Great time at the Mitty , but...

No really we had a great time, wore ourselves out on Sat trying to take it all in before the rains came on Sunday.

Met lots of great folks, from the young man who works in the Executive buy part of Porsche to the Guy who owns the Purple Racing Pinto seen at the Daytona 24. Lots of super racing and even some unsanctioned skid pad time.

The only fly in the ointment was I went ahead and paid the $50 for some touring laps on Saturday. They were described as "Parade laps on steroids" but it was more like commuting to work on Monday. HSR oversold the event so that when you reached turn 5 all the cars came to a crawl and my speed down the long back straight was 25mph. On our first lap when we got back around to the Pit out lane the chase car still wasn't on track. So I did get to give my girlfriend her first taste of what it's like to be on track but I found it kind of disappointing. I imagine that they hadn't encountered this problem before and just kept selling passes so that no one was disappointed. Now today (Sunday) with the rain and attrition the parade laps were fantastic, much more what I had anticipated for the touring laps. First of all it was raining which added some challenge to the laps. The pace was crisp but safe and I think we might have even got an extra lap in. Everyone made it around safely despite some unusual vehicles. The drivers that stayed for the last day were competent and enthusiastic. And the funniest thing was that the "Pace car" was a new Chevy euro minivan. Tall and skinny but leading the pack with vim and vigor! I don't know who was driving that minivan, but bravo. Of course they had used the same rig on Saturday for some of the pace laps during the race rather than the Panamerias that had been the standard pace car, so the precedent had been set.

I've always had really mixed experiences on the parade/touring laps. By that, I mean they've always been really slow no matter what It's a chance to sightsee, not much else. I've had very different reports from other people, even ones who were on the track at the same time as me - but overall it's been very sedate.

Ah I hadn't really expected it to be a thrill ride, I've done it before and knew that there would be lots of folks out there for the first time. But I'd never had it be such a parking lot. Today's parade lap was more fun than I'd ever had on a parade lap before. But Saturdays was sold, for a pretty steep price I felt, as a chance to get a little more excitement out of your normal parade lap. I popped for the cost because I wanted my girlfriend to see what the next step was after autoxing. In the end it was a taste and I would have been fine, but I wanted to pass on a cautionary warning to the organizers to maybe keep the numbers down a bit. I talked to folks in the CM tent and asked them to pass it on to the HSR folks. I don't want to sound like a whiner, but rather offer my critique.

Last year we actually got parked on the front straight I agree, I've never experienced any real differences between the two levels of paced laps.

...although there was some confusion when one car pulled off early and I followed him in. I then got waved out again with no pace car. That had potential - forgot about that.

The touring laps aren't supposed to be hot laps. That's why they can let all manner of cars and trucks out there, without any sort of safety inspection or even emptying out loose cargo.

From my perspective at the back, it appeared that a few people were laying back to make a run at the esses and the bridge turn, perhaps not realizing they were jamming up traffic behind them. Just like those accordion situations we all experience on the interstate.

For anyone wanting hot laps, SCCA offered their Track Night.

Keith Tanner wrote: Last year we actually got parked on the front straight I agree, I've never experienced any real differences between the two levels of paced laps. ...although there was some confusion when one car pulled off early and I followed him in. I then got waved out again with no pace car. That had potential - forgot about that.

I was there for that one too. As well as a couple cars that went straight/left coming under the bridge on the first lap. I was behind them and followed, thinking "I guess they're routing this way to keep the speeds down...?" When I realized the drivers in front of me had just gone the wrong way it was too late to correct. We cruised down and turned right to come onto the front straight - right at the entry corner with no one watching back up the hill for traffic except me as far as I could tell... It was an iffy move that might have been prevented with a little more instruction.

I help to run the touring / parade laps. I"m also the "chase" vehicle driver bringing up the rear, and watching out for people doing stupid things, or driving beyond their ability. (believe it or not, this happens even on slow speed parade laps) Stupidity happens on nearly EVERY parade and touring lap session, but fortunately we have many "eyes" around the track, and those perpetrating the shenanigans get chastised, or even thrown out if their actions are putting others in danger.

