track quandary

[RadioRon]

Doesn't it frustrate any of you that we have so few tracks to choose from around here? In another recent thread Mr. Red called Mission "inaccessible" which I thought was an interesting comment and got me to thinking about it. I'm not sure if he was referring to distance or cost, but I admit to also thinking that one shared track anywhere near a city the size of Vancouver just doesn't seem right.

Sure, there are other tracks, like the Agassiz speedway, Pacific Raceway, Portland International and on down the coast, but if you are into road courses anywhere near home, Mission is your only choice.

I admit to spending more than one weekend drive up the valley casually looking for sites that could support another race track or at least a hill climb. It amazes me that we have no hillclimb events close to town, what with all these mountains around here.

Is it just me or are we starved for road courses?

And if you think we are, why does there seem to be so little support for the one track we do have? Why is it, that with all the closet road racers around, that the club that runs the road course at Mission is so constrained for cash that they still can't afford to install a flush toilet?

I'd like to hear what you think.

[murphymurf]

I hear you......... I for one wish we had more road courses as well. But at the end of the day it all comes down to profit. Would you want to run/own a business that didn't make money? I don't think there is any one reason for it but we can look at a couple of factors. Because running a track is a business it all comes down to delivering a product to a market.

And let's face it, the market here is small. Sure we have a lot of car owners and car clubs. Most of them however are not interested in driving their car as much as they are in showing off their car. Should we even mention the driving skills of the average Vancouver driver????

And of that small group of drivers who do want to push the limits of their driving how many can afford it? Let's face it, race driving is bloody expensive. First you have to have a decent car, then you have to fork over thousands of dollars in upkeep/upgrades to keep it in a track worthy state. Of the people I try and convince to take their 300hp car to the track, they usually shy away because they think it's going to break their precious car. The only product these owners are looking for is Robson street on a friday night with no speed limits!

So for the few of us who DO want to go racing are left paying the price. The township of Mission does not want the track there, period. The council would be more than happy to shut it down. The insurance costs alone turn away prospective track renters before they even learn of the daily track rental fee.

The only ones keeping it alive out there are the club members who end up flipping the bill...... and who knows how long that will last.


Sigh......... enough negativity. There is some good news, Mission currently has the most bookings this year in it's history. All the weekend dates are now full and the good weekday dates are quickly filling up. So if you want to keep motorsports alive, join in and sign up for a damn track day!!!!!

I'll be there next weekend!

[RadioRon]

Originally Posted by murphymurf I hear you......... I for one wish we had more road courses as well. But at the end of the day it all comes down to profit. Would you want to run/own a business that didn't make money? I don't think there is any one reason for it but we can look at a couple of factors. Because running a track is a business it all comes down to delivering a product to a market. And let's face it, the market here is small. Sure we have a lot of car owners and car clubs. Most of them however are not interested in driving their car as much as they are in showing off their car. Should we even mention the driving skills of the average Vancouver driver???? And of that small group of drivers who do want to push the limits of their driving how many can afford it? Let's face it, race driving is bloody expensive. First you have to have a decent car, then you have to fork over thousands of dollars in upkeep/upgrades to keep it in a track worthy state. Of the people I try and convince to take their 300hp car to the track, they usually shy away because they think it's going to break their precious car. The only product these owners are looking for is Robson street on a friday night with no speed limits! So for the few of us who DO want to go racing are left paying the price. The township of Mission does not want the track there, period. The council would be more than happy to shut it down. The insurance costs alone turn away prospective track renters before they even learn of the daily track rental fee. The only ones keeping it alive out there are the club members who end up flipping the bill...... and who knows how long that will last. Sigh......... enough negativity. There is some good news, Mission currently has the most bookings this year in it's history. All the weekend dates are now full and the good weekday dates are quickly filling up. So if you want to keep motorsports alive, join in and sign up for a damn track day!!!!! I'll be there next weekend!

Well said. I hear you on the profit angle. While driving up the valley, I would sometimes imagine this site or that site for a hill climb and the thing that comes to mind right away is usually how unlikely it would be to get zoning or permission or whatever. Then there is the issue of how much it would cost to knock a road through the bush, even if only gravel. Its really expensive unless I buy my own heavy equipment and DIY (not bloody likely). Never mind paving, as that is expensive to the third power. I heard how much it cost to do the new turn 7 to 9 at Mission and just about fell over.

So the expenses are high, and then what about possible revenue? If the existing track can only pull in a few hundred spectators on a race weekend, what hope is there? Better promotion? That's risky. So, while it makes sense in a club non-profit sort of way to continue with Mission, there is not much business to support a new track, even if you moved all the road racing from Mission to that new track plus added some new stuff.

Your right, the real market is way too small for anything more than what there is. Funny thing is, I can remember much bigger crowds at Westwood, and there was a lot fewer people around here back then.

I think the Children's Charity GP is a great event, and I also am happy to hear of the return of WSC this year. Wish I had a race car.

[murphymurf]

My friend puts on the children's charity event, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's funny you mention imagining a track out in the valley 'cus that same friend of mine built a race track in a farmers field in Chilliwack for a commercial. Field of dreams kinda stuff..... anyways it's gone now of course but too bad the farmer didn't keep it around for people like us.

There is a pic of it here at the bottom of the page, scroll down until you see the farmers field, it's a pretty cool pic.

http://morrisport.com/services.html

And if you want to come out, Morrisport is holding a track day on the 22nd, I think there is a few more spots still available. Also they will be holding a novice only ( first timers) day in June for those who want to start.

[RadioRon]

Originally Posted by murphymurf My friend puts on the children's charity event, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's funny you mention imagining a track out in the valley 'cus that same friend of mine built a race track in a farmers field in Chilliwack for a commercial. Field of dreams kinda stuff..... anyways it's gone now of course but too bad the farmer didn't keep it around for people like us. There is a pic of it here at the bottom of the page, scroll down until you see the farmers field, it's a pretty cool pic. http://morrisport.com/services.html

That's an interesting coincidence. One of our hobbies where I live is looking for our next house and I told my wife the other day that I'd like to get a large enough piece of land that I could build a small practice track around the property that doubles as a driveway/access road.

Hey, you might know the answer to this one. I've never been to a hill climb event. How do they get the cars back down the hill without interrupting the uphill action?

[murphymurf]

They'll have a staging area/pits at the bottom and at the the top. Depending on the field they will run a class or two, let the cars sit at the top staging area then shut down the course between sessions for 10 mins or so and all the cars will cruise down together.

I think they should go with a big ski jump though

[dc42004]

i notice all the car track days are during the summer. why can't they schedule track days during winter months? that might help with the booking