FCOA New England | FerrariChat

FCOA New England

Discussion in 'New England' started by enjoythemusic, Mar 23, 2004.

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  1. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Steven
    Have been debating joining, but all i see are get togethers/meetings. We can easily arrange those without FCOA's help. There is not even ONE track meet scheduled. WTF? The Porsche, vette and other clubs have AutoX meets, rent out tracks, etc, but not FCOA??? Ferrari, the company that built its reputation on racing. Not even a measly small-time airport fun-fest?

    Ok, what gives?? Am i going blind? Did i miss something?

    Enjoy the Walk,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  2. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
    6,099
    MA USA
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    Mr. Doody
    it is in fact true that FCA NE does not schedule any track events (or at least there are none listed in the events for february through october of this year). i don't recall any for last year either, but don't quote me on that.

    based on the january news bulletin:

    * the Empire States region holds track days at Watkins Glen and Pocono and Lime Rock.

    * Penn-Jersey holds track days at Beaver Run.

    * the Mid-Atlantic region holds track days at Summit Point.

    one of the problems is undoubtedly that reserving time at Lime Rock or NHIS is basically near-impossible - especially a weekend. you apparently need to do it two or even three years in advance. FCA NE is relatively newly revived, so those N-year processes may not be in place or may not yet have come to fruition.

    my tuppence.

    doody.
     
  3. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Doody,

    Thanks for chiming in. How about AutoX? Quite a few of my other car brand friends have been inviting me to their AutoX events and guess that is what i'll do. Guess the BMW/Porsche/Miata guys in N.E. are the ones having fun.

    Maybe we can cut a deal with that new track that is about to open this year. Off days, off hours, makes no difference to me. Have car will travel :)

    Enjoy the (track) Driving,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  4. racerx

    racerx Guest

    Nov 23, 2003
    882
    Hey Steven, not entirely so.

    Thats why I'm here.

    I can only speak for last year till now but the porsche owners in the northern NE area don't do squat. We had 2 rides last year after i tried to get everyone motivated all summer long. Southern Ct/NY p-cars are more active with nice rides planned and i know some that go to lime rock and vir but not much happening up here with them. I could only get a handful to go to the bull run in october.
    Everyone here is much more willing to get a ride going, like yours a couple weeks back and the one dennis ran on 12/28. Let me tell you that a well done ride like the one we had in NH last september makes ownership of these cars very special. I know vipers and vettes do stuff at drag strips but i like curvy country roads.
    T
     
  5. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    racerx,

    Great hearing from you! Ok, so we have to make our own get togethers it seems and that is fine with me. Perhaps in mid July we can have a great meet and drive for a weekend to somewhere. Fortunately time is on my side and can find a special drive through the countryside here. Wilton/Peterborough is a great scenic location. So this begs the question... Would you guys be up to a big get together like we did in October and make a two day drive through the countryside? We can end in Vermont or ???

    ANOTHER idea is that once the new track opens, we have a Ferrari/Porsche/Exotic day. i can find out all the info and it would be a great promo for them too. We could work it into a weekend event with a show and some track time. Are we game?

    Enjoy the Grand Touring,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  6. racerx

    racerx Guest

    Nov 23, 2003
    882
    A pic from the fall run. Day long runs from early morning to late night thru some of the vt/nh back roads would be great with either dinner or overnight at some nice inns would be cool.






    T
     
  7. ChrisfromRI

    ChrisfromRI Karting

    Jan 28, 2003
    230
    Foster, RI
    Full Name:
    Chris F
    The Ferrari Club of America - New England Region is a great club with a lot of well organized events. The club's mission is to promote the enjoyment of Ferrari!

    Last season I attended the NH and ME weekend events with my wife, and they were great. Most importantly, my wife loved them too!

    I also attended the FCA Empire State Lime Rock Track Event with the FCA-NER group and the colleagiality within the group was awesome.

    Am I biased? You bet, these Ferrari enthusiasts are so dedicated and friendly that they convinced me to be the RI Chapter President!

    Kind Regards, Chris

    PS: With respect to Autocross (Solo2), I will be at Devens, MA frequently this season, with numerous car clubs, Autocrossing my Bright Yellow S2000. Find me there, and please tell me how much faster your times are than mine, to make me go quicker!
     
  8. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Chris,

    Wow, awesome! Now don't let my Miata friends hear about your S2000. Besides, everyone knows a modded Mini will beat both the S2000 and Miata through the twisties :)

    Is there a website for AutoX meets in the New England area?

    Also, FULLY agree Ferrari folks make the best bunch of people to party with. This is why i fully enjoy throwing parties for them here. Just debating if becoming a member is really "worth it" to me. Will give it more thought and thanks for your comments as they are appreciated.

    Enjoy the Walk,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  9. mullin

    mullin Formula Junior

    Jan 19, 2004
    266
    Long Island
    Full Name:
    Tom M
    Where is this new track that you mentioned might open this year. We could definately use one more here in the north-east.
     
  10. nzo4re

    nzo4re Karting

    Mar 13, 2003
    197
    San Jose, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom Lassen
    Steve, join!

