Quote:
Originally Posted by JusticePete
I don't see full road course events in the future of C5FEST for a number of reasons. First and foremost, C5FEST is a social event with car stuff wrapped around the social aspects. The rule for road course driving is no different than flying. It is 12 hours bottle to throttle. That rule alone would eliminate about 98% of those that attend the C5FEST.
Second, road course events, even HPDE style, require serious preparation of car and driver. It is an intense experience that demands the full focus of the drivers. When the day ends, if you were serious about your track time the only thing you want to do is go to bed. For the drivers that participate a road course day is great. As part of a social event I don't see how it fits with what has made C5FEST unique among car events.
I'll stop here at #3. We set the AC course up so that virtually all the cars that attend are capable of participating. The course will always have a small straight that allows the driver to get serious speed, followed by cones that scrub off speed without burning up brakes. If your car is safe for daily driver use, it should be autocross ready. This allows 98% of the people that attend C5FEST able to participate. We setup the course adjacent to the vendor midway, car show and drags so that everyone at the FEST is able to interact. We use the AC to promote the interactions of the spectators with the drivers. Drivers are allowed to take passengers on runs. The C5FEST CamaroCross has evolved to support the event, protect the cars and by far and away the most important aspect is to allow the driver's to have fun in a more relaxed environment than is possible at a road course.
C5FEST III is the 1st Muscle Car event we know of that had more people run the CamaroCross than drag race. That leads us to believe the CamaroCross is what you want. If it isn't, I am sure they are more than willing to listen.
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This is a serious bummer as road course is the only type of event I like to run in. I don't do drags and don't really care for autocross. I don't see why there can't be all 3 like there was at Firebird. Instead of just turning into an expensive-to-attend tailgate party each year, there could be driving-specific things like clinics on "what to mod and why", "enhancing driving safety", "How to drive fast on the track", etc.
There are all kinds of creative things that could be done to help people get ideas for things they can do to their cars, things they can do WITH their cars so there's more than just drags, autocross, party. Those 3 are fine and all but not everyone drinks or wants to get drunk. It would be great if there were clinics/events in the evening that were social but focused around specific topics related to Camaros and driving/using/modding them.
If you're into autocross, imagine driving in the day, then in the evening there's a workshop/group that focuses on autocross where someone who just drove in the event earlier can learn how to get better at it. It would be a great way for vendors to showcase their products and instruct at the same time.
I can autocross locally, I can do drags locally, I can certainly tailgate and party locally if I want to. I don't need to spend thousands and take a week off work to do those things. There should be a compelling reason to spend that money and time to attend a C5 fest because there's some really cool stuff/things at one that you can't get anywhere else. Yes the fellowship is great, yes it's cool to see hundreds of Camaros in one spot but there's such a great opportunity to add that "something extra" to make it THE cool event of the year, like a Camaro Olympics or something.
The clinics/workshops could be pulled together from what's mostly already there at the fest. The only additions would be the possible invitation of speakers/experts/automotive celebrities that might be willing to attend and speak to the attendees. Maybe someone like Jay Leno would be willing to do a talk on collecting cars; doing car shows; what judges look for and what it takes to be a collector. Things like that.
I would hate to see C5 fests become just drags, autocross and party when it could be so much more. It's a once-in-a-year opportunity to collect and focus value in a way that can't be found any other way.
Maybe I'm the only one that feels this way... I don't know but that's my 2 cents on it for what it's worth.