MOSPORT TRACK DAY "let's go racing boys!!"

[stratman2SSRS]

Hi guys, I just got the Mosport track days from Apex, I will look after organizing it if you want.

Let's take a look at what days you would be available for, and let me know.
We may be able to get a better deal as a group.

Here is some info that I got from Apex...

http://www.apexdriving.ca/about.html

""We are happy to announce our 2010 season, just in time for holiday gift giving. We will have 12 days at the big Mosport Grand Prix Track and two at the Mosport Driver Development Track. And the best part of our 2010 season is an actual price decrease: the $399 price will include all taxes for the GP track, and the lowered cost of $325 at the DDC will also include all taxes. This will save you even more after July when the HST takes a bigger bite out of your wallet - except at Apex, where we will pay the taxes for you.



At Apex your safety is our biggest concern, we will have a minimum of five marshals at every Mosport GP event. Our staff of pro instructors will help and guide you to your driving goals, and all safety rules will be strictly enforced. For advanced groups our more liberal passing rules will make sure that the maximum driving fun will come your way.



We will again provide our "Chef Gerry's Surprise" lunches and refreshments throughout the day.



These are our track dates for the big track: April 28TH , May 19th, May 26th, June 22nd, July 13th, July 28th, August 9th, August 18th, September 13th, September 29th, October 14th and finally October 26th.""




I know some of the Corvette guys may be interested, invite them if you wish.

PM me if you have any questions

[SSmoked]

i may have read this wrong but is the $399 for 12 days on the big track and 2 days on the training cource? so for 400$ we get to go to those dates u listed.
also is this one car on the track at a time or several?

[garfin]

Originally Posted by SSmoked

i may have read this wrong but is the $399 for 12 days on the big track and 2 days on the training cource? so for 400$ we get to go to those dates u listed.
also is this one car on the track at a time or several?

From the Apex website:

Multiple booking price

5 events $375 each
- 10 events $350 each
- 15 or more events $325 each
- Plus GST
- Multiple booking discount pricing must be paid in full at time of booking
Cost $899.00 plus gst


Best regardSS,

Elie

[stratman2SSRS]

It is $399 per day, and we will probably get a better deal as a group.
We need to figure out who wants to go, and what date is best for all of us.
Please post what date would be best for you.

[CanadianCamaro]

Only 2 dates on the DDT? Being new to this I want to start there (plus I know the GP track at mostport is a top rated and tricky track). I seriously think that we should contact them and see how many cars we'd need for a Camaro dedicated day (ok, some of the corvette friends can attend - but still it's a group of us that know each other).

The dates listed are on the big track. What about the DDT track dates? Or a private group date? I should be able to make most any date if we plan this far in advance. Preference would be to avoid early or late season (cooler temps) and I'd recommend avoiding weekends in mid to end June. Can't say why right now, but believe me, there is a very good reason!

Common guys - I know this seems like a long ways off. But we need to get off our collective butts NOW and commit to something. If we could get a dedicated date on the DDT with say 15-20 of us that would be great. But it would likely require that we pony up some deposits to show our commitment.

[stratman2SSRS]

The Driver Development Track day is great to get familiar with your car and what it can do. You will be suprised at how much you actually learn about driving.
The first half of the day consists of in class training, and skid pad driving.
You will learn what to do when cornering, braking, and accellerating.
On the skid pad they get you to experience understeer, and oversteer, and how to correct it if you experience it on the track.
You will also feel what happens when the active handelling comes on. I thought I was running out of gas a few times last year, but it was the car stoping me from giving it too much gas and going out of controll!!


From Apex:
For the Driver Development Track we have dates of June 9th, and October 3rd. We expect these to sell out so please book early. Both these days will have skidpad and driving exercises as well as lapping. They are an ideal day for people new to the track to get acquainted with car control concepts.
The Driver Development Course is shorter but no less challenging. It is used by the Bridgestone F2000 School. The course was built to be a teaching facility. It is a technical track, easy to learn quickly but harder to master totally. It has multiple configurations to keep the challenges coming. And best of all, there are hills and one turn even seems to be a mini version of turn two at the big track. All run-offs are flat and grassy.
Safety is our primary concern. This year we will again have our expert staff of driving coaches available to help you get comfortable with these tracks. All passing will be controlled. These are long tracks; traffic should never be an issue. On the Grand Prix track we will be using Mosport Marshalling services to be your eyes around the corners.
We will limit our events to 30 cars running in three groups of ten, to maximize your tracktime.
Some of our days will be restricted to Porsche automobiles; other days are open to all makes of cars. Please reserve early as we expect these Mosport days to fill up quickly. And this year we offer another first, a discount system for those clients who come and enjoy more than one event with us. As usual the cost of the day includes lunch and refreshments.

I would say lets try for the June 9th day, as we can make arrangements for the big track later?? What do you think?

I am going to ask about a Camaro only day to see what kind of numbers we will need.

Let's see some replys here so I can get an idea of how many of us are interested?

[BLACK67]

I'm good for June 9.
Put me down.

[CanadianCamaro]

I like your idea of doing the DDT and then the big track later in the season. But here's the problem I have with the June 9 date. That's the Wed before the weekend of the Camaro Nationals. I intend to have my car judged this year, which means I'll be spending considerable time detailing it beforehand. I'm not going to tell you guys what all I'm doing, afterall some on here are likely going to be my competition . But suffice to say that my car will be off the road for the week leading up to the Nationals.
There is also something else potentially happening in connection with the nationals weekend that I don't want to miss - and trust me, you guys won't want to miss it either. (No details right now). So.... I would still like to encourage the idea of contacting Apex and seeing if they would be willing to do another DDT date - maybe at the end of June or early July - maybe all Camaros (how cool would that be?). At least to see if this is even a possibility. If it's a no-go, then that's fine, proceed with the June 9th date.

