Mazda Laguna Seca Event... ..ALREADY PLANNING NEXT YEAR
Mazda Laguna Seca Event... ..ALREADY PLANNING NEXT YEAR
Eight hours of towing and we are back from Laguna Seca....exhausted, yet thrilled. Rick Weldon is my hero...what an amazing event. Much enjoyed old friends from the San Diego Miata Club like Barb, Art, Jack, etc., and special thanks to SDMC members Mark Booth and Elliot Shev for working hard to document the whole event. The spirit in the garage was awesome...it was such fun hanging out with crew from 949 Racing on one side of our garage stall and the FM crew just ten feet in the other direction. The only downside was not enough time to really soak it all in...too busy spinning a wrench, then taking a first timer around the track, then back in the car for the next session...around and around and then it was all over. Along the way enjoyed brief moments interacting with Bill and Keith and Teri from FM, Jim Langer from Racing Beat, Mike from Moss, Andrew from Performance Shock, Joey from Ohlins, Oscar Jackson, and on and on... I only wish it didn't blow past in two days... I think the FM crew did it right by making it a three day event by attending the Friday track event put on by another organization...I may do the same next year. Thanks to all the customers who stopped over just to say hello.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Re: Mazda Laguna Seca Event... April 10 & 11.
Some more shots...thanks to GotBlueMilk
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Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
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Re: Mazda Laguna Seca Event... April 10 & 11.
The first picture in the second post has to be my favorite shot.. I love how the front wheel is almost off the ground.
Re: Mazda Laguna Seca Event... April 10 & 11.
Great shots below by Mark Booth---- thephotobooth.net
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Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Re: Mazda Laguna Seca Event... ..ALREADY PLANNING NEXT YEAR
EMAIL FROM RICK WELDON ON PLANNING NEXT YEAR....Hope to see you there!
Hi all,
What a great event!!! I'd like to thank not only all our sponsors and hard-working volunteers -- but also each and every one of you for making this such a huge success. I'm openly stealing Emilio's words here, but I think his description really hit the nail on the head -- it was like one of those good old-fashioned big family picnics.
I'll open with a couple of apologies. First, this will most likely end up being a very long email, as there's a lot of info to share. And the other apology is that some of you will see this note a couple of times, as I'll be posting it in a couple of places so that we don't miss anyone.
I'll start with the important stuff first...........
Our dear friend Tom Matano seems to be doing well again after being taken to the hospital for observation on Saturday the 10th. We all missed his presence at the track and at the banquet -- but he's now feeling much better and back at work again. I was waiting to write this until I had the chance to actually meet with him, chat and look him in the eye(!) (which happened yesterday) and I can report that he's doing fine and will (hopefully!) not work himself so hard for awhile. Tom we all missed you and want to see you back again next year!
Planning for next year officially started around 3pm on Sunday the 11th, as we sheltered from the rain in the garages. Lots of good news to report here, so I'll try to be brief.
Dates
We're fortunate to have a truly wonderful working relationship with Mazda North American Operations (as those who attended the banquet really saw first-hand). The good news is that next year we'll be looking at an event date sometime between May and Sept/October. As soon as we get a firm date I'll be letting everyone know via every possible channel at my disposal so that you can start planning. But in any case we can now look forward to better weather for our event.
Numbers, numbers, numbers
Last year we had around 180 people pre-registered for the event, this year it was 340! We had 560 people sign in at the gate on Saturday, with less on Sunday (mostly due to the rain). There were 150 cars in the group photo. Below is the link to several good hi-res versions of the photo that are free for you to download. These are courtesy of Dito at Got Blue Milk (www.gotbluemilk.com) -- who took a lot of really fantastic photos for us this weekend. If you haven't already done so you should check out his great photos there.
Here's the link for the group shots: http://www.gotbluemilk.com/downloads/miatagroupphoto/
Want to talk about distances traveled? We had people who flew in from New York and from as far away as Newfoundland -- and then there was Richard and his three friends from the Wild Rose Miata Club........whose 5,740km round-trip drive included many snowfall events as they drove from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!!!
Winners!
