Anyone planning on going?

 

Not me...

 

Well I'm signed up and quite excited about it...

Laguna Seca

The Corkscrew (Possibly the most famous combination of corners in racing... right up there with Eau Rouge at Spa for me!)

All MINIs/Mini's

An opportunity to hang with other MINI/Mini enthusiasts

An opportunity to improve my driving skills

The Corkscrew

Monterey, when it's not swamped with people

The drive up the California Coast from LA to get there

Scheduled at a time when I can make it

The Corkscrew

(I've been warming up my PS2 controller playing Laguna Seca on Gran Turismo 4! )



(By the way, it's Wednesday, December 14, with some lead-in events on Tuesday the 13th)

_Dave_

PS: Did I forget mention, you get to drive the Corkscrew?

The Phil Wicks event page:
http://www.minidriving.com/laguna.htm

Laguna Seca ("Mazda Raceway") page:
http://www.laguna-seca.com/index.cfm.../mainFlash.htm

 

I spoke to him on the phone and found him to be very nice and excited about the event. $300 for a track day at Laguna Seca is a good price. I don't know what you are used to where you're from, but we usually pay more than $300 for the top tracks in California, Laguna and Infineon. Anyhow, I probably wouldn't drive across country for a Phil Wicks school either, but I would love the chance to drive some the courses in your part of the country

 

I have had the wonderful pleasure of attending several Wicks events and found Phil and his lovely wife to be such a blessing. I have also had several opportunities to spend a good bit of time with them. I had every opportunity to talk my head off about myself and my limited experiences and received only the best encouragement.

I truly count myself blessed to be able to take a little of the Wicks' with me for the rest of my life. I sure hope they have the opportunity to bless others as well and I'm sure they will.

 

By the time of the Phil Wick's event I'll actually be living in your neck of the woods (few miles away from Santa Rosa as a matter of fact ) so it wouldn't be a special trip...

 

 

That's cool you're moving to Sonoma County. If you like tracking, check out the Northern California Racing Club . It's a great club, great events at Thunderhill, Laguna, Infineon, and Reno/Fernley. If you're not into tracking, then we have tons of really great roads to drive out here.

Welcome to Northern California. Maybe you'll get here in time for the Big earthquake:smile:

 

The corkscrew.....and MINIs.....and Minis.....and a Mini Challenge race.....and the corkscrew.


I'm coming. I've been planning on it since I saw it on the schedule last spring.

 

Yep !!! About 2500 miles one way. We are taking two cars. CANNONBALL !!!!!

 

While I am not interested in the driving school portion, I had considered attending to see my pals run the course. I emailed Phil Wicks and he personally replied to me a few times. He was very polite and helpful. From what I know about such events, his fee is par for the course. I've only heard good things about his events! And of course, Laguna Seca is a premier track....so beautiful! :smile:

However, it looks like I will have some out-of-town guests mid-December, so it's moot.


Clover

 

i hope to make it and instruct but am still trying to work it out.

 

An open letter to all:

I've deleted my earlier comments and any references to them. They were all personal opinions shared by msyelf alone. After reviewing them, I was concerned that they might be construed as more than that, so I decided to remove them...

I'm still not going... but beyond that I'll hold my tongue

 

Looks like people from all over the country are coming. Hope you all bring your wet weather tires:smile:. But maybe we will have a sunny day. Either way, I'm looking forward to a great day.

 

Whoo Hoo...........I'm going. I haven't sent in my registration yet, but the check will be in the mail soon. I was able to participate in Marque Madness at the Laguna Seca track at the end of April as part of the Rolex Series race and what a blast......3+ hours of "spirited" pace laps, unfortunately without instruction, but I have to tell you the first couple of times entering the Corkscrew was a little un-nerving....but what a rush . There are a couple of other folks from the SF Bay area that are going as well. What kind of events are scheduled for Tuesday....May have to take Tuesday off work as well. Its only a 2 hour drive from home, so had planned on coming over Tuesday after work but if there is something of value....hummmm. Where is everyone staying?

Stay safe out there......
Willum

 

The host hotel is Embassy Suites on Monterey Bay. There will be a welcome gathering on Tuesday night at the hotel and, I think, some early tech so we can move on to the track as quickly as possible on Wednesday.

Along with the driving school and the race, there will be a trackside "Show and Shine" for those who don't want to do the track but want to hang out for some Mini fun at Laguna Seca. A counterfeit MINI class is being planned so if you have a friend who would like to come along and they don't have a MINI, tell them to slap some bonnet stripes on their MINI Wannabe and come on.

You can read more here: http://www.minidriving.com/laguna.htm

 

We are working on our details for the trip out in December and are really excited. Somebody help me out with average weather conditions. I saw a recommendation for rain tires so there's a clue I guess. And who all is coming? I am looking forward to meeting some West Coast MINIacs.

 

I just got around to making my reservations, and discovered that the special event rate rooms are all gone.

There are still AAA discount rooms available, for about $127/night plus tax.

Looks to be a busy event!

I just got the tires Phil recommended for spirited street/limited track day use: Kumho Ecsta SPTs:



A bunch of us from SCMM (SoCal MINI Maniacs) are planning to attend.

Looking forward to what looks to be a great event!

_Dave_

 

Dave,
Where did you find out about Phil's recommendations for tires? I've looked through his driving school web site and didn't see anything about this.

I'm also taking the driving school at Laguna Seca and want to make sure I have all of my goodies installed prior to December 14th!

Thanks

 

If you are going to Laguna Seca you have to take a little trip while you are out there. If this has been posted about before sorry for the repost.

I lived in Monterey for a year and loved it. My favorite road on my motorcycle was Carmel Valley Rd. It is twisty and all around a lot of fun.

Here is how to get there in about 15 minutes from Laguna Seca:
Turn Left out of the track. You will come to a light. Laurels Grade is to your left. Take that road and have a blast going over the grade. You may want to go over this twice just for kicks. Anyway once over the grade you will come to a T in the road. Turn Left. This will take you into Carmel Valley. A small town with a gas station and a place to eat, not a whole lot more. Watch your speed through town but once out the other side the speed limit jumps to 55 not that you will hit that very often. Just stay on the road and you will wind your way through the mountain pass and end up on the inland side of the mountains. Once through the pass you can either head east and pick up the highway about 5 miles inland then head north to Salinas or turn around and head back the way you came. I forget the highway that is east of the pass exit but it will take you right into salinas where you can then cut over to the N-S highway out of Monterey.

It has been a couple of years since I lived in Monterey and I truly miss this route. From Monterey over the grade, through the pass and back is around 150 miles. I very rarely saw traffic on the road but what I did see were usually bikes and sports cars. Many of the corners are blind so be careful.

Have fun and let me know if anyone tries the route.

 

I'd like to attend but I just figured out the final cost. I'm not a cheap person but all the expenses total. Driving Academy, Hotel, Gas, Food came to about $1,000 just for 2 of us for 2 days.

 

So.......what's on your holiday wish list?

And which of Santa's lists are you on?

 

I live like 30 minutes away from laguna, was wondering if its possible to just come watch and talk to people?

 

There is a show and shine with lunch included. I am pretty sure you can just come and spectate also but there is usually a small fee to do so due to insurance.

 

Could someone with appropriate access change the thread title to reflect the actual date of the event? It is being held on Wednesday, December 14th, 2005. I'm worried that folks will continue to see the thread title and get the wrong date ingrained in memory.

TIA!

_Dave_