    One reason you don't see the New England Region sponsoring track events is because the other regions have already booked the available dates. But not to worry, as Chris said, we join the other regoins and go to Lime Rock, The Glen, Pocono, Mont -Tremblant and others.

    Many members have Challenge cars as well as road cars that are used on the track. Oh yeah, plenty of hot shoes here...What are you waiting for? Join!

    Tom Lassen
    Assistant Director and Assistant Editor
    FCA/NER
     
  11. BigHead

    BigHead Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2003
    995
    Outside of Boston
    Full Name:
    Dennis
    Sorry, Steve, are the two largest Ferrari shows in the Northeast not enough for you? Weekend getaways to NH, VT, CT, RI and ME? Drives, GP viewing and free brunch at Ferrari of New England? Special events like a drive and polo viewing at Myopia doesn't interest you? Raising over $100,000 for worthy charities? Bouncing off each other on the kart track too boring? Nice dinner get-togethers with our spouses and significant others too dull?

    :)


    http://www.fca-newengland.org/events-coming.html

    Not one region in the Ferrari Club of America runs an Autocross, to my knowledge. Why? Who knows - not enough owners have expressed an interest in running auto-x to make it worthwhile. The BMW and Porsche clubs average 2000-4000 members per region, with multiple of that in all of New England. Ferrari, being much more exclusive, has about 300 members in all of New England. If you held an auto-x in Boston, you're looking at probably 125 members within an hour of Boston. Of that, how many do you think would come to an auto-x? The PCA and BMWCCA auto-x draw dozens and dozens of cars, and have a dozen volunteers to run the event. There simply is not enough interest in Auto-x in the FCA, period.

    As for track events, the FCA runs track events at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Tremblant, Summit Point, and Pocono. That's all the real tracks within a six hour drive of you, Steve, aside from NHIS. So why not at NHIS? Speaking as someone who does 25+ track days a year, with a few thousand laps under my belt at NHIS (as a driver and instructor), its simply because there isn't any interest. Yes, not enough interest. Why? For several reasons. First, the road course at NHIS isn't that great. It's technical and does not flow well, unlike LRP or WGI. It's also very hard on low cars with stock suspensions, like street 355s, 348s, TRs etc. You will scrape the front end under braking and turning for turns 3 and maybe 10. Who wants to do that? Plus, the number of Ferrari drivers (not just FCA members) in the greater Boston area that actually go to the track, you could count on one hand, MAYBE two. And I know 'em all. There are some more down in CT and other parts of New England, but we don't have enough Ferrari drivers in this area who'd go to NHIS for a track event to fill even one run GROUP, much less a full day. The track events at, say, LRP, are filled with people from New York and other areas. On this board, AFAIK, the only FChat members in this area that go to the track are... me, Chris ***as, Dan Watkins, and that's it.

    If you want to go to a track event, we'd love to see you. FCA runs track events at WGI in May, Tremblant in June, Pocono in June, LRP with Ferrari Challenge in July, LRP in August, WGI in September, Summit Point in October (and Laguna Seca in August!). But I've never seen you at the track, Steve, though we have all these opportunities. Still not enough? I can arrange for you to attend track events with other organizations at NHIS, LRP, WGI, Tremblant, pretty much anywhere you want to run. It's not a lack of opportunity, Steve, it's a question of whether you really want to or not.



    Everyone should remember that the FCA, like other clubs, is a VOLUNTEER organization. People like Tom and Chris and I volunteer our time, money and effort to put together events for everyone's enjoyment. For those of you with longer memories, remember that the FCA/NER effectively did NOT EXIST three years ago. The old Northeast Region was focused on the NYC area, and didn't have much if anything in this area. Since the New England Region was formed, we've gone from nothing to being among the "busiest" regions in the country. Indeed, given that the only regions with (a few) more events are ones with driving weather 12 months a year (Los Angeles area, Northern CA, maybe Florida and Mid-Atlantic), I think we're doing pretty darn well.

    And most of our events are open to everyone, or we don't bother to check membership, so if you want to "Free-ride" and enjoy without paying the membership fee like the rest of us, go right ahead. Everyone can come on our GP drives and brunches; everyone can go to Tutto Italiano or the Hartford Concorso. It's all about having fun.

    Just don't complain if you're not willing to do the work; in other words, if you want to see the FCA/NER have an auto-cross or a track event at NHIS, please, please, please, please, speak up and volunteer to run it!!! Get others to help you out.

    Seriously, Steve, if you'd like to run a track event at NHIS, I will make sure that the club is 100% behind you. I have the official FCA track manual, and you can have a copy. We'll need to come up with $30k+ dollars, of course, to rent the track, buy equipment, advertise, find instructors and most importantly, find entrants. But it can be done. Or if you want to run an auto-cross, be my guest! Seriously! Or some other event, any Ferrari-type event, be my guest. If you'd like to be responsible for organizing the next event, I'd be delighted. No kidding. Let me know!

    vty,

    --Dennis
     
  12. Suzyq

    Suzyq Karting

    Mar 4, 2004
    68
    Dennis,

    And I am very excited to drive those track events this year, especially with such experience as your own at the helm. But in the meantime, Club Motorsports is a pretty inexpensive bet.