Our car show winner was Alan Spencer in his gorgeous '91 BRG (with crazy low miles on it!), with Don Pulpanek in second with his '03 Titanium and Rita and Rodney Johnson in third with their '06 Red. Randy Ross was honorable mention with his '99 Sapphire Blue. This was Don's lucky weekend, as he was also the lucky winner of the Ohlins Grand prize!
What's in store for next year?
Every time we do this (OK, so this is just the second time....but still) we learn more about what everyone does and doesn't like -- and try to improve:
Video/Photos
Last year more than a few people asked about the availability of doing high quality in-car video, so people could take home a video memory of their time on track. We were fortunate enough to be able to get Jay from VisionWells to come out for us, and you can see his work at the link below. There you'll also find a very cool event video compilation that Jay made for us, which is available in full-size on a dvd that you can order directly from him:
http://www.visionwells.com/otv/2010-0410_0411.htm
If you missed it this year, you'll get the chance next year, because both Jay from VisionWells (as well as Dito from Got Blue Milk) have promised to come back for next years event.
Instruction
We had a great group of instructors this year, who worked very hard for us -- but we think we can do even better next year. We've identified more than a few areas where we think we can improve, and will be putting a plan together that will allow for more focused one-on-one instruction and improved downloads. Our instructors did a fantastic job -- but we feel with the sheer volume of students they were over-worked, and that with the addition of more instructors we feel we can offer a higher level instruction. We're going to also make some revisions/improvements to the groups and how they're run, so that people will be more comfortable (and have more fun) at all levels. Another change for next year will be that Vendors will only be allowed to do demo rides in A and B groups, so that C and D groups can focus on driver skills and not have to worry about faster cars coming up behind them.
Rides/Helmets
One area we feel could be improved a lot is in the area of rides -- and the helmets available. Instead of the sparse volunteer loaner program we had at this last event, for next year Bob of Competition Safety Gear (http://cs-gear.com/) has agreed to provide helmets to rent for $15 per day, with the $15 going towards a helmet purchase if you decide to buy one (thanks Bob!). This should help greatly for those wanting a ride who missed out because they couldn't find a helmet to borrow.
Banquet
Last year we sold out at 180 seats..........this year it was 250 seats. Next year we're going to plan on 300!! Going for this larger number will actually help us in more ways than just having a bigger party. By going for the larger number we'll be able to take over the entire ballroom, which will give us more elbow room (so to speak). This is another area we feel we can do better. With more room, we'll be able to have more food stations, with the busier stations being accessible from both sides instead of just one. Translation: shorter lines for the food!
Hotel
We've once again contracted with Embassy Suites to be our Event Hotel for next year. They did a great job for us throughout the weekend, and with the huge rooms, free breakfasts and evening Happy Hour (not to mention Miata reserved parking and BBQ) are a great deal for the Monterey area. For next year, they have agreed to hold a block of rooms at the same discounted rate as last year. If you know the hotel business, you'll know that our getting this rate is indeed a good deal, as they will be giving us a discounted winter (low season) rate, even though we'll be there in their summer (high season, higher rate) time of year.
Friday BBQ
This was an AMAZING hit! (Thanks to all the folks at BAMA for your hard work!) So........we're doing it again next year.....AND.......we're adding a theme (Luau? Suggestions?) and next year we'll also have music -- and BAMA has committed (they're crasy that way) to run it again. Fun stuff. If you didn't join us, you really missed out. It wasn't just your ordinary hot dogs and baked beans kind of BBQ!!!
Car Show
We've already had feedback that people would like to expand the car show for next year -- and one of our most enthusiastic support groups (thanks KINOD!!!!) has stepped up to run/manage the car show for us next year -- probably working hand in hand with our own local area dealer Oak Tree Mazda (thanks again Frankie!) who sponsored it this last time.
Miata Challenge
We've been chatting with Emilio from 949 Racing about how to add a full-on Miata Challenge event to the program. Details to come out later.
Friday "Warm-up"
We're going to work on an informal warm-up, test and tune day for the Friday preceding the event for the heavy-duty track junkies. Not promises yet.... but we'll do our best.
More "other" stuff
Not everyone wants to go for rides or hang out at the track all day -- so for next year we're going to offer some alternative activities (in addition to the ever-popular BAMA drive). The Monterey area has an abundance of fun things to do, places to go. We'll be tapping into that, and hopefully be able to get things like discounted entries for such things as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, local wineries, etc.
