Viper War VII - August 24th - Gingerman Raceway

[SmoknTires]

Thanks to all folks I met at the Chelsea proving grounds a month ago, I had a great time. As promised, we'd like to invite all of you over to a track day we're having in your neck of the woods. It'll be a great day for novices and experienced drivers. Always one of our biggest events of the year and filled with great Viper camaraderie!

Wanted to pass on the information, several of you have already contacted us. I'm posting the info here so it gets to you easier. Special rate for Motor City folks of $225.

The link below has all the details for the days events:
http://www.illinoisvipers.com/documents/2007/8-24-07 Gingerman.pdf

If you want to learn more about our driving events, visit the performance driving section of our website. There are videos there that you can watch to see what it's like:
http://www.illinoisvipers.com/pit/racing_eventinfo.html

For those interested, there will be classroom instruction, in car instructors, competitive classes, etc.. But for most of us, it just means a lot of time to keep your foot to the floor. Our club photographer will be there, you can even order pictures of yourself ont eh track.

It's a great opportunity and always a lot of fun. If you're interested in joining or just have questions, feel free to contact our race director Aaron at 847-833-1350 or email at [email protected].

See you there!

 

[GR8_ASP]

Looking forward to it Alex.

A few questions though that other MCVO owners may have as well.

The safety requirements flyer attached indicates that all must become Illinois club members "All entrants MUST become Illinois Viper Club of America members as required by insurance coverage provided to the track."

Car classification using the Car Classification Index puts me in the unlimited class. Based on that my safety requirements are as follows:

Super SRT
• Rollbar or hardtop
• Five or six point harnesses​

• In car fire extinguisher

Unlimited
• Nomex driving suit (minimum 2 layers), nomex gloves, nomex shoes, 5 or 6 point harness, arm restraints or window net, roll bar (cage preferred) electrical shut-off switch in accessible location (recommended), fire suppression system (recommended), neck restraint (recommended)​

Now I have a hard top and 6 point harnesses but lack a fire extinguisher, Nomex suit, gloves, arm restraints, roll bar, or any of the recommended (i.e. not required) equipment.

The question I posed at the MCVO autocross was is it really required. Especially for the semi-novice/intermediate driver that does not get extremely low lap times, even with the performance enhancements. I have not yet received an absolute and am concerned that I will fail tech and be sent home a little lighter for cash. Any words of wisdom on this concern?

 

[SmoknTires]

Good questions, and I have the answers:

MCVO folks do not have to be IL club associate members to drive with us. In fact we'll be relaxing that rule (one put in place quite some years ago) in the future. The true intent of our associate membership ($55) was for those who wanted to get our newsletters, mailings, club giveaways, free raffles, etc... due to the immense cost in producing them. But for the pupose of driving events, you do NOT need to be an IL member, you only need to be a VCA member.

On the requirements for your members, we'll keep it simple. Long pants, close toed shoes, long shirt sleeves, and a helmet. Pretty much same rules as for an autocross. In the unlimited class, we will require the same as above, with the addition of a mandatory rollbar if your car isn't a hardtop as well as belt harness.

Any questions, let me know. We'll see you there!

 

[GR8_ASP]

Thanks Alex. That is what I thought based on our conversation at the autocross. Aaron emailed the forms today as well.

Now come on people time to sign up. You can't let a little ol' SRT be the only Gingerman entry from Michigan! If you need forms send me an email and I will forward them on. [email protected]

 

[RayC]

Sent my reg in on monday. This will only be my second time at Gingerman, it is great fun. Anyone who has not tried this with their car is missing out on a awesome time.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Thanks Alex, Aaron and the Illinois club. We had a great time today. It was super that you had the rain hold off enough that all run groups could complete 3 sessions.

We need to do this next year also as well and get better participation from the MCVO people.

Congrats Terry and Ray for your awards!

 

[SmoknTires]

Hey Ron, it was a pleasure having you guys, I'm glad the weather held up. It was a rather relaxing day. We had a good number of people avoid the day because they thought the weather was hopless, in the end a great day for racing! Sadly we had a couple of folks actually make it to the track and then have to drive home because they got a call that their house was flooding. Ouch.

I didn't bring my sunglasses because I figured we'd have rain all day, then at the end of the day and the ride home, brutal sun when traveling west! Can't believe how wild this weather was!

Congrats guys on pulling out a win. We'll surely make Viper War an open a event for all of you.

I'll see lots of you guys at Belle Isle!

 

[GR8_ASP]

No sunglasses here. Rained the entire way back. Lots of slow driving with the almost bald sport cups! Several times I found myself skiing rather than driving. But I arrived safe and sound, and with no grass field side trips!

 

[RayC]

Ron,
Glad to hear you made it home alright. We were thinking about you and your tires as it rained the entire time on us also. What a great time we had at Gingerman. Thanks to the Illinois club for having us we are looking forward to doing it again next year.