Ferrari Track Events in So Cal

not Ferrari specific, but there's a pretty comprehensive list of SoCal trackdays here:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309917

 

SoCal ferari people are waxers. I tried getting people to race them and could not find anyone to play with. The ferrari challenge guys are in another place doing arrive and drive with dealer support for their cars = way more money than I want to spend. Speedventures.com sometimes runs an exotic group in their trackdays but it is kinda boring because the track is so empty you just go around in circles. FCA in the area used to run events under the WestCoast racing venue where you would mix in with their groups from just trackday group to a race group. I have not run with those guys in several years since I have been doing SCCA clubracing. AROSC.org will have 1 -2 ferraris show up they run trackweekends with hpde,time trial and race group. These guys are my most favorite club. 4/16/11 AROSC runs their annual driver's school for hpde,TT, and race. It is so fun I've done it about 4 times. AROSC runs BRP 5/14/11 and SCCA runs BRP 5/21/11 and they have a budding HPDE/TT group. NASA's HPDE/TT groups are much more polished with more options than SCCA. SCCA is 99% racers. There are other random groups and events that get posted on TrackHQ.com so you can check there. You can get some more ferrari people to show at auto-x since there is no chance of damage. Problem is there are not many good venues around socal except qualcomm stadium where SCCA solo runs and the BMWCCA does alot down there.

 

I was at the AROSC school this past weekend. Been doing it for years and there's always more to learn. They run a clean weekend.

Their new website are the first letters of the following:

Alfa Romeo Owners Southern California Hi Performance Driving .org

 

NiZam,

When are you going out again? I'll be with AROSC in may at BRP but not sure if I race the T1 vette or run the 550M.

 

I guess I'll see you at BRP this May.

I'll have my F355Ch there.

 

FBB and Ferracer_CA, bring your Ferraris

This one is mine, pic taken at the last AROSC school in traffic.
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Hey FBB - what's up?! You got back in the pool with a 550? Very cool - I guess I'll have to go to an SCCA race or an Alfa club track day. Staying away from errant 928 drivers I hope? What ever happened to the Challenge car, anyway? FYI, I'm back in the pool myself - just took delivery today of a 308GT4 race car which I will be running in VARA and HSR-West and maybe do the occasional track day. Will take a while to get it ready though.

To Ferracer, what are you looking to do? Competitive side-by-side racing like PCA events? There really is nothing like that specifically for Ferraris. You have to either do the full-on, VERY competitive route with a fully-prepped race car in SCCA or NASA (or if you have a vintage car, with VARA or HSR-West), or do the so-called "track days" with one of several companies that put these on. Usually these track days have three or four run groups based on track experience and passing is limited to straightaways in the lower-experienced run groups, while the higher groups allow you to pass anywhere on the track. (...hopefully this is not sounding really rudimentary, so apologies if you already know all this...)

I would highly recommend the West Coast Racing track events (2x a year) at Willow Springs. It's a nice group of people, it's a full weekend event, and instructors are free if you choose to use one - and it's a bargain too. They have four run groups for novice-to-experienced and run a real race session on Saturday for "Red Group" cars. As for SpeedVentures, I can't speak to Fat Billy's experience with the poorly-attended "exotic" run group, but if you deign to run your Ferrari with the commoner cars, you'll have a great time with a good-sized group - the two events I attended last year were sold out in each run group. It seemed like a very well-run organization. Compared to West Coast Racing (also known as the Pantera Club), SpeedVentures has a bigger ratio of newer cars and younger (under 40) drivers. West Coast used to have maybe 50% classic cars - but very nice classic cars. The Cobra/Shelby club used to attend, with a whole gaggle of real Shelby Mustang GT350's and some real live Cobras, too (I'm a vintage car fan, so I like that aspect of that event, but that's just me).

Also, the Ferrari Club of America So Cal region lists the West Coast Racing events as official FCA events, so there are usually a few F-cars there. So, amazingly, some actual So Cal non-"Waxers" show up (FBB - I have added the term "Waxers" to my lexicon!! - fantastic).

A key benefit of SpeedVentures is that they go to every track in So Cal – Willow's big track, Willow's little track ("Streets of Willow Springs"), California Speedway, Buttonwillow, and the new Chuckwalla track near Palm Springs. AND, they also go to Laguna Seca.

And as FBB and nizam said, I've always heard the Alfa Club (AROSC) are great events, as well.

One note on Speedventures though – while the two events I did last year at the big Willow track were very well attended with some very nice cars, I dropped by an event in February at the Streets of Willow and it was a much smaller group of cars, and the cars seemed pretty ragtag.

I was actually out there to see a PCA (or maybe it was POC) event at the big Willow track and that was very - very - sparsely attended.

I would suggest just going out to a Speedventures event to spectate to see what you think, I think they have an event this weekend or next.

There are other track day groups, you can see them on the calendars that the tracks have on their own websites.

Cheers!

 

Speedventures is doing May 27 at Cal Speedway - this is a FUN track for F-cars, you can get close to full top speed runs on the banked oval portion of the course. Also, unlike Willow, it is a "new" track with nice, modern facilities - a good girlfriend/wife track (not advised to bring them both, however...). Sign up sooner than later, it will fill up.

 

Just noticed this, seems like a pretty good deal at first glance – 2001 FERRARI 360 Race Car (Stk# UF1123526-EXZJVS) - $79850 at Auto Gallery in Calabasas. They actually have a Craig's List ad!

