Registration Open for Lotus Club Laguna Seca Track Day, March 29, 2021

Crossing the Finish

Come join the Golden Gate Lotus Club for an open track event at Laguna Seca Raceway on Monday, March 29, 2021.  This will be a 90dB event and all types of cars are welcome to join. 

Price is $250 for members and $270 for non-members.  You can become a GGLC member for $25 when you register and take the member discount immediately.

This event will be divided into 3 run groups running every 20 minutes. You will sign up for Novice,  Intermediate, or Advanced, depending on your skill level and experience. Advanced Group is for experienced drivers with 18+ track days/racing experience or equivalent. Intermediate Group is for drivers with a minimum of 8 track days experience, and Novice Group will be for drivers with at least 1 track day of prior experience.  Sign-up for whichever group is appropriate for your experience level. Since the group size is limited by Laguna Seca, it may be difficult to switch to another group if you feel uncomfortable or if you signed-up for the wrong run group.  Open wheeled cars will be allowed only in the Advanced Group.

GBMA0815

Be aware that Laguna Seca will strictly enforce the 90dB sound limit. If you have a loud exhaust or intake, you should take appropriate measures to ensure you pass the sound meter. 

Each driver is responsible for ensuring that his car is in proper track condition.  We will not conduct a regular tech inspection of everyone’s cars but we will take a close look at any car that appears to be poorly maintained or that we receive reports about. Any cars with significant body damage or missing paint are likely to be subjected to an inspection.  Lemon’s and similar race cars are welcome at our events, but if you bring one, then you should expect us to visit your pit and make a close inspection of your car.  Anything that we feel is unsafe or likely to cause your car to break on-track will be reason for disqualification.  BIG no-nos include sketchy fuel lines, any fuel or water leaks, moderate or larger oil leaks, loose parts, cord showing or nearly showing thru tires.  Of course there are many other issues that could disqualify you as well.

For drivers experiencing mechanical failures that result in dropping oil on the track, damage to track property such as broken brake markers, etc., and deployment of the fire truck which results in any additional charges to us for clean-up, repair to track property, etc., we will consider whether to pass on these additional costs to the responsible driver on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that we will be making some adjustments to our normal track day due to the Coronavirus. Also, be prepared to jump through some Monterey County hoops to comply with their Covid requirements. We will do our best to keep you up to date on what those are.

1. There will be no beginner spots available since this would require us to put a coach in your passenger seat.

2. There will likely be no type of in-person sign-up at the track and we will conduct a “virtual driver’s meeting” by email. 

3. You should expect to receive an email a few days before the event that will explain all the exciting stuff that you would normally hear at our regular meeting    
   and you are required to read the WHOLE THING. 

4. At the track we will also likely conduct a brief “meeting” over the PA system with some important details and updates that you must listen to.

5. We will not be supplying any coffee, munchies, etc. and we will not have our large shade structure for everybody to hang out under. 

6. Everyone must maintain appropriate social distance of 6’ from persons whom you don’t live with and/or didn’t ride up in the same car. 

7. Each person must bring a face covering so that it will be available in case they need to interact with others at close range. 

Click here to sign up via MotorsportsReg. Within a few days of registering, you will receive a confirmation email with some event details.  Read this email.  If you do not receive a confirmation email, check your SPAM folder.  Another email will be sent out a few days before the event with Driver’s meeting info and probably more Covid stuff.  Read it!

See you at the track.

Registration for ButtonWillow track day (May 29, 2021) is now open

Chasing the R500 at Buttonwillow

Registration to the GGLC track day at Buttonwillow Raceway on May 29, 2021 are now open at MotorsportsReg.  This event is open to all types of cars.  Open top cars must have a roll bar or factory installed popup bar/rollover protection.  Open wheel cars will only be allowed in the Advanced Group.  We will not conduct a tech inspection of your car unless its appearance indicates that we should.  Lemon’s type cars are welcome but we will likely take a close look at it before  we let you on track.  Any fuel or water/water leaks or loose parts are reason for rejection.  Small oil leaks are acceptable.  You are responsible for making certain that your car is track-ready.  All cars must have 6″ tall numbers on both sides.  Pick any number.

