Anyone up for an East Coast/Midwest OTC? I am sure we could put together a week of Putnam Park, Mid-Ohio, Nelson Ledges, Gingerman, Grattan, and BeaveRun. Or any combination of the above. Let me know your comments, and ideas. We still have plenty of time to make this a reality!

 

Most of the East Coasters that can and will do this kind of thing are going to do One Lap. Also, like I've said a million times before, you can train a monkey with an AMEX to rent tracks in sequence but that doesn't make it OTC. A good deal of the bite in OTC is the week of nearly unbearable environmental conditions. Ambient temps of 115 degrees on average and rugged transits are not something you are going to find on the East Coast.

We plan on doing something with OTC in the Midwest and on the East Coast in the near future, but the West Coast event will always be the jewel because of all the challenges it provides over the course of its week. This year, our folks stand a good chance of seeing desert, snow, and then a rainy track day all within a 36-hour period.

Lastly, I think you are about 6 months too late in getting dates.

BP
Director, The OTC Tour
http://www.opentrackchallenge.com

 

Evidently Mr. Provost has never experienced Kershaw SC in July/August . . .

 

Maybe Drew, but as Jim said "The West is THE BEST"!

Didn't a few East Coasters do fairly well last year?! Ed

 

I would be very interested in an OTC in the midwest

 

Good for you, I guess. I'd just as soon not have to do "Survivor: OTC" to get that sort of track time.

But how about one just for the East Coast? Sebring, Roebling Road, Road Atlanta, CMP, VIR, Summit Point, BeaveRun, and...hmm...Watkins Glen? Or go the other direction and then take a week at DisneyWorld.

 

I would be very interested in an east coast or midwest OTC, especially if one of them involved Mosport. It would be very nice to blow an engine or two closer to home next time. The best thing about OTC especially compared to One Lap is the relatively short transits. Doing a full east coast OTC would require a lot of driving to get from Florida to New York. The longest OTC transit was something like 300 miles (which was grueling enough considering the conditions).

I mean there are enough tracks close enough to probably do 3 separate east coast/midwest OTCs. Maybe like a southeast, a northeast and a midwest/canadian. Mmmmm, how about an Indy - Gingerman - uhhh something else in the midwest - Cayuga - Mosport - Shannonville - Mt. Tremblant. I don't know midwest tracks too well, so that's why I included a couple small Canadian ones. Mt. Tremblant would be an awesome place to end, and so would Indy. Mmmmm... a local OTC...

 

My nominees for south east OTC: Sebring -> Roebling Road -> Road Atlanta -> Lowe's -> CMP -> VIR -> Watkins Glen

 

Great suggestions! Especially like the three mini OTC's and the Disneyworld/Amusement Park ending point!

 

do you even read your own marketing? OTC is supposedly sooo much better than 1 lap because there isnt as much transit, and much more track time.

Right. All our tracks are 20 miles apart and we get nothing but 75 degree days from NY all the way down to GA
from your own website you say
"There are some events similar to OTC that test your ability to stay awake, more so than they test driver skill. Our multivenue event will place more emphasis on driver skill at the track than the ability to chew up interstate miles. Instead of driving 900 miles a day to run 20 minutes of blind track time, during OTC you will drive, on average, 200 miles a day for roughly 2 hours of track time at each of our venues"
so where exactly is the "rugged transits" ? The whole point of OTC is for no rugged transits. So where is your "jewel" now? Are you trying to be 1-lap or not? Do you have rugged transits or not?

Mansier, since "any monkey with an amex" could do it, put something together and we will flock to it, I would love a week long open track competition, and Im sure plenty of people here would too.

Evan
-who is sick of west coast superiority complexes



[Modified by elgorey, 4:17 PM 10/9/2002]

 

Evan -

Mansier and I have had this conversation and he knows exactly what I meant. I'm sure he appreciates the pile on, but per the conversation I had with him, it's waaay off base.

