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.

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.

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!

Kuddo’s to Patrick Long for winning the GT2 class at the 24 Hours of LeMans last week and then finding time to honor Glen Gatlin’s request to drop by Motorsport Ranch/Cresson next week for a driving clinic. We’re talking with Patrick’s agent regarding design input to the Bergrennenring, as I had the pleasure of having him as a drive instructor in my Porsche GT3 Cup back in 2004 at Road America.

We like Patrick and believe he’s a great prospective talent for project input. Krohn Racing’s Colin Braun has already emailed us with interest in providing clinics/etc. once the intial track facilities are in place. With Colin’s new contract to move to Roush/Fenway Racing after this season, looks like Tracy Krohn will be searching for a new Daytona Prototype driver.