LAPS Trackdays for 2011

[Doc]

I am going to go out on a limb and make this announcement.

The last I spoke with Rick there are currently no plans for LAPS to do any trackdays this year.

I will miss the good times we had with all the LAPS customers and I would like to thank all those who rode with LAPS for making the experience a good one.

Hopefully LAPS will come back stronger than ever in the future.

On a personal note, I was offered a Control Rider position with another organization and I am excited with this new opportunity.

I hope to see all the LAPS customers on the track again this year.

[Chippertheripper]

It's a bummer to not have another player in the game. Hopefully we'll see yaz back out there in 2012. Right before the world ends.

[FireboltEric_MA]

Bummer, I liked there days..

[TheIglu]

I had a good time there. Cheap, fun trackday.

Bummer, I liked there days..

[Expat]

I had a good time there. Cheap, fun trackday.

+1!

[nt650hawk]

On a personal note, I was offered a Control Rider position with another organization and I am excited with this new oppourtunity.

Congrats!

[Doc]

Congrats!

Thanks brother.

[FireboltEric_MA]

Haha, Just heard Doc.... Congrats there big guy!

[SVRACER01]

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On a personal note, I was offered a Control Rider position with another organization and I am excited with this new oppourtunity.

Congrats!

I have a bad feeling about this

[TheIglu]

As much as I hate to say it, I think this signals the end of the truly budget-oriented bare bones trackday.

Hey economy, GFY.

[Doc]

As much as I hate to say it, I think this signals the end of the truly budget-oriented bare bones trackday.

Hey economy, GFY.

I would have to agree...

[hawk]

I would say its not over yet. It just may be on a break for a short time.

[R7]

As much as I hate to say it, I think this signals the end of the truly budget-oriented bare bones trackday.

Hey economy, GFY.

Oh darn, and I just sold my trackday bike

I'll be spending my summer in the woods

[TheIglu]

Oh darn, and I just sold my trackday bike

I'll be spending my summer in the woods

I had a good time chasing you down on my ZRX last LAPS day. Don't think it will be as much fun doing the same in the woods.

[R7]

I had a good time chasing you down on my ZRX last LAPS day. Don't think it will be as much fun doing the same in the woods.

No question that was a fun day..and the most tracktime I think I ever got in a single day.
Woods I can get my fill after work, all day on the weekends, I set my own rest times, and it's free (other than fuel and bike expenses)
Not trying to knock on trackdays, just a to each their own type thing. Over the $200 mark, they become to expensive for fun vs value to me

[Kurlon]

Well that sucks, the LAPS days were some of the most fun I've had at a TD to date. No pressure to squeeze out all the track time I could 'cause there was an abundance, lots of time to just get out and play and sit back and rest when required.

Plus they let me run my 70... heh heh heh...

[TTD]

Not trying to knock on trackdays, just a to each their own type thing. Over the $200 mark, they become to expensive for fun vs value to me

Members doing 10 of our days this year will pay less than $175 per day... and it was even less if you bought the membership a couple of months back.

Just sayin'

[Manny]

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I know distance is an issue but in my experience NHMS track days are among the most expensive (and the shittiest track IMO) so it's worth travelling for a better track and cheaper days. To each there own.....

[TheIglu]

True in some regards, but for the cheap pricks, you can't beat being able to do a few trackdays a year with a couple weeks notice AND a hotel room for under $200 each time.

If I'm going to do a bunch of trackdays elsewhere, things get expensive due to time off while Loudon can be a drive up in the morning type place. I did love Monti, but that is a once a year type deal. I have a finite amount of vacation.

I forsee Loudon trackdays being scheduled out by just a few organizations in the future. Hopefully this isn't the case, but whatever, I've always known it's a rich mans hobby.

[Kurlon]

Members doing 10 of our days this year will pay less than $175 per day... and it was even less if you bought the membership a couple of months back.

Just sayin'

On the flip side, if I can afford 10 track days that means I can afford to race again!

[Doc]

I wish I lived in Boston.

[R7]

Members doing 10 of our days this year will pay less than $175 per day... and it was even less if you bought the membership a couple of months back.

Just sayin'

Ha, I wish i could Tony
My vacation time for this summer is already booked

[Trackday Guru]

Just my .02:

When we started LAPS in 2006, it was with a simple idea: That a day at the track with your friends shouldn't distroy your bank account. There are a lot of riders that travel quite a distance and maybe get a room at a local hotel just to be there in the first place. That fact alone is enough of a reason to keep the costs down as much as possible.

Two simple facts were (and still ARE) these:
1) The cost of renting the track and associated costs generally goes up every year.
2) The economy struggles more often than not.

If a track day org is (at the time) charging the full monte ($275) as entry, then they would have very little room to move their price upwards in the future to compensate for the track's increase in price, and keep their org's profit margin the same. READ: The org's profits shrink every year ongoing as a $275 entry was already at the percieved ceiling of what a track day was worth, and with the costs increasing the profit % shrinks.

So when we started entry at $175, we had not only provided the lowest entry fee, but we also had room to move the price upward should the track increase theirs, or other associated costs rise, and STILL be the lowest game in town, by quite a bit.

We knew three things would happen:
1) Riders would flock to the lower entry fee as long as the day was good
2) We were gonna piss some organizers off as surely this would be
taken as a personal attack on their wallets.

Even though the new owner LAPS is taking the year off, I don't think the inexpensive track day will fall by the wayside. No matter what happens to LAPS or any other org in the future, the basic principles above will remain. And the way I see it, no matter what the track charges to rent it, I don't know ANYBODY who would be willing to pay a $350-400 entry fee for a track day.

I said above that we knew three things would happen. The last is:
3) Our lower entry fee would drive the costs of track days down to more managable level pretty much across the board

What do you know......it worked. (and you're welcome)

Like it or not, the economics of a bad economy are that the cost of entry must remain affordable to keep customers willing to spend their limited or volitile moneys on entertainment.

I think inexpensive track days will be here for a while, and as long as they are, people will continue to come

[TheIglu]

I sure hope you guys come back next year. I had a blast working with you and every day up there was a good time.

Cheap track time trumps everything else!

[Doc]

Too bad the economy is in the shitter, we may have made a run this year.

Just wasn't enough cash to float the 1st day, nevermind the 2nd or 3rd. LAPS made no money last year and actually was in the hole quite a bit...

We just wanted to break even on our days and when that didn't happen the current owner took big hits (in the thousands of dollars per day)

That is not the customers problem but I thought it might shed a little insight as to what is/was going on.

Hell there was a point there I was offered part ownership...

If an LAPS customers want to ride with me (or not ) I'll be at all the BOMO days this year.