Go Karting @ TDIFest? Band, food, etc.

[VeeDubTDI]

I'm trying to gauge interest in doing a Saturday evening indoor go kart track rental from 6pm to 10pm.

Location: http://www.kart2kart.com in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Time: 6pm - 10pm

Open track for all attendees, huge parking lot, catered food, possibility of a band.

Again, I'm trying to gauge interest, so please respond with your thoughts and ideas!

Price will be dictated by the number of attendees, but it's looking like it will be in the neighborhood of $50-75/head for the 4 hour rental.

-Lawson

Interest List

1. VeeDubTDI
2. compu_85
3. Matt-98AHU
4. oilhammer
5. BlueCTTDi
6. bhtooefr
7. mrvermin
8. blizzak
9. +1
10. TDiSkater
11. rocketeer928
12. Nash_TDI
13. airwolf
14. growler
15. Torque_Delight
16. loganbmx4gt
17. +1
18. MonsterTDI09
19. validius
20. manual_tranny
21. mlemorie

 

[compu_85]

We've had tons of fun at this place in the past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFoHVUC6bY

-J

 

[Matt-98AHU]

YES PLEASE

For those who haven't experienced this place, it's pretty intense. Lots of racing memorabilia (heavy on F1 and Sports car content. There's also some VW posters as some Michigan VW Enthusiasts (MIVE) have worked there).

For an indoor track, the surface is quite sticky. Sliding the karts is difficult and will only result in making you slower. It's all about finding the right balance of bringing it to the edge of adhesion without going over. The karts typically have a top speed of more than 30 mph on this track. The steering effort is on the heavy side and can wear you out after a couple runs if you're not in shape

Live timing & scoring, complete with printouts. Practice sessions you are placed based on your best lap.

Plus. YOU CAN DRINK AND DRIVE! This place has a BAR. 4 beers on tap. It's amazing. We've been coming here for the post-Detroit Auto Show festivities for a few years now. It's always a blast!

 

[oilhammer]

I am interested, now that my tooefed arm is mostly back together. I need one with NOS, though.

 

[BlueCTTDi]

IN. (And here are some additional characters so this will accept my post this time.)

 

[bhtooefr]

dowantdowantdowantdowant

 

[mrvermin]

Most Soitently.... Nyuk Nyuk ... Nyuk....

MrVermin

 

[blizzak]

I'm in for sure, and I think some of my posse would be interested too

 

[TDiSkater]

I wouldn't cart and I have no issue with the fee (fun to watch the races), so I'm in - but the cost per couple might get a bit high for some. You might consider a race/dinner package price and a spectator/music dinner package price.

 

[rocketeer928]

Sounds fun to me. I would go.

 

[Nash_TDI]

I'm in.

 

[bhtooefr]

Also, how would the racing be set up?

Just 4 hours of open practice?

Could there be a tournament of grands prix at the end (the number of people needed to hit the $50-75/head price point means that it'll take 4-6 grands prix just to give everyone one run of a standing start race (I think they can run 17 karts in one race, looking at the track map in the pits on their site). Take the 2-4 best finishers from every race depending on headcount, and that's another grand prix for the ultimate winner)? I figure about 10-12 minutes for an 8 minute grand prix, given turnaround for kart changes, so you could end up at 1:10 to 1:24, though, of grand prix running, if you have 102 people show up, and then the best 2 finishers (maybe best 3 minus one, but I could see some hurt feelings there) from each grand prix competing in a finale race.

Endurance could be fun, too, but could present issues with building teams, and their normal endurance setup has 2-4 drivers per kart, and runs 2 hours (plus 40 minutes of quali). That said, a 6 driver team would get 20 minutes of seat time per driver, in 2 hours, if there's 102 drivers.

Edit: Hmm, even open practice, with 4 hours, at 102 drivers, at 10 minutes per round, 6 groups, gives 4 rounds per group. 3 rounds per group if it takes 12 minutes per. That'd make anything else tricky, although their normal format for grand prix is one round of practice, one round of quali, one round of racing. If the turnaround is fast enough and turnout is low enough, two rounds of practice, a round of quali, a round of racing, and then the final race could be juuuuust squeezed in, but... that'd be tight.

 

[airwolf]

I kind of like the idea of open practices. This is more of a thing to go out and hang with friends and enjoy each others company. When you start planning out actual race events you quickly realize how quickly the time gets eaten up.

