they've signed up 1 member or 1000 members by then.
?
doody. |
John Ashburne (Jashburne)
New member
Username: Jashburne
Post Number: 44
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 9:09 am: | |
How much will Phase I cost?
John |
Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1363
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 5:37 pm: | |
the price plan on the web site is slightly different than what you posted, john.
they claim that they have all the funding already in place to get through Phase I and they believe perhaps through Phase II, as they will probably partner with another company for the hotel, townhouse, restaurant side of things. i was told this is exclusive of raising any early membership monies.
groundbreaking by 08/31/03. they say you'll likely be able to drive on july 4th weekend next year.
doody. |
John Ashburne (Jashburne)
New member
Username: Jashburne
Post Number: 43
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 3:24 pm: | |
5 1/2 hours from Stamford, CT. I go the 4 hours to NHIS, heck even 11 hours to Mosport or VIR for a racing weekend once a year each. Wouldn't want to do it very often to drive my car at a test session though.
The following information is from their presentation on March 1, which may have changed since then:
It will be a total of 3.3 miles of 40 foot wide road course with a total of 5 different road course configurations. The two main courses would be 1.8 miles and 1.5 miles.
They intend to draw mainly from Montreal to Boston region. Keep your car there or bring it with you for a certain number of track days depending upon your level of financial commitment:
For $100K equity investment, get 80 peak and 80 off-peak track time sessions/year. A track time session is one 30 minute session on the track. Peak time is Friday-Sunday.
For $25K initiation fee plus $2,100 annual dues, get 40/40 peak/off peak sessions;
For $15K initiation plus $1,500 dues, get 20/20;
For $5K initiation plus $780 dues, get 8 peak, 12 off peak track time sessions.
Storage garages are available for $150/month and paddock rental is $25/day.
Contact information was:
Stephan Condodemetraky
Club Motorsports, Inc.
13 Berge Lane
Derry, NH 03038
603-434-8218
[email protected]
Does anyone have any idea how much money they have raised so far, and how much they need to get Phase I complete (Phase I is track, pit lane, paddock garages, long term storage garages, retail sites, locker rooms, food kiosk and drivers' lounge, timing/control tower, winner's circle, meeting/classrooms, and a professional driving school.)?
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Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1362
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 1:38 pm: | |
i just spoke briefly with their PR guy.
the web site apparently just went up:
http://www.clubmotorsports.com/
i buzzed them to contact me. the site says they're shooting for the road course to be open in twelve months. given the town furor, and the winter, that might be optimistic, but who knows.
i am digging up info. will post when i have more.
doody. |
Theo Pappas (Theo)
Junior Member
Username: Theo
Post Number: 64
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 11:29 am: | |
Not mention the cost of maintaining the track to make it smooth enough after the winter. With the amount of snow and sub-zero temperatures, how bumpy and cracked would it be?
Still, though, it still sounds interesting and I would go to check it out.
Theo |
Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member
Username: Enjoythemusic
Post Number: 526
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 11:28 am: | |
so when are we racing on it? :-) |
Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1360
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 11:26 am: | |
does anybody know how to reach these people?
Club Motorsports, Inc. (group of six investors)
Stephan Condodemetraky (leads mgmt. team)
Scott Tranchemontagne (spokesperson)
doody. |
Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1359
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 11:24 am: | |
How far from Southern CT
http://www.maps.yahoo.com
Tamworth, NH
it's about 2.5 hours from downtown boston.
shorter racing season in northern NH
eh, it's a factor, but it's not materially different than if they put it in western MA or upstate NY or anyplace else where you can still buy a couple hundred contiguous acres in the Northeast. unless you want to have to fly to your car (most will not), i don't see how it's any better or worse a solution than any of the other reasonable alternatives.
doody. |
William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member
Username: Countachxx
Post Number: 2721
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:55 am: | |
How far from Southern CT ? When will it be open ? |
John Ashburne (Jashburne)
New member
Username: Jashburne
Post Number: 42
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:01 am: | |
The sponsors of the Tamworth track made a presentation at the VSCCA winter tech session in February to raise development money for this track. While the possibility of a new track is always attractive, these guys are operating on a very low budget so far. The remote location (2 hours from Boston) and the shorter racing season in northern NH are major concerns. |
Dale W Spradling (Drtax)
Junior Member
Username: Drtax
Post Number: 156
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 9:57 am: | |
Awlrighty, dis is what I'm talking about with the Trackominimum idea. Except that I'll need to keep my car at the track. Fly in and race! |
Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member
Username: Enjoythemusic
Post Number: 523
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 9:52 am: | |
So when are we going to rent it out for a weekend?