 

PenP,

Great to hear from you!!!! I sold the 348C for parts. I lives without a Ferrari for about 6 months but could not take it anymore so I bought a 550 that I was going to track. The car ran so well I left it a streetcar but it runs streetable on DOT racetires moton double adjustable shocks and heavy springs. I run a Z06 in SCCA T1 racing. How do you run the GT4 with VARA? Do they have a class for you? Is the GT4 a 1974 I thought that was the cutoff?

 

NiZam,

Are you running the 355C in race group or TT? I don't have enough safety gear to be AROSC legal in race group with the 550M. But I can bring the Vette racecar if you want to run racegroup. What about Ferracer? What are you going to run and in what group? It would be nice to have 4 ferraris in 1 group.

 

I'll be in the TT group. Bring the 550 you know you want to wind out that V12!

 

OK 550 it is. PenP you in? how about you luigi?

 

FBB - They will allow just about anything that's interesting to run with VARA and HSR. ****, one of the reasons I sold the '76 GTB was because I read the '72 cut-off in the rules and took it literally. Dummy! I WISH I had that now... (actually the GT4 will be a better race car, if not a cooler one).

The eligibility rules are very flexible under the right circumstances. One of the unwritten circumstances is that if it's a cool-ass car, it's IN!!! Also, later year cars that are essentially the same car as one built in '69 or whatever, can get in, no problem. But they allow cars that are no considered classics and specials, like Porsche 944's things like that. Hell, HSR was letting a Corvette of your vintage run! It was a full-on trans am car which makes it interesting. Interesting counts.

They even let full-on modern cars sometimes - that dude Steve with the 36- Challenge car has run with us. Lotus Elises too.

Cant get together for that next meet, but I'll be trying...

 

Regards to Luigi!!!

 

The interesting TA vette has no one to race with I take it? They put it in an exibition class? They allow it because it is a real past TA car or some guy like me built something that looks like a TA car? In your case will the gt4 be in a class with similar cars of that vintage or in an exibition class where there could be that super challenge car and you need 4 turbo chargers in the gt4 to be competitive?

Well hope things change and you can make it to BRP. You know somewhere I have and or posted on Fchat the specs for the one factory gt4 racecar. Do you have that info? If no I'll try and find it.

 

Gents here is the official posting:

From AROSC.ORG

http://www.aroschpd.org/events/2011/may2011_sum.pdf

 

FBB: the 'Vette is a real TA car, I assume. It has Tommy Bahama livery, number '88, so I assume it's an '88. And you're right - he has no competition whatsoever. Lap times are light years ahead of other cars in the group - and he's even spanked the vintage Can Am cars! So he's a great driver on top of having a very fast car. There's also an authentic third-gen Camaro TA car that is fastest car in the group (if that Vette isn't racing). Neither VARA or HSR run separate "X" groups, they just mix those cars into the main run groups, but the X cars don't get to run for points (no year-end championship). In VARA, there is typically a "big bore" group made up of mostly American muscle cars with the occasional Jag E-Type thrown in, and a different group that has the 911's, 914-6's, and the 6-cylinder Datsuns. In spirit, the GT4 should run in the latter group since, because of its weight - and despite its 3.0 liters and 8-cylinders - was on par performance-wise with a 2.0 911. But they put the Jag E-types in with the Vettes and Mustangs, so it's a toss up where they'll put it. Average lap times are faster in the "911" group, actually (with 914-6's the group winners, typically). I think it would be more fun to run with the other V-8's, myself (I could pass everybody in turn 3....every lap!).

 

Just saw the GT4 Lemans post - what a find!

 

FBB - I waved at you before you left on Saturday afternoon. We had a great time with the Alfa club this past weekend. Lots of track time, and weather more akin to Monterey than Buttonwillow! It was FANTASTIC!

Here are some pics ...

My 360CS followed by a fellow F-Chatter's F430
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Traffic was fast, and cooperative. It was a great competition event!
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My wife in the F355Ch as the grid assembled for our run group
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We were in the Time Trial group, and traffic was never an issue. Most drivers were very aware of the traffic around them, and the closing speeds of the fast moving cavallini. The open passing group which I joined on Sunday was even easier to deal with. Definitely a very mature organization with very experienced drivers. Can't go wrong with these guys!!

 

Nizam,

I talked to your brother a couple times and came by your garage a couple of times but you guys were not there. I saw you as I left but had to catch a friend for dinner towards LA. I ran my Z06 racecar in "open" helping a friend get up to speed. Then I jumped into the race with no practice and started dead last since I had no qualifying time. There was a first lap spin at T1 possibly with contact. I got around several cars at T1 then got by more by lap 3-4. I chased a lone car for the rest of the race but never got closer than 1/2 the front straight. When the race was over I figured I got about 1/2 way through the field losing count of the cars I passed. I was surprised to find out from timing and scoring that I finished in second place starting dead last! It was a good day. I left my trailer and racecar at Seven's for the week being too lazy to tow it home since I have to race back at Buttonwillow this weekend with SCCA. AlfaClub is always one of my most favorite groups. One of these years I'll have to race the enduro. Those guys looked to be having serious frantic fun. I'll probably see you with Alfa again for Laguna Seca. I'll try and get the 550 up there. I could not finish it last week so I took the racecar.

 

The SoCal Alfa club is just the best group to run with. A bunch of old time car dogs who drive hard but don't have their egos tied up in every corner.

Here's a quick writeup:

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?p=24145659

 

That is one NICE looking F355 Challenge!