These are just a few ideas of what's been suggested in just the short time since the event. What really matters is YOUR inputs, ideas and feedback. Please take a few moments to fill out the survey so we can continue to improve for next year:
http://www.miatasatmazdaraceway.com/survey.php
In closing, I'd like to once again thank everyone for helping, for getting involved. The success of events like these depend completely on the enthusiastic participation of fun people like you.
Thank you all................
Rick
Hi all,
What a great event!!! I'd like to thank not only all our sponsors and hard-working volunteers -- but also each and every one of you for making this such a huge success. I'm openly stealing Emilio's words here, but I think his description really hit the nail on the head -- it was like one of those good old-fashioned big family picnics.
I'll open with a couple of apologies. First, this will most likely end up being a very long email, as there's a lot of info to share. And the other apology is that some of you will see this note a couple of times, as I'll be posting it in a couple of places so that we don't miss anyone.
I'll start with the important stuff first...........
Our dear friend Tom Matano seems to be doing well again after being taken to the hospital for observation on Saturday the 10th. We all missed his presence at the track and at the banquet -- but he's now feeling much better and back at work again. I was waiting to write this until I had the chance to actually meet with him, chat and look him in the eye(!) (which happened yesterday) and I can report that he's doing fine and will (hopefully!) not work himself so hard for awhile. Tom we all missed you and want to see you back again next year!
Planning for next year officially started around 3pm on Sunday the 11th, as we sheltered from the rain in the garages. Lots of good news to report here, so I'll try to be brief.
Dates
We're fortunate to have a truly wonderful working relationship with Mazda North American Operations (as those who attended the banquet really saw first-hand). The good news is that next year we'll be looking at an event date sometime between May and Sept/October. As soon as we get a firm date I'll be letting everyone know via every possible channel at my disposal so that you can start planning. But in any case we can now look forward to better weather for our event.
Numbers, numbers, numbers
Last year we had around 180 people pre-registered for the event, this year it was 340! We had 560 people sign in at the gate on Saturday, with less on Sunday (mostly due to the rain). There were 150 cars in the group photo. Below is the link to several good hi-res versions of the photo that are free for you to download. These are courtesy of Dito at Got Blue Milk (www.gotbluemilk.com) -- who took a lot of really fantastic photos for us this weekend. If you haven't already done so you should check out his great photos there.
Here's the link for the group shots: http://www.gotbluemilk.com/downloads/miatagroupphoto/
Want to talk about distances traveled? We had people who flew in from New York and from as far away as Newfoundland -- and then there was Richard and his three friends from the Wild Rose Miata Club........whose 5,740km round-trip drive included many snowfall events as they drove from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!!!
Winners!
Our car show winner was Alan Spencer in his gorgeous '91 BRG (with crazy low miles on it!), with Don Pulpanek in second with his '03 Titanium and Rita and Rodney Johnson in third with their '06 Red. Randy Ross was honorable mention with his '99 Sapphire Blue. This was Don's lucky weekend, as he was also the lucky winner of the Ohlins Grand prize!
What's in store for next year?
Every time we do this (OK, so this is just the second time....but still) we learn more about what everyone does and doesn't like -- and try to improve:
Video/Photos
Last year more than a few people asked about the availability of doing high quality in-car video, so people could take home a video memory of their time on track. We were fortunate enough to be able to get Jay from VisionWells to come out for us, and you can see his work at the link below. There you'll also find a very cool event video compilation that Jay made for us, which is available in full-size on a dvd that you can order directly from him:
http://www.visionwells.com/otv/2010-0410_0411.htm
If you missed it this year, you'll get the chance next year, because both Jay from VisionWells (as well as Dito from Got Blue Milk) have promised to come back for next years event.
Instruction
We had a great group of instructors this year, who worked very hard for us -- but we think we can do even better next year. We've identified more than a few areas where we think we can improve, and will be putting a plan together that will allow for more focused one-on-one instruction and improved downloads. Our instructors did a fantastic job -- but we feel with the sheer volume of students they were over-worked, and that with the addition of more instructors we feel we can offer a higher level instruction. We're going to also make some revisions/improvements to the groups and how they're run, so that people will be more comfortable (and have more fun) at all levels. Another change for next year will be that Vendors will only be allowed to do demo rides in A and B groups, so that C and D groups can focus on driver skills and not have to worry about faster cars coming up behind them.