Well, huh, huh, well, huh? :-)
Enjoy the Drive,
Steven R. Rochlin
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Jim Schad (Jim_schad)
Intermediate Member
Username: Jim_schad
Post Number: 1530
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 9:36 am: | |
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/US/carclubs_030708_csm.html |
Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member
Username: Doody
Post Number: 1358
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 9:15 am: | |
WOW!
this is very interesting.....
jim - what is the source of this article?
doody. |
Jim Schad (Jim_schad)
Intermediate Member
Username: Jim_schad
Post Number: 1529
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 7:58 am: | |
T A M W O R T H, N.H., July 8 � Deep in New Hampshire's north woods, up past Lake Winnipesaukee's bustling resort towns, stands a verdant mountainside that may soon be buzzing with the latest trend in America's love affair with cars. Sprawled on 320 acres would be a members-only "car country club" � complete with clubhouse, swimming pool, weekend villas, and a 3.3-mile racetrack winding through the woods.
Forget leisurely golfing on the back nine: This place would be about testosterone, octane, and speed � so much of it, in fact, that some locals worry the club would forever spoil their picturesque town.
Still, the car-club concept is catching on. Plans are afoot for members-only tracks near the Appalachian Trail in eastern Pennsylvania and in Joliet, Ill. And existing tracks are offering pricey memberships and country-club amenities.
They're all signs of an American cultural convergence � NASCAR meets the Hamptons. It's a kind of upscale go-kart track in a gated community, a place where wealthy and increasingly footloose baby boomers can live out their fast and furious fantasies.
"Country-club-type racetracks are going to become established in America," predicts Alan Wilson, a legendary racetrack designer involved in the three projects. Golf clubs have prospered as spots for elites to socialize, play, and do business. So will car country clubs, he says. "But instead of playing with a five iron, they'll play with a Ferrari."
Not that everyone can afford Ferraris. But more people may covet them these days. Baby boomers have more money � thanks to corporate seniority and inheritances from parents. And with their kids out of the house, they have more time.
Car trends reflect this fact. There's a proliferation of "midlife-crisis cars" � everything from the Porsche Boxster to the Honda S2000. And there are the many weekend Mario Andrettis who are members of Porsche clubs, BMW clubs, Corvette clubs, and more.
Now many car nuts are ecstatic at the prospect of car country clubs. About 40 people have invested $100,000 or more as "founding members" of Joliet's Autobahn Country Club, which bills itself as "Your own private Autobahn." But others are less than thrilled. Residents near all three projects have protested the idea of muscle cars thundering through their pristine settings.
The Autobahn's original site � another Chicago suburb � sparked such uproar that developers decamped to a spot near Joliet's NASCAR track, where there's far less opposition.
Residents near Kunkletown, Pa., have sued to block construction of the Alpine Motorsports Club and its 2.8-mile race course; chalet-like clubhouse; and tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts. The site is 75 miles from New York City and Philadelphia. But it's also about half a mile from the Appalachian Trail. Critics say its noise will ruin the area's quiet. For now, the parties are waiting on a court ruling.
Noise, Nudes, and Naysayers
Noise is a major issue in Tamworth, too. Joe Binsack, a local opponent and former MIT professor, conducted a sound study of the proposed track, which would be three miles from Tamworth village. From that distance, 30 cars racing on the course could be as loud as a dishwasher at close range, he says. Club officials dispute that claim.
Set in an unusual circular valley amid the Ossipee mountains, this quintessential New England town of 2,500 has so far avoided the tourist-trap resorts that have sprung up around Lake Winnipesaukee to the south and the outlet-mall sprawl of Conway to the north. Around New England, Tamworth is known as the hamlet where locals pose nude (with strategic coverings) for calendars that raise money for charities. Its biggest attractions are the country-doctor museum and the nation's oldest professional summer theater.
Amid talk of the racetrack, "I keep thinking of the song, 'They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,' " says Thad Berrier, who posed as Mr. August in one calendar.
But others see it as a boon � a source of up to $350,000 a year in tax revenues and 40 new jobs. "Most people commute half an hour to find work" outside town, says resident Jeffrey Swan. That might change with a track.
Not that the concept is entirely new. The Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Danville, Va.; the MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas; and the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex near Pittsburgh, all sell memberships. VIR even has a restored antebellum clubhouse. But members typically have to squeeze onto the track's already packed racing schedule.
Refuge for Daredevil Drivers
At the three new clubs, members would be able to race virtually at will. That's what enticed Chicago car enthusiast Phil Corcoran to ante up $100,000 for a "founding membership" in the Joliet club. The retired computer-firm owner has a Z06 Corvette (0-to-60 in less than four seconds), a Porsche, and a BMW. But there's no place nearby to drive them fast and furious. The track, expected to open next summer, will be designed for amateurs, with extra-wide spin-out zones. Still, Mr. Corcoran says he'll take it easy. "I don't want to lose my car or my life out there," he says. Members are responsible for their own insurance.
At Joliet, nonfounding members will pay a $10,000 initiation fee and a $3,000 yearly fee for unlimited track time. In Tamworth, an entry-level membership would cost $2,500, plus $65 a month.
"All those car commercials have fine print that says, 'Don't try this at home,' " observes Scott Tranchemontagne of Club Motorsports Inc, the Tamworth project's developer. But finally, he says, people will have a place to try just about anything they want.
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