[stratman2SSRS]

Come on guys, lets have some fun sliding your cars in the corners!
It will be a controlled slide.

[RickRay]

Originally Posted by CanadianCamaro

There is also something else potentially happening in connection with the nationals weekend that I don't want to miss - and trust me, you guys won't want to miss it either. (No details right now). So.... I would still like to encourage the idea of contacting Apex and seeing if they would be willing to do another DDT date - maybe at the end of June or early July - maybe all Camaros (how cool would that be?). At least to see if this is even a possibility. If it's a no-go, then that's fine, proceed with the June 9th date.

The boys and I will be there for the other reason not mentioned and I'm sure when the details are out they will all be there too....

[stratman2SSRS]

Ok guys, I am going to look into getting another date because of the Camaro Nationals.
I would like to get some solid numbers before asking for an all Camaro day.
Instead of starting another thread, lets keep this one going.
Also post if you would be interested in going on the big track, or the DDT.

[CanadianCamaro]

I'm thinking I'd prefer to start on the DDT. But if we had a dedicated date for us, their would be fewer "pros" out there with us so maybe the big track.

[stratman2SSRS]

BUMP, I thought there would be more interest???
Mabe when the snow melts?

[CanadianCamaro]

What snow..... I think everyone is in hibernation right now

[garfin]

As much fun as the "Big Track" is, I would very strongly discourage any newbie, beginner or novice from getting out on this course on their own for the 1st time. The speeds attained on that track are very high (especially in some of the turns) and if you are not experienced at driving those speeds or are not familiar with how your car behaves at those speeds, you will get bitten very badly, before you even know what's happened. That's how quickly things can unfold on that course.
A good way to learn what to expect on that course is to go out with a "pro" (someone who is experienced on it) in the shotgun seat to get a feel for the speeds, g-forces and quick transitions - and then take a crack at it with a coach riding in your shotgun seat.
One of the guys I've been lapping with for years there, organizes a lapping day on that course at least once per season and will not allow anyone without any experience on that course to participate in his event unless they are assigned a coach. It doesn't matter how much experience the person has had in the past, but the coach must sign off on the 1st timer in order for them to go out alone on the course.
Anyone interested can check out his event here:
http://www.frankewald.com/mir
He runs a super event that is extremely well-organized and safe. You can understand the respect demanded by that course from some of the info on that site. I also cannot minimize the value of participating in events like this where there are experienced drivers. All one needs to do is ask and virtually all the drivers are happy to have some company in the shotgun seat during a session. A great way to learn some of the finer points of that course...

Here is a video that will give you some insight as to what the experience is like at speeds the Camaro would be tackling the course at:



Best regardSS,

Elie

[stratman2SSRS]

Thanks Garfin, to clarify things a little bit. With Apex, there is a professional driving instructor in the car with you on the big and small tracks. They drive you around the course at slow speeds, and have turn in, apex, and turn out pylons on every corner to help you with your driving line.
They are with you in the car every session you are on the track, untill they are comfortable with your ability, and untill you are comfortable with being alone.
We are NEVER racing eachother side by side.
If one car is faster, the lead car signals the faster car which side to pass on in a safe straight away.
They space us out on the track so there is lots of space between cars.
They group the more experienced drivers into different groups from the beginners.
It is a truly fun experience, and non competetive.
Feel free to ask any more questions, or call Apex.
The longer we wait, the harder it will be to get a group on the Driver Development Track(DDT).

[garfin]

Originally Posted by stratman2SSRS

Thanks Garfin, to clarify things a little bit. With Apex, there is a professional driving instructor in the car with you on the big and small tracks. They drive you around the course at slow speeds, and have turn in, apex, and turn out pylons on every corner to help you with your driving line.
They are with you in the car every session you are on the track, untill they are comfortable with your ability, and untill you are comfortable with being alone.
We are NEVER racing eachother side by side.
If one car is faster, the lead car signals the faster car which side to pass on in a safe straight away.
They space us out on the track so there is lots of space between cars.
They group the more experienced drivers into different groups from the beginners.
It is a truly fun experience, and non competetive.
Feel free to ask any more questions, or call Apex.
The longer we wait, the harder it will be to get a group on the Driver Development Track(DDT).

I've never run with Apex, but from your description, I certainly wouldn't have any hesitation participating in their events.

Best regardSS,

Elie

[CanadianCamaro]

Yep - Looks like a ton of fun! And exactly what you said once before Garfin (or someone did). Mosport big track is a world class track. Lots of elevation changes - car will be very unsettled at times. And not a lot of run-off room. In fact, there's a fair bit of track with the concrete only yards of the edge or right on the edge! The last thing I'd want to do is slap the wall or something.

I believe that we would still do Ok at the big track with Apex. I think the key for everyone's comfort however would be to remove cars from the equation that are considerably faster and with tons more driving experience. Us newbies will just frustrate those guys. This is why I suggested an all Camaro day on either track. Truth be told, I'd like to go to the DDT first and then the big track later in the season.

But.... as for the all Camaro day.... seems that "commitment" is a dirty word around here

[CanadianCamaro]

Oh... and I like how they have the cones on the corners to provide shift reference markers and to mark the corner apex and exit target. I hope all schools do that. Helps the learning curve (pardon the pun) huge!

[sstphoenix]

REALLY REALLY tempting.
But my wallet said no (this year).

[2010 SSRS]

post pics