Rides/Helmets
One area we feel could be improved a lot is in the area of rides -- and the helmets available. Instead of the sparse volunteer loaner program we had at this last event, for next year Bob of Competition Safety Gear (http://cs-gear.com/) has agreed to provide helmets to rent for $15 per day, with the $15 going towards a helmet purchase if you decide to buy one (thanks Bob!). This should help greatly for those wanting a ride who missed out because they couldn't find a helmet to borrow.
Banquet
Last year we sold out at 180 seats..........this year it was 250 seats. Next year we're going to plan on 300!! Going for this larger number will actually help us in more ways than just having a bigger party. By going for the larger number we'll be able to take over the entire ballroom, which will give us more elbow room (so to speak). This is another area we feel we can do better. With more room, we'll be able to have more food stations, with the busier stations being accessible from both sides instead of just one. Translation: shorter lines for the food!
Hotel
We've once again contracted with Embassy Suites to be our Event Hotel for next year. They did a great job for us throughout the weekend, and with the huge rooms, free breakfasts and evening Happy Hour (not to mention Miata reserved parking and BBQ) are a great deal for the Monterey area. For next year, they have agreed to hold a block of rooms at the same discounted rate as last year. If you know the hotel business, you'll know that our getting this rate is indeed a good deal, as they will be giving us a discounted winter (low season) rate, even though we'll be there in their summer (high season, higher rate) time of year.
Friday BBQ
This was an AMAZING hit! (Thanks to all the folks at BAMA for your hard work!) So........we're doing it again next year.....AND.......we're adding a theme (Luau? Suggestions?) and next year we'll also have music -- and BAMA has committed (they're crasy that way) to run it again. Fun stuff. If you didn't join us, you really missed out. It wasn't just your ordinary hot dogs and baked beans kind of BBQ!!!
Car Show
We've already had feedback that people would like to expand the car show for next year -- and one of our most enthusiastic support groups (thanks KINOD!!!!) has stepped up to run/manage the car show for us next year -- probably working hand in hand with our own local area dealer Oak Tree Mazda (thanks again Frankie!) who sponsored it this last time.
Miata Challenge
We've been chatting with Emilio from 949 Racing about how to add a full-on Miata Challenge event to the program. Details to come out later.
Friday "Warm-up"
We're going to work on an informal warm-up, test and tune day for the Friday preceding the event for the heavy-duty track junkies. Not promises yet.... but we'll do our best.
More "other" stuff
Not everyone wants to go for rides or hang out at the track all day -- so for next year we're going to offer some alternative activities (in addition to the ever-popular BAMA drive). The Monterey area has an abundance of fun things to do, places to go. We'll be tapping into that, and hopefully be able to get things like discounted entries for such things as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, local wineries, etc.
These are just a few ideas of what's been suggested in just the short time since the event. What really matters is YOUR inputs, ideas and feedback. Please take a few moments to fill out the survey so we can continue to improve for next year:
http://www.miatasatmazdaraceway.com/survey.php
In closing, I'd like to once again thank everyone for helping, for getting involved. The success of events like these depend completely on the enthusiastic participation of fun people like you.
Thank you all................
Rick
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
Re: Mazda Laguna Seca Event... ..ALREADY PLANNING NEXT YEAR
It's cool to get recognized... Just shy of 3,600 miles, not including track time.Brian wrote:EMAIL FROM RICK WELDON
Want to talk about distances traveled? We had people who flew in from New York and from as far away as Newfoundland -- and then there was Richard and his three friends from the Wild Rose Miata Club........whose 5,740km round-trip drive included many snowfall events as they drove from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!!!
I posted a few pictures from our long drive down and back...the ones with snow in them here:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showpost.php? ... tcount=333
Truly a great event...and we'll be back next year!
Richard
2007 MX-5 GT/PP/PRHT | Stormy Blue Mica / saddle brown | #1 of 16 special order cars | Signed by Takao Kijima & Tom Matano
2007 MX-5 GT/PP/PRHT | Stormy Blue Mica / saddle brown | #1 of 16 special order cars | Signed by Takao Kijima & Tom Matano