BMC - Homestead Grand-Am Race April 12-13

[Minibeast]

Broward Mini Club - Following is a response to a question reguarding parking for the Grand-Am race this weekend. Details where to go for entrance into the infield. Still waiting for prices.

Mark

Yes, the corral is for BMW's & Mini's only to park in. You will probably have to stop at the registration building at the competitors' entrance on Palm Dr to get your wristband for access (I don't know for certain, as I have not heard from Bob Van Epps as to what the arrangement is with Homestead-Miami Speedway).

For anyone who has not been to the infield entrance at Homestead-Miami Speedway, here are the directions from either I-75 SOUTH or the Turnpike at the MIRAMAR exit:

_ Take the TURNPIKE EXTENSION SOUTH toward HOMESTEAD-KEY WEST
_ The TURNPIKE EXTENSION will end at the US 1 SOUTH-HOMESTEAD/FLORIDA CITY exit
- The first traffic light after the end of the TURNPIKE EXTENSION is PALM DR; turn left onto PALM DR to head east towards the track
_ After the divided roadway (PALM DR) reduces to two lanes, the COMPETITORS' ENTRANCE will be on the left; turn left onto HOMESTEAD-MIAMI
SPEEDWAY property
_ The REGISTRATION BUILDING will be the building on your right, you will have to check here to find the BMW REGISTRATION
_ After registration, proceed through the tunnel to enter the infield area and turn left at the first street on your left (after passing the infield road
course areas of the track)
_ The BMW Corral will be located at the west end of the garages by the TURN 1 infield grandstands

[Nobull60]

Mark do you know who all is going?? And if I could go can I just go on Sunday?? Whats the cost?? I have to much planned for Saturday so can't go that day. Then again I have lots planned for Sunday also but I might be able to sneak out in the late morning and then drive down. Let me know.

[Minibeast]

I do not have an exact head count as of yet but I'm guessing we'll have about 10. (Everyone please note there WILL be a Mini racing, just not mine!)

[minicoopersgirl]

....and Aimee will be outside of the track in the parking lot watching Tim race karts!! I might be able to swing in for a minute.

[Minibeast]

Latest word is that the tickets will be $15 at the gate.

[DaCrema]

I will be leaving for Melborn tomorrow morning. I am coming from Wash DC. If the road is kind, I may be there on Sat eve. What time is the race? Is there camping near by? (At the Glenn in the 70's I would camp at the track, is that possible. I may stay at a hotel but do not know if I will find one. Ya'll take care, I hope to see you. :smile:

[Darksky]

You Guys SUCK. I lived in Hialeah for 26 years. Homestead, Tamiami Park, The Dade county fair grounds,Gran Prix of Miami, Sebring, Daytona. Now that I have a rocket car, here I am in Colorado (in the sticks I might add). Oh well. Have fun and kick ass.

[Minibeast]

DaC,
Don't know whether there will be on site camping or not. Check out Homestead's website. There are several hotels in the immediate area, so I don't think you'll have too much of a problem. I plan on just staying at home at night, so I'll drive to and from the track each day from the Fort Lauderdale area. (About 45 minutes).

[motomohair]

i'll be there... what time do the races start?

[Minibeast]

Schedule for today Sunday 13th;
9am -9:30am (BMWCCA warm up)
9:45am - 10:15am (Grand-Am Cup warm up)
10:30am - 11:30am (BMWCCA racing)
12:30pm (Start - Grand-Am Cup Miami 250 Race
250-miles/105 laps/3 hour time limit
3:45 - 4:45 (BMWCCA racing)



_________________
Mark
'02 Cooper S
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[Minibeast]

Pictures of racing Mini's from Homestead!!

The Start!

Jockying for position.

Fighting through the pack.

A wicked chicane!

Injured Mini out of the race.


(more to follow)

[Nobull60]

Great pictures Mark....Well how did the Beast Do?? And seeing that injured MINI is why I will stick to the car shows and stay off the track. Auto-X yes. Track racing with others ..No way. Let me know whats up for Friday at T/S if your going.

[Minibeast]

Thanks Bruce,
I'll post some more when I get home.
Mini only ran as Pace Car for the Saturday session. Sunday was spent taking pictures and helping in the Foreign Affairs Garages.
Can understand how you feel about the racing with the Mini. Remeber though that Grand-Am is a totally different animal from club racing.
Most club racing programs allow "NO" contact between vehicles. If they do, you don't want to race with them. That leaves the majority of accidents with club programs directly related to driver error. Out of the accidents with the club race program this weekend, only one resulted in any significant damage, and that vehicle was racing on Sunday after his accident on Saturday. (Cell phones are a marvel when looking for emergency parts!) I'll post some pictures of that car which just so happens to have been the Grassroots Mini! They did pretty well overall and will be having some fun at the body shop this week. The car I think was driven home even!

[minimotorin]

No racing Bruce until he's paid for.

Nice pics, great to see the two MINI's side by side through the chicane.

[Minibeast]

But, until then.............................................. .......................
What's this I see??



A Mini Pace Car!


Here we have Grassroots chasing one of the day's fastest vehicles out onto the track!


Here we see that previous vehicle is now long gone!


Here we have the Grassroots Mini lining up for the last race of the weekend.


And finally, Grassroots on their way out onto the track.

[Minibeast]

Now, for the bad part. What happens when the driver gets perhaps a little over-zealous or perhaps is not paying close attention. OR MAYBE, just forgets which way the track goes!


Working feverously to get their Mini back in the race, our boys from Grassroots Magazine start zip stripping their parts back onto the car!


As you can see, the damage looks a whole lot worse than it really is. One advantage (if there can be one) of hitting the tire wall instead of the concrete one.


After they managed to get the windshield replaced and let it sit overnight to cure. The boys are ready to rock and roll again!


One final note. These two young ladies were seen just moments before several crashes occured. One gets the feeling they were very distracting not only to the drivers but to everyone else as well!


_________________
Mark
'02 Cooper S
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[Nobull60]

Mark looks like Grassroots took the car on a figure 8 course at Hialeah. Man they beat the hell out of that poor MINI. And the last picture has got to be the reason for all the accidents. To bad you don't have a bonnet shot of them because the boots look really nice.

[Minibeast]

Well, I do have one shot. Not very good since I was concentrating on capturing the subject matter and missed the fact that a pole ended up in the way. Go to the gallery section (Ragional Events) for super high resolution shots.

[RonR]

Mark,
Great photos :smile: !!
Best Regards,
Ron
'03 MCS PS/B