Event Summary:

What: Introductory Triple Track Day. If you've ever been the least bit curious about track driving or about what your MINI can do, this is your chance to find it out! Experience any or all of the following: a 1.6 mile closed-circuit road course, a twisty autocross course, a world-class go-kart track (in your MINI!). This event will be geared at people new to track events and performance driving, but will easily accommodate experienced drivers as well. Driving on the road course includes classroom instruction as well as in-car driving instructors while on the track. On the autocross course you will be striving for the fastest time - but you most likely won't even get out of second gear! The object on the go-kart track will be to get closest to a target time without going under it (quite a fun challenge!). The two primary objectives for the day will be safety and fun!

Where: BeaveRun Motorsports Complex 201 Penndale Road, Wampum, PA 16157. (www.beaverun.com for directions)

When: Sunday, March 19, 2006. 8:00AM. (Gates open at 7:30AM. All drivers wanting to participate on the road course (North Track) MUST attend the driver’s meeting, which begins promptly at 9:00AM. You should allow enough time to register, remove all loose items from your car and present it for technical inspection. You will NOT be allowed to participate on the North Track if you miss the driver's meeting.)

Cost: The PittStop MINI Club is pleased to present this event at an amazingly low introductory rate of $80 to our members and $100 to our guests. (It normally costs $165 just to use the North Track!!!) Register online at www.pittstopmini.org. Note: Space is limited to 60 drivers. Preference will be shown to PittStop MINI Club Members remaining spots will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guests will be notified in advance if we cannot accommodate you.

Registration Deadline: 5:00pm, March 15. Register online at www.pittstopmini.org.

Cancellation/Foul Weather: Check www.pittstopmini.org for any cancellation notices. The tentative make-up date will be Sunday, March 26, 2006.

Freebies: The PittStop MINI Club will be holding a drawing to give away a 15% reduction pulley (donated by Cravenspeed.com). There will be other assorted door prizes and gifts from our sponsors.

 

Let's try to get a headcount started here so we know how many cars we will have. I will be there in the instructor role for the racetrack. As well as instructing in members' own cars, I will also take folks around in mine.

This type of event is designed to be non-intimidating and conducted under stringent safety rules. It also happens to be very addictive!!!!

 

I'm likely to be there if I can get my new camber plates in by then. Are we still getting 5 sessions on the track? If so, I'd like to call dibs on you, Graham, as my instructor. I'd like to get your opinion on my TurboKompressor setup.

The suspension you probably won't like as much. There's a fair amount of oversteer that is helpful in autocrossing but my be a bit nerve-wracking on the track.

 

I think 5 sessions is the plan and I'll ride with you. We're gonna have to keep that oversteer in check on the faster parts of the track. It should help us in turns 10 and 11 though.

 

Don't let the track scare you away. Come check out the autocross and get a feel for your car. We will have some course walk thru's and instruction available. It's you against the clock and lots of safe fun.

 

I really wanna do this...although i have already run on the beaverun north track (so not a total newbie....but VERY close to being a newbie ).

How late will this run (i need to be in class on monday at college which is 3 hours away hehehe)?

I'm assuming helmet is required?

 

This should be over around 5:00pm.

Helmets are required, but loaner helmets will be available.

Hope to see you there!

 

Ok, I'm sort of torn. There's a plain "wide open" lapping day on the 19th as well. I guess I'd get more road course time doing just the lapping day, but the club event sounds like fun with the autocross, etc, too.

Oh, well. Can't lose either way.

 

Whoooaaaaa! There's nothing to be torn about! The Flat Out Day is part of the Club's event. Club members simply get the option of doing as much (or as little) of the three different tracks as they desire. If you choose to spend the entire day on the North Track, that's fine. But you will have time in between your North Track sessions that you could visit the autoX and/or the Wilson Circuit. All of this for $80 is an unbelievable bargain!

BeaveRun just wanted to open up the Flat Out day to others to ensure there are enough people to make it "worth their while" to open up. If we get enough MINI registrants to fill up the place then it is all ours. PittStop MINI Club Members (and MINI owners in general) get preference for registration up through March 15. The rest of the registrants are as space allows.

So what are you waiting for? REGISTER NOW!!!!

 

I'm signed-up, Pay-Palled and good to go!

 

So, can you just show up on the day, with cash and tires that are almost, but not quite, down to the wear bars?

 

Yes, not a problem. Tires grip better that way anyway! Go to the website www.beaverun.com and download the Vehicle Inspection Form, fill it out, and you will be good to go.

 

The pittstop mini website and beaverun.com both say the event is sold-out. Hopefully you are already registered.

 

Unfortunately, the North Track portion of the event (the "big track") is sold out. Day-of attendees will not be able to do the North Track. However, the AutoX and the Wilson Circuit (go-kart track) still have plenty of room! PittStop MINI Club members can run these two courses for FREE, and non-members pay only $20. Go to our site to register.

You can also come in hopes of getting on the North Track as a "standy-by" if someone else is a no-show. If that is something you want to consider, then fax me your completed Flat Out Day Registration form to 501-641-9065 and I will get it to the BeaveRun coordinator. I cannot make any guarantees whatsoever about your chances to get in as a stand-by. But you would still be able to run the other two courses if you chose to.

 

Let's play Good Day/Bad Day.

The good: Great Event! Well-planned and executed. My MINI was a serious beast on the road course. I ran with group 2 and passed just about everybody. The power of the TurboKompressor is awesome. There were lots of ear-to-ear grins to be seen. I don't know anybody who didn't have a good time.


