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Did you grit your teeth and try to look like Clint Fuckin' Eastwood?
Or did you lisp it all hangfisted like a fuckin' flower?
Would have been awesome if they did, I wasn’t around for Loudon’s hay days. I don’t think it’ll ever happen at NHMS though. No half measures will sort out the improvements that need to be made and I doubt anyone would finance the real deal. Certainly doesn’t help the US doesn’t really care for road racing.
You know those super annoying hipsters that say “I was born in the wrong generation?” Well, we’d probably all be happier if we were born Italian or Spanish.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
Every time I watch the MotoGP guys go off into an acre of runoff or blow a chicane and re-enter 2 corners later upright, with perfectly clean bikes..
I know nothing about this, but seems feasible for an investor to forget about the use of the oval, lease a different part of NHMS's MEGA allotment of land, and build new. Will bypass all the permitting bull shit to hold races and track events, which seems to be one of the biggest headaches for the multiple new tracks that have popped up.
Start with a barebones paddock and no stands. Think the current "campground" setup matched with a couple lean-tos like at Palmer. Get club racing & track day orgs back.
Start to build up your viewing and paddock infra-structure overtime. How many people show up to MotoA events anyway? Few thousand? Build enough to seat those and see where it goes.
The thing that "scares" me most about trying to get something like this going is the risk of crappy neighbors and town ordinances scrapping tooth and nail against it forever. If you take that out of the picture, its just a numbers game. Lots of observable market data to help work them.
Last edited by JettaJayGLS; 06-11-21 at 08:51 AM.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
Would never happen, the track is far too expensive to build, particularly with the frost depth here. They would need to excavate several feet down and lay a substantial base before paving. A proper FIM spec track will take you deep into 8-figure territory, the ROI isn’t there.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
Then I question how Palmer, Canaan and that latest new one in NH got built and continue to operate? Or are they just going to fall apart in a few more years?
Its very possible the numbers just do not work, not denying it. They are just much more reliable if you know you actually hold events into perpetuity.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
Palmer and Tamworth both operate on the rich-guy club membership model. $10k initiation fee, $3-5k/yr. They also use track real estate to generate income. They’re also not FIM spec tracks, although they’re both very nice. I don’t think they do any serious racing there either.
I haven’t been to Canaan yet, but I understand it to be a bit more of a budget facility. They clearly didn’t look into flood plain/drainage properly either as they got washed out pretty bad last year. Who knows how long the track surface will last.
Last edited by loudbeard; 06-11-21 at 09:13 AM.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
Bottom line is now NHMS is a NASCAR facility and that's all it will essentially be. The owners (as well as the last) have no desire to do anything about the road course nor build a stand alone road course. They cater to NASCAR through & through and that's where the bread comes in. It'll never happen there.
Did you grit your teeth and try to look like Clint Fuckin' Eastwood?
Or did you lisp it all hangfisted like a fuckin' flower?
All very good points. I don't see why you couldn't combine a "rich club" operating model with racing.
I'd be willing to be there are a lot of "rich club" guys racing NHMS. I'd like to think motorcycle racing can be a poor mans game, but it really just isn't.
If NHMS isn't interested at leasing some of their land to someone else to run the whole thing (construction and ops) then my point is moot.
Last edited by JettaJayGLS; 06-11-21 at 09:30 AM.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
You're thinking too small! The expectation that $10k gets you a track to drive on any time you want is crazy to me. That seems far too cheap. They must be giving up days to events currently.
Anyway, fun little thoughts. If others are able to turn a profit (or at least pay their debts) then I think the problem is workable with racing included.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
One more tidbit. Some of the tracks that MotoA races at are absolute wastelands.
edit: too harsh. Some of the tracks that MotoA races at look to be nothing special.