    Suzy
     
  13. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Dennis,

    Many thanks for your very informative post. Ok, will look at the site soon and decide shortly. Guess part of me is going stir crazy not being able to drive. The upshot is that time IS on my side and can easily volunteer for many events. Thanks again as your help IS greatly appreciated. Look forward to seeing you soon at an event.
     
  14. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
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    Mr. Doody
    i for one think dennis might want to think seriously about cutting back on his coffee consumption ;)

    doody.
     
  15. Capt

    Capt Karting

    Nov 9, 2003
    222
    North of Boston
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Dennis.....wow!!!
     
  16. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    LOL WOW, perhaps so ;-)

    (Seriously) i drink risetto at times (double strong espresso) and guess my body is immune to such things.
     
  17. ChrisfromRI

    ChrisfromRI Karting

    Jan 28, 2003
    230
    Foster, RI
    Full Name:
    Chris F
    I certainly couldn't have described FCA as well as Dennis did!

    With respect to Autocross, it is a very low cost (dollars) way to actually compete against other drivers, with the absolute minimum risk to you and your car(s). You only pay around $25 for the day, but you will have to work the corners picking up dropped cones when you are not driving. Your seat time depends on the clubs, but is relatively short as each run is a timed competitive run (with timing lights / computer timing, and a full field of corner workers calling out on radios any cones you hit or if you miss a turn/DNF, and stopping the action with red flags if any potentially dangerous condition should develop). All you need is a proper helmet and a car in good mechanical order. Volunteer instructors are always available to ride with you for free. These are fun competitive events.

    I compete in Autocross (SCCA Solo2) at the Devens course in northern MA. It was formerly an airport so it is a large flat paved surface. Courses are set up differently each day using cones, so that you cannot memorize the course, and must learn to read the best line. The worst thing that I have ever seen happen to anyone is they hit a rubber cone or they spin out.

    The clubs I generally compete with are SCCA, BMW-CCA, Miata Renegade Club. Unfortunately NESCC has no events this year. Each club has their unique perspective with respect to course set-up, competiveness, etc. Each club has their own web site with lots of info, dates, etc. Typical courses are around 1 mile long with around 40 turns, and include slaloms, sweepers, etc. You will reach a top speed of around 65 MPH. In a typical day you get from 3 to 9 runs depending on the club. Your results will be listed on the web and in newsletters. You also compete against other classes of cars through a timing handicap (called PAX).

    The bottom line is that Autocross is Competitive, Safe, and Cheap, but there is NOT a lot of driving time (as with other amateur racing venues). You spend the better part of the day there, but only actually competitively drive for maybe 5 to 10 minutes. However, in those minutes you are in a race, and your results count depending upon how seriously you take yourself. You learn a lot about how your car handles at the limit of tire adhesion, and you improve very quickly since your progress is tracked through timing!

    In addition to competing in Autocross, I occasionally attend high speed track events at Lime Rock and NHIS. These cost more, give you much more seat time, but are much higher risk to you and your car since you go much faster. There is no timing, results, or competition (many clubs will even throw you off the track if they see you with a stopwatch). Safety is the paramount concern at these track events. Cost is typically $225 and you do not have to work the corners. For example, I did 3 track days at Lime Rock last season (a 1.5 mile track with 7 turns). Each day I drove on the track for around 60 minutes total time. I reached a top speed of 100 - 120 MPH. I saw three cars get bent, and also two serious mechanical problems. Fortunately, I did not see anyone get hurt. There were no competitive results, but these events still teach you about how your car handles at speed, just hopefully a bit below the limit of tire adhesion. They are fun events, and as safe as you make them. In addition to the required helmet and car in good mechanical order, I would recommend utilizing some additonal safety gear like a neck doughnut, nomex gloves and maybe a nomex suit.

    Kind Regards, Chris

    PS: I use an open face SA2000 rated helmet for Autocross, and a full face SA2000 rated helmet with a neck doughnut for high speed track events.
     
  18. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Thanks Chris for the great info! Am not trying to compete, just want to have FUN without Officer Stadanko chasing after me. Track or AutoX works for me.

    Enjoy the Walk,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  19. LJH

    LJH Rookie

    Feb 2, 2004
    34
    CT
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    Jack Horner
    #19 LJH, Mar 25, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Steve, join the fun. It's been better stated above, but I'll throw in my two cents. I am a member of the NER Region and can attest that there is plenty to do w/ a Ferrari, including track events. Also, the way that I understand that it works is that you join the FCA and you are assigned to the region where you live. You are encouraged to attend events anywhere in the country. Lots of events of every type throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas.

    And, yes, some of us really do get out on the track. Attached, I hope, is a photo from FCoA LRP event, Aug 2002. Photo makes it looks like the only car on track, but trust me s/n 8325 was accompanied by a full complement of Ferrari's in various classes. We were, however, the oldest car on the track & the only one on wire wheels. Missed '03 due to mechanical difficulties.

    Jack Horner
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  20. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
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    Jack,

    LOVELY car. Have an affinity for the classics versus the "Super Performance" items of today. WOW, she is a beauty! Congratulations!
     

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