Yah, wrote it even. We still have a significantly higher track-time-to-transit ratio than One Lap. But we do incorporate the rugged environment the event is surrounded by into the "challenge". While some of the legs may only be 180 to 250 miles, that is from the floor of Death Valley over windy mountain passes and in temperatures deep into triple digits. You're just not going to get that on the East Coast. The East Coast and MidWest events will be done but the "challenge" quotient will be comprised of entirely different variables. As you have not done the event, I think it's pretty presumptious of you to try to guage or relate the nature of that aspect, but feel free to ask the NSX team that flipped their tow vehicle and trailer off the mountain pass or any number of our other teams who had to lug it over the mountains.

Cute. Somehow a balmy NYC summer day is never going to be as oppressive as 130 degrees in Death Valley. Reference the response above, but the environment of the East Coast is never going to enter into the equation like the West Coast. The East Coast and Midwest have great facilities we plan to use, but that leg from TWS to Road America isn't going to kill anyone unless they fall asleep at the wheel from boredom. Track for track, any region of the country can compete with the West Coast. That's not the issue. Come do our event and I guarantee you'll walk away understanding how the event done anywhere else is going to have a distinctly different personality.


That's a good start.

I don't think you have the slightest clue what the "whole point of OTC is". Which is the predominant reason it's so easy for you to armchair quarterback it. Since when does "rugged" correlate to "length" outside of maybe condom marketing?

Tell you what Evan. If you come out to our event and trophy, I'll refund half the entry fee. I'm willing to put a good deal of my money on the table to see you gain a hands-on understanding of our event. I don't know if you can drive worth a damn or not. Doesn't really matter to me. But if you're going to armchair quarterback my event, let's have you get on the field first. And I'm willing to subsidize that reality shock.

BP
-- Who'd be happy to have Evan and everyone else come join our "watered down non-rugged parade laps"


[Modified by OT Challenge, 9:53 PM 10/9/2002]

 

Being new (ignorant) to the details of OTC, I was a little surprised to find out that by entering, I could drive as fast as I can, in whatever car I choose, on a race track, but unencumbered by the basic safety requirements of a cage, proper seat, and harness. Fix this and it becomes a REALLY attractive option - a big-*** tarmac rally. Otherwise, I wouldn't dream of being anywhere nearby while it is going on.

Kirk

 

DAMN! didn't realize Dali Racing rolled like a ****... suxor.

I so want to see the west coast...

 

Feel free to bring your safety equipment!
They could have probably used it in that Suburban.

 

I was just giving you back what you say about the event on your own website, that the OTC is more about track time than the transit in between.
and as you have not experienced the event on the east coast it is extremely presumptious to say that OTC is "above" the east coast.

and somehow I dont think southern california in early April is nearly as "oppressive" as you make it out to be.

and reference my response above. if you have never driven in the East Coast then you have no idea. And by your own marketing, its the track that is important, not the drive.

I have no doubts of the personality, or challenge, or charm of the OTC. I have a problem with you saying the east coast just isnt good enough for it. Trust me, the East coast has its own challenges and personalities. I also have a problem with you marketing the event as an experience that emphasizes the track time and not the transtits, but then coming on here and saying the transits are what makes the event, and therefore (somehow) the east coast just isnt worthy.

No, but I know what your marketing tells me. and what you are saying here is in complete contradiction to what the marketing makes the event out to be.

again, I have no problem with the event, I am not bashing the event, I think its a great event. Full of challenges, very rugged and a whole lot of fun I am sure. Unfortunately, I cannot make that rediculously long drive to the east coast like Pat Olsen and Ray Kwan did last year. So I would very much like to participate in a similar event within a more reasonable distance. and quite frankly I am extremely offended that you feel the event is above the east coast, with absolutely no experience with a silimar event on the east coast. I think if you could work through your predefined disposition of the east coast and actually did something here you would find that an east coast event would have just as much personality and challenge as anywhere else in the country.

Evan



[Modified by elgorey, 6:19 PM 10/9/2002]