I'd agree that the Saturday Touring lap session was too crowded. Between all the VIP ticket holders who chose to run on Sat, and the amazing amount of attendees that purchased Saturday Touring lap passes, we just had too many cars for any kind of decent speed. As Danny noted, drivers tend to slow WAY down before turns 10a and 10b to get a good "run" through that section. Unfortunately, this backs up the entire field--- especially during a crowded session. To compound this, on Sat, I was held up by a Mazda 3 that decided last minute to join the group..... and by delaying me (the chase car), we didn't get onto the track until 1/2 of the field had already lapped us. This was why you may have noticed the chase Panamera passing the field to get the Mazda back into position. Fortunately, the guy could drive, and we caught up to the field pretty quickly.

Rule of thumb #1------ Friday and Sunday parade / touring laps are way more fun than those on Saturday. At the Mitty, Saturday is always the busiest day. If you are there all weekend, spring for the touring sessions on the other days---- you'll have a way better experience.

Rule #2----- the difference between the parade and touring laps is time on track. Parade laps are generally two or three complete laps. During the Touring sessions, the cars are on track for a 1/2 hour or so. This can mean 10 laps.....or 4....depending on how many cars there are, and how well folks are behaving.

The Sunday laps were great---even in the rain. We didn't have many cars, so we combined both Parade and Touring lap participants. This turned out to be a great deal for the Parade lap folks, as they got a good 1/2 hour on track, with no back-ups. I think we were doing about 80mph on the back straight---- which is plenty for a parade lap.

We try to make these laps fun, and keep them as well organized as possible. It's very much like herding 150 cats, and you always have those who want "special" treatment, or think they are qualifying at Monaco. As long as everyone behaves, they can be a lot of fun.

Thanks for coming---- next year--- run on Friday and Sunday--- those laps are always better than on Saturday!

Oh--- and the van was driven by Hawk--- HSR's pace car driver. He is not afraid of speed!

I've done parade laps at a number of different tracks over the years - most at Watkins Glen for the Vintage Festival, but also at Summit and Mid Ohio. In general, they are snooze-fests. Once in awhile, there's an opportunity to connect a few corners at a spirited pace, but in the past 10 years, I think I've done a full, uninterrupted lap at a comfortable pace maybe once. Maybe.

Some of the most frustrating laps are when doing the Old Course at Watkins Glen. You can invent new forms of profanity doing those laps.

Joe actually thanked me last year for not taking advantage of a wide open track and a V8 Miata

Joe Gearin wrote: Rule #2----- the difference between the parade and touring laps is time on track. Parade laps are generally two or three complete laps. During the Touring sessions, the cars are on track for a 1/2 hour or so. This can mean 10 laps.....or 4....depending on how many cars there are, and how well folks are behaving.

This is did not know. That's a much better way to distinguish the two groups, not by speed. If people expect speed, they'll get upset about congestion. If they expect 1/2 hour instead of a couple of laps, it's a lot easier to keep them happy and it's easy to justify the extra cost.

We do parade laps at Laguna Seca as part of that big event, and every year there's some idiot manages to spin their car in the Corkscrew while everyone else is at a walking pace. From an organizer's standpoint, they're very high effort and high risk, so we should be glad that GRM lets us do it at all.

Thanks Keith! The parade / touring laps are a bit of a PITA to run, but seeing the happy looks on people's faces as they come off the track is totally worth it. I really enjoy that part of the Mitty.

We actually had a guy ball up a Miata during a Mitty parade lap a few years ago. He had a friend taking pictures of him coming through turn 6 (at Road Atlanta) Each lap, he'd go a little faster.....trying to get that "perfect shot"

Well.....he ran out of talent, spun, and smacked the wall hard---- the car was a loss. Not only did he piss everyone off by delaying the actual racing by about 1/2 an hour, he then had to call his wife and explain how he had totaled their brand new car....... and it wasn't insured, as he was on a racetrack!

That must have been a fun phone conversation.......