Mosport sold to new ownership consortium

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110601/ALMS/110609998

Sounds like a good thing.

 

so long as the ALMS sticks around, now that Panoz doesn't own it...

 

So, why not revamp Mosport and make a bid for the Canadian GP?

I really liked going to Mosport for the Canadian GP back in the days Andretti drove the Lotus:
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I don't think Mosport has enough room to move the walls back to meet F1 safety standards, let alone build the garages, suites, grandstands, etc.

 

Mosport is an awesome and FUN track to drive. Doing 150mph+ down the back straight (believe it's nickname is Andretti straight)...hard to beat...except maybe mastering Turn #2.

I did several BMW events there when I lived in Toronto. Glad to see someone is interested in improving the facilities.

 

have you driven Willow Springs? I'd like to know how they compare, ludicrous speed-wise.

obviously Willow doesn't have the combination of speed and elevation like Mosport.

 

Nope, not yet...but I plan to get to Willow Springs sometime soon.

Keep in mind, my 150+ at Mosport was in an e60 M5. I have a friend who says he did 190 mph on his bike (and he's not the kind who exaggerates). I'm sure the guys in race prepped cars had to be somewhere in between - probably closer to 190 mph than my pokey 150.

 

yeah, it's a big fast hairy-chested man's track.

 

Are you sure about that? I was with Mike Louli at Mosport in his 430 challenge car last summer and we were only touching 240 KPH (around 150 MPH). While I am sure there is more to be had, I think 305+KPH might be a bit optimistic. It's a fairly long straight, but not that long. You'd need a pretty serious machine to get that close to 200MPH in that short a distance (uphill the whole way) and be able to brake hard enough to get through 'the esses'.

Just sayin'

 

I love that track and hope it has a long future ahead.

 

F-ing metric system!

I went and double checked my posts from long ago on m5board and I personally was hitting 135-140 mph (as indicated on my HUD). One weekend there, I had an instructor who also had an M5 and he would touch 150 (if everything was perfect out of Moss and no traffic) just past the top of the crest. He actually wrote 152 mph so I'm rounding down a bit! BTW, both of our cars were US spec - hence the reason for reporting our speeds in mph. That and I think I blended in my memory of doing 150 at California Speedway (Fontana) in the M5 when I got back to the US about 2years ago.

Apologies for slightly overstating my personal speed. It is interesting to see there isn't much more to be had in that straight (in a car anyway) - exemplified by the F430 Challenge. Also goes to show what an utter monster of a car the M5 is - especially above 100 MPH where it can really show off it's gearing and normally aspirated V10 500 HP engine.

I will ping my buddy with the bike to verify what speed he was doing. Perhaps he said 290 (as in KPH) and my non metric mind remembered it as 190 mph. Still, though, f-ing fast.

 

it has all the speed and there's enough elevation to keep it entertaining, they don't call it the fastest road course in the west for nothing...

 

all the elevation change at Willow is in the slow(er) speed section (known as "Omega" for it's shape). The ludicrous speed sections are pretty flat.

 

Correction: Heard back from my friend. He says he's definintely been north of 260 km/h on the bikes. My jaw still hits the floor everytime I think about it.

 

Dude, come on up, I'll take you for a spin. Seems like I'm at Mosport every week this summer. I'm back again next week.

 

I would love to drive Mosport some day; but I'm a terrible passenger.

any good schools up there? (Barber/Russell/etc?)

 

Not on the big track. Your only option is a quality track day program.

 

nuts. then I'd have to find/rent a car....

maybe I can become a b-mak impersonator

 

You'll just need a goatee.