We are running BOTH directions at this event, going clockwise in the morning and counterclockwise in the afternoon.  We did this a few years ago at Buttonwillow and again last season at Thunderhill 5-Mile and it was very popular both times.

We are running 3 groups and each group will get 7or 8 twenty minute sessions.  

Advanced Group is for Drivers with 15+ track days experience or equivalent.  This group will be open passing without point byes.

Intermediate Group is for drivers with 5+ track days experience or equivalent.  This group will allow open passing on most short and long straights without a point bye and passing in turns and braking zones with a point bye.

Novice Group is for drivers with 1+ track days experience or equivalent.  This group will allow open passing on the long straights only and passing with a point bye in turns and braking zones.

Sign up for the appropriate group.  If you decide at the track that you should be moved to a different group we can normally accommodate this.  

At this time we are not accepting Beginners drivers with zero days track experience.  If Covid condition improve so that we can put a coach in the passenger’s seat then we will allow beginners to signup

Damage to the track, walls, facilities, etc may be charged back to the responsible person.  Special charges for fire crews, oil cleanup, etc  may also be charged back to the responsible driver.  We will decide this on a case-by-case  basis.   

Price for this event is $195 if you register by January 31 and $215 after this date.  You can also get a additional $20 discount if you are a GGLC member or purchase a GGLC membership during registration.    We do not offer money back refunds.  If you cancel by May 14 you will get a credit for a future event that is transferable to other people.  No refunds or credits will be offered after May 14.  If Covid prevents the event from taking place or the government prevents you from traveling you will be offered a full refund.

The Driver’s meeting may be online or in-person depending on the Covid situation at the time.

Waiver’s will likely be signed online through Speedwaiver and you will receive a notice about this later.

Click here to sign up via MotorsportsReg

We also have the following events scheduled:
February 27 at Streets of Willows – registration open
March 29 at Laguna Seca (registration will open soon)
July 17 at Thunderhill West (not fully confirmed yet)
September 17 at Laguna (not fully confirmed yet)
October 5 Thunderhill 5-mile (not fully confirmed yet)

GGLC LIVE Virtual Tour of Classic Team Lotus (23-Jan-21)

Lotus 49 R2
Lotus 49 Chassis R2, the first DFV engined car to win a race, race prepped at Classic Team Lotus

It will be 5 years since the GGLC hosted a UK Lotus Tour. Our tour leader was none other than Richard Parramint. Richards long association with the Lotus factory, the Chapman family and numerous Lotus collectors, enthusiasts and racing teams made for bucket list touring of historic Lotus sites, Factory tours and more.

Which got us and Richard to thinking, why not a virtual tour of Classic Team Lotus! While there’s no substitute for physically seeing, touching, smelling and “feeling” the history ooze from the cars of CTL’s collection of historic Lotus F1 and Racers, we thought there would be interest in asking Richard to present a live virtual tour of CTL. 

Ex-Fittipaldi Type 72 Chassis getting rebuilt
Ex-Fittipaldi Type 72 Chassis getting rebuilt at Classic Team Lotus

Our FIRST ever LIVE GGLC Virtual Tour will be of Classic Team Lotus featuring Richard Parramint on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 10:00am Pacific time (18:00 in Hethel).

To join the tour you will need the Zoom meeting app on your phone or PC and to register on MotorsportReg.com – msreg.com/GGLC-CTL-Tour. There’s no cost, but we are caping attendance to 90 attendees. 

While this virtual tour isn’t a substitute for an in person tour (CTL in-person tours happen once per month at £45 per person) it may serve as a teaser and entice you to add a trip to Norwich and Hethel to your bucket list (believe me it IS well worth a trip to the UK and at least 2 days in Norwich!).

So, save the date, download Zoom (if you’ve not done so), sign-up on Motorsportreg.com and then log-in on the morning of Jan 23rd!

Lotus 78
Lotus 78 undergoing maintenance at Classic Team Lotus