The bad: I spun and went off in turn 6. Not too much of a biggie, no damage. THe MINI is way too tail happy. That was evident mostly on the autocross course. I certainly won't do much this year with the SCCA autocrossers if I don't get that fixed. Lastly, the balancing weight on the left front wheel was hitting my braided steel brake line on that side. I didn't notice until, during my third heat, I completely lost all braking between turns 7 and 8 due to a punctured line. Many thanks to all who pitched in and offered help and/or parts. Unfortunately, the repair was not as successful as we might have hoped. I don't want to include too many incriminating details, but let me just say the ride home was a little nerve-racking.

 

Good to hear that you DID indeed make it home (minus the details)!

It was a fantastic day and a whole lotsa fun! Nary a pause in the action what with all 3 different courses to run throughout the day! Even in the frigid temperatures, I was able to keep the wheels turning enough to heat up my BF Goodrich g-force T/A KDs!!

I was fortunate and didn't experience any equipment failures or off-roads.

I finally bought the CG-Lock and used it today. WOW - what a difference! Granted, it's not a full harness - but it is quite a bargain for what it accomplishes! I'd have to say that it is the single cheapest way to tune the calibration of the a$$-ometer!

I hope everyone that came had as much fun as I did!

Unfortunately the May autoX has to be rescheduled due to a conflict with the facility schedule.... probably won't be until September now. But I'll see what I can to do to get some more performance events throughout the summer. Keep watching www.pittstopmini.org for updates.

 

I had sooo much fun running track-toy with the other instructor's cars. Chris's M Coupe was fun to follow, but a different story with that supercharged monster behind in your mirrors!

From the instructing point of view, I loved being their first instructor ever! So much change from the first session to the second. Time to learn, time to think about it, then time to apply! I saw some happy people today, and I loved it!

 

There are pictures of the event on Fred Voit's site at http://www.fred-voit.com/frames.html

 

I was not going to run anyway because I would fry my tires again.
I do need a set for the track.
The time was a little too early for me on sunday, what happen to noon like last time?
By the time a checked the website it was to late, I was under the impression it would be in the afternoon.
Well their is always another event.
I promoted it to the guys in Cleveland, Columbus and Cinncy because they have few tracks to go in Ohio.
I don't know if they showed but it looked like a great turn out

I would like to see the kompressor MINI.

Graham, you showed them how its done

-alpinamike

 

Mike, I think many of the folks you promoted it to showed up. We had a record turn-out for the first event of the season. Things look good for upcoming events. See you soon at the track!

 

In the past, we've only done autoX or small driver education sessions there which allowed a later start time. To run on the North Track in a "Flat-out Day" type setup you need (and want) the entire day!

We did have a very nice turnout but of the 72 registered drivers only 6 were from OH - and only 2 of them drove a MINI. I know there must be more than 2 Ohioan MINI drivers within an hour of BeaveRun! I guess we'll have to continue to work on that.

 

I promoted the Heck out of this for the last month, contacted all the clubs and Outmotoring, they all responded and put Pittstops Link on the club page, I know their is few tracks except for Mid-Ohio, but they are very busy and cost was much higher for the track then beaverun. It sounds like a great turnout and i hope you enjoyed the company. Most people did not even know we did this event. Any in the future for summer?
I know it get busy out there, but i wonder if we could just use one side and make it cheaper, Most people I talked to Liked that.
And I am sure beaverun was happy to sell out the event .
It puts us in good nature with them.
I saw Marks new hyper Blue JCW w/ blue interior....very nice
I will again try to get the word out on events and we might have some of the guys from Corp. showing up to some future drives.
I am trying to do as much as I can now, and work around my vacation to Vegas/ LA/NY here.
I would like to see more pics if anyone had them and we really need to get them on our Pittstop Page.
Mini2go, is this the first track time for your new MINI?
-alpinamike

 

I am not sure how many MINIs got shut-out of the BeaveRun Flat Out Day because it filled up qucikly since it was opened to non-MINIs at a discounted rate as well. This was understandable for BR to do since the PittStop MINI Club could not see it's way clear to guarantee attendance (read that to mean put our money where our mouths were.)

As a director of the club I accept some of that responsibility on behalf of the club. In spite of our efforts to plan it, we just didn't seem to get the word out in enough time, take deposits, and claim the track for the day for the club (i.e.- sign a contract). So if you got locked-out, I apologize. If you were one of those people, please post it so we can get an idea of how many people would have otherwise attended.

But I feel as a result we have learned some valuable lessons. At an upcoming meeting I intend to put it on the agenda and press this subject. I hope those of us in the club that are supportive of performance events will not just attend, but step up and be part of a committee to plan and organize upcoming events.

While we don't want to see the club fractured into performance vs leisure events, those of us that want to do major track events need to volunteer to make them happen. In the future, if people don't step up or say they will be on the committee and don't follow through, then we will have no choice but to cancel the event. And yes, one of my goals for future track (or social) events will be plenty of notice, RSVP due dates, and deposits.

Many thanks to MINI2GO for his efforts to make the Flat Out Day a relative success. It worked out in the end but I know how frustrating it was for him to organize. Personally, I had a great time and can't wait to do it again.

 

The future Flat Out track days at Beaverun are:

a.. Saturday, April 1st
b.. Friday, May 12th
c.. Friday, May 26th
d.. Friday, June 9th
e.. Monday, June 26th