With open practices, if you want be competitive among your friends, then make sure you open practice with them and have you own little mini race.


With all that said... I might be interested if we can get enough people to make the price reasonable. Would be a good place to expand my photography portfolio as well...

Also, how would the racing be set up?

Just 4 hours of open practice?

Could there be a tournament of grands prix at the end (the number of people needed to hit the $50-75/head price point means that it'll take 4-6 grands prix just to give everyone one run of a standing start race (I think they can run 17 karts in one race, looking at the track map in the pits on their site). Take the 2-4 best finishers from every race depending on headcount, and that's another grand prix for the ultimate winner)? I figure about 10-12 minutes for an 8 minute grand prix, given turnaround for kart changes, so you could end up at 1:10 to 1:24, though, of grand prix running, if you have 102 people show up, and then the best 2 finishers (maybe best 3 minus one, but I could see some hurt feelings there) from each grand prix competing in a finale race.

Endurance could be fun, too, but could present issues with building teams, and their normal endurance setup has 2-4 drivers per kart, and runs 2 hours (plus 40 minutes of quali). That said, a 6 driver team would get 20 minutes of seat time per driver, in 2 hours, if there's 102 drivers.

Edit: Hmm, even open practice, with 4 hours, at 102 drivers, at 10 minutes per round, 6 groups, gives 4 rounds per group. 3 rounds per group if it takes 12 minutes per. That'd make anything else tricky, although their normal format for grand prix is one round of practice, one round of quali, one round of racing. If the turnaround is fast enough and turnout is low enough, two rounds of practice, a round of quali, a round of racing, and then the final race could be juuuuust squeezed in, but... that'd be tight.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Bring a fast lens. It's not very bright in there even with all of the lights on.

I'm leaning towards open practice for the entire 4 hours. As airwolf said, it makes it more of a casual setting, people can come and go as they please, you can team up with your friends or new people, etc. I think we could add a competitive edge by offering a prize for the top three lap times of the evening.

I need to put some thought into two different pricing options - one for racing, one for spectating. Until then, we're just getting a head count.

 

[TDiSkater]

Just to clarify, I would attend, but not cart (to keep track of count of people driving). Sadly, I'm a little (okay a lot) too big to fit. But I'll cheer nice and loud.

 

[bhtooefr]

VeeDubTDI: Might want to add a poll to this, with three options?

Yes - I'm interested in karting
Yes - I'm interested in attending the karting event, but not karting
No

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Good idea on the poll. Gotta wait until I'm added as a moderator for this forum... d'oh!

 

[VeeDubTDI]

I'm working on some pricing structures. Right now if we get 40 spectators and 40 drivers, the prices are $35 and $85 respectively. If that number goes up to 50 and 50, the prices drop to $25 and $75. Something other than a 50/50 split makes things more interesting, but that's a topic for another spreadsheet.

So... bump for more interest in Go-Karting, food and a band at TDIFest 2012!

 

[Growler]

i would spectate. it is fun to do, but fitment of me in the cart not so much fun

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Add one spectator.

Aaron, you and I are in the same boat. I'm good for one or two runs, but that's it.

 

[Torque_Delight]

OMG !

Yes please !

 

[loganbmx4gt]

I'm in with a +1.

 

[MonsterTDI09]

Sounds like a blast Put me on the list.I think a small % of the cost should be added to raise some more funds

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Thanks for the feedback! We're working on pricing this evening to try and make it fair for everyone while encouraging attendance even if not everyone wants to drive.

 

[validius]

INteresting...

 

[oilhammer]

INteresting...

Well, I know who my first target is.

 

[manual_tranny]

Add me to the list! I am sure that I can find a few other like-minded people from the area to accompany me as well!

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Folks, it looks like this event is taking shape and will be open to everyone! Driving will be an additional fee, but general attendance will be included in your registration price!

I will have a definitive answer and prices when we open registration on Monday evening.

 

[mlemorie]

In. Been a while since Ive gone, itll be fun!

 

[VeeDubTDI]

We have about 20 driver spaces left (out of 40) - half way there and I expect the remaining spots to fill up quickly in the next few weeks.

If you're interested in racing Go Karts on Saturday night, I highly recommend you get signed up as soon as possible. It's a great deal - $50 for 4 races... can't beat that!

http://www.tdifest.com