Bergrennenring Owners Blog

I had a chance several weeks ago to flip over to the NASCAR channel on Sirius radio and hear one caller gripe about how the old-time NASCAR tracks are losing scheduled race dates to newer tracks — particularly on the West Coast (e.g. Las Vegas, California Speedway, etc.)   The program host made the point that NASCAR is going to hold races where there is population density, including the NY/NJ/Conn tri-state area.  Specifically, the radio host made the comment “…..the current trend is in private motorsport clubs with road courses, such as the pending track in NJ, just minutes away from Philadelphia.  While the track won’t have grandstands for 100,000 spectators, it is easy to envision this happening with the right kind of commitment from NASCAR to hold a road course race there.”

The host went on to talk about how NASCAR drivers are increasingly being drawn to road course racing and how having top road courses to drive on would benefit NASCAR.  This kind of national exposure for road course racing and private motorsport clubs is definitely encouraging and validates that the private club concept is is no longer an “under the radar” phenomenon — but a legitimate expansion of the consumer motorsport experience.

It appeared that we had finally solved one of the challenges in getting the club off the ground (site selection) in December 2007 when we located a tract in northern Blanco County near US 281 and FM 962.  Our architects constructed a draft Site Plan that confirmed though smaller than the original footprint we targeted, this tract could work.  Regretably, the “locals” have rallied to convince the seller not to sell the land the tract for motorsport use so we’re setting sights on alternative unrestricted land tracts in the hopes of being able to update our newsletter readers with a fresh draft Site Plan.

We were contacted by the NY Times last week to provide a few details about Bergrennenring for a supplemental article that accompanied a story on the development of the Monticello, NY club currently being developed.    The supplementary article (entitled “Keeping Track of the Tracks”) demonstrates how popular the private motorsport club model is becoming and that there is hope that every state will have at least 1 road course property for sports car enthusiasts to enjoy.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/automobiles/18TRACKSweb.html?ref=automobiles

As I’m watching the final Grand Am Rolex series race on Speed Channel this afternoon, I am reminded of the price to be paid from poor track design.

As is the case with typical Alan Wilson road coarses, the corners are all 2nd/3rd gear momentum corners that make passing difficult and therefore, force drivers to make dicey moves. In today’s race, 3 premier DP teams within a couple points of the DP championship (#01 Ganassi, #10 Suntrust, #99 Gainsco) experience disaster due to cut tires and so the championship will be decided not by the drivers’ skill, but the fact that a 4.5 mile course is far too long to traverse when a driver is trying to limp his car back to pit lane. Max Angelleli’s car burst into flames from a flat rear tire that cut an oil line because Max could not get the car back to the pits in time. Similarly, Scott Pruett’s car experienced a flat left rear tire and his prilonged taxi drive around the track resulted in the tire coming apart and tearing the bodywork to pieces, shattering his championship opportunity.

Making matters worse, Miller Motorsport Park boasts the worst trackside dust and debris of any major complex in North America. In Lap 1, a DP car that had gone off track tried re-entering with dust-covered windows and struck the SpeedSource Mazda in the championship hunt causing race-ending damage to both cars and scattering debris in a pack of GT cars. Rocks and debris around the track contributed to problems throughout the 1000K race — similar to past events held there.

I thought Laguna Seca was bad (sand/rocks near edge of track), but MMP has some real flaws in design, topography, and competitiveness. This is why land selection, track design, and proper track management are critical and patience in putting the right combination together makes all the difference.

Very unfortunate indeed.

Did anyone pick up on the latest news that Jacques Villeneuve is going to be driving a NASCAR Craftsman truck, en route to a Cup ride? Can’t you just see a “car of tomorrow” sponsored by Perrier?

Perhaps “Talladega Nights” was more prophetic, than satirical

This weekend is the debut of the Iowa Speedway as a new location for the Rolex Sports Car Series — both GT and DP classes. Five time IROC champion Mark Martin is the latest NASCAR driver looking for a new thrill by driving a Daytona Prototype on a road course (last week Jimmy Johnson drove a DPáin the Brumos 250 at Daytona).

Iowa Speedway is Rusty Wallace’s new short oval track. Despite the small facility (Hurley Haywood called the infield road course “…..little more than a go-kart track” (during the Speed telecast)and not being in a major TV market — the fact that Grand Am added it to the race schedule demonstrates the strong demand for new road course venues.

Has anyone noticed how many of NASCAR’s “elite” drivers are figuring out how much fun they can have battling Grand Am’s best on a road course?

Just this past week the Brumos 250 at Daytona was run and guess who was one of the drivers of the Lowe’s Daytona Prototype car? None other than Jimmy Johnson! Johnson was quoted as saying that after the 2007 24 Hours of Daytona race, he promptly told everyone in the NASCAR paddock how much fun he had and he intends to drive a DP again in the 24 Hour race in 2008. Jimmy credits Tony Stewart and other road course drivers with creating the interest and Johnson says he wants to drive up toáfour DP races per year to coincide with his NASCAR schedule.

Road courses are finally getting their due!!! Look for more oval track regulars to take notice and grab seat time at road courses across the US, which means road course demand will increase.

Hmmm……winding hills and eleven months of sunshine — I think the Bergrennenring will be a great practice venue!

As I sit here this fine Sunday watching Indy Car Racing on NETWORK television live fromáWatkins Glen, NY, I am also reading a very telling article in the Wall Street Journal. Also located in New York a new touring courseáis being built for the discrimating driver.

Called the “Drive and Race Club”,”the facility is being built at a time when well-heeled baby boomers have been buying expensive, high-performance automobiles capable of race-car speeds.”

Click here see the the full article –> A Not-So-Crash Course

This has been our underlying premise all along for the building of The Bergrennenring in the Texas Hill Country. We are bringing a Motorsports Resort to the area so that passions can be fulfilled and there is a destination component that will bring in others to enjoy the area.

Here are some highlights from the article –

• Located in Monticello, NY (Catskill Mts)
• 80 miles NW of NYC.
• Expected cost $50MM
• Scheduled to open in 2008
• Initiation fees of $100,000
• Annual dues of $7,500
• Cap of ~750 members (100 already signed up)
• 225 acres of rolling hills

The B-Ring will deliver an equivalent experience. Interestingly, we will do so charging less for initiation and dues because we can realize cost savings based on location - Central Texas is more conducive for land and construction costs. Also, by working with local government, we will realize tax benefits and infrastructure improvements that will translate into lower operating costs. Ultimately this will benefit the members.

We will be interested in any comments about this, either by registering here and posting directly or sending us an e-mail to info@bergrennenring.com.

As many of you know, the goal of the Bergrennenring has always been to deliver the firstáfamily motorsport resort that caters to the discriminating motorsport enthusiast. This includes professionally master planned, designed, and constructed road courses, clubhouse, and other amenities.

Feedback in early 2007 from a few car club members was to offer an entry-level membership option for those without the financial resources to otherwise join. After initially developing a membership product to respond to this request, MRI has subsequently determined that we cannot accommodate such an approach without negatively impacting ourámaster plan and daily operations to manage two different membership levels.

As a result, we are pleased to announce that all members will receive the same level of privileges, amenities, and service excellence through a single membership option.