Last edited by JettaJayGLS; 06-11-21 at 09:41 AM.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
I think if you tried to abandon the existing oval anchored course at Loudon you would have people coming out of the woodwork to oppose it for a litany of reasons, noise being one of them. There are plenty of people in that area that moved in (obviously) well after the track was there and bitch about the traffic, noise, runnoff, whatever. The fact that the road course is "already there" and has some historic aspect to it is what lets it be the exception to the rule. Look at the noise BS that comes down on Tamworth and Palmer. NYST dealt with this too. Although NYST seems cowboy enough to do wink-wink, nudge, nudge style racing.
The bottom line with NHMS is that NASCAR pays the bills. Or paid the bills. I get the idea that NASCAR at NHMS isn't what it used to be. Honestly I see NHMS dying on the vine. It won't get any major 1999-2000 like rework ever again. Not without a lot more interest from the general riding public.
Beard-man has it; motorcycle road racing simply isn't popular here in the US. The track situation does and will continue to reflect that.
Plus. A place where there is snow on the ground for 4-5 months out of the year is not the best for a road-race track anyway.
You’re aren’t wrong, but there aren’t many operating both business models at the same facility. MA’s problem is they really aren’t profitable, LRRS’s balance sheet probably kicks their ass regularly. I don’t ever really expect road racing to make a real comeback in the US. Super cross is the biggest thing going in motorcycle with AFT a distant second and both of those are still fringe sports. Bottom line is I don’t think the money is there to support a venture like you’re talking about as much as we’d all like to see it.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
I just keep coming back to these tracks that keep on popping up and are still in operation. In the right location, with the right layout, they can support racing.
I thought NHMS has the location solved, but Colin is introducing a point I didn't merit: that people would still bitch and moan even if the new track was built 100 yards next to the speedway.
Supportable, reliable, multi-season action seems to be the only way outdoor venues can survive in New England. Dunno what you can do in the winter with a racetrack.
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
You can keep circling around to NHMS should do this or should do that. Or even continue with the why don't they just...
Bottom line is it's never going to happen there. It's not. You just gotta wrap your head around it. We can wish all we want, but it's a lost cause. I accepted this 20 or so years ago.
Did you grit your teeth and try to look like Clint Fuckin' Eastwood?
Or did you lisp it all hangfisted like a fuckin' flower?
Let's be real folks. Our neighbors are 110% against any kind of fun. Shooting range. Drag strip. MX course. Hell, mountain biking gets astounding levels of pushback.
Remember when NYST leveraged the MSF name and told everyone the biggest bike on track would be a 250?!
My $0.02 is enjoy it while you can. NHMS isn't going to get any safer, more modern.
Been to and raced on other tracks like VIR ,Mid Ohio, CMP. and Roebling that have places and issues with little to no run off and you going significantly faster then Loudon. not sure there is any road course in the US other then say Austin that's built to world standards. That being said the current new race tracks in and around New England don't hold sanctioned race events. And I believe that's how they get around most of the issues with the locals! I am not a fan of NHMS as a race track per say but its what we got and it beats the old pit it replaced down pat! Guys will get all soft and mushy remembering the past but It was a s-hole and at todays speeds not very raceable... Be glad we have what we got!
Last edited by MUZ720; 06-11-21 at 11:46 AM.
And in true Race & Rally Week fashion, it's looking like the weather will be pretty much unsettled until mid- to late next week. Cool temps & scattered rain through the weekend and well into next week. Nothing earth shattering, but it'll be out there. Hoping it'll be nicer toward the end of next week and for the races next weekend.
Did you grit your teeth and try to look like Clint Fuckin' Eastwood?
Or did you lisp it all hangfisted like a fuckin' flower?
From what I'm seeing already, it's looking like it'll be a busy week.
Did you grit your teeth and try to look like Clint Fuckin' Eastwood?
Or did you lisp it all hangfisted like a fuckin' flower?
A man of many names...Jay, Gennaro, Gerry, etc.
For the last 15 or so years, I've ridden up to Lincoln with a half dozen or so friends either the first or last weekend of bike week. We stop for an hour or three at Weir's on the way up or back. Peg's for breakfast then we ride north, west, east wherever the rest of the weekend. That's my bike week(end). I suspect that's like many who ride in the region. Good times, really.
DanG
People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.
- Blaise Pascal