Club Arnage

Who's going?  Phil?  Fax?  Turn 10 crew?

:raiseshand:

Fax is looking a bit doubtful this year - which is a real shame, because I know he really likes this one. He's job-hunting presently, so funds are an issue. I dunno if you are driving down from Ohio, Chop, but if you had a spare seat, I'd help out with gas money for him - I owe him a few favors. Just a thought...
Dave H and Ricardo will be driving down from Indiana, but Dave only has two seats in his new rocket.
I'm driving up from FL - and I'm pretty sure that Randy and a couple of Turn 10 oppo's are doing the same, so there will be a few of us there.
Judging by yesterday's race in Canada, it will be a great race. The Dyson Lola's late charge really shows that they can keep up with the R10 and then some, on a technical course. Audi won the Mosport ALMS round on pit strategy, not all-out speed. Excellent and well-deserved win by Prodrive in GT1 too, so probably a bit of grudge racing from Pratt & Miller to look forward to - and that Rizzi Ferrari taking GT2 was very welcome too.
Let's hear an at-track critique from Canada Phil. I know he was there - Speed Channel showed him quite clearly, twice.
See you there.

Afternoon Guys,
I'm not going to be able to do the Petit this year.  As Matt said, currently unemployed and a trip south for the weekend wouldn't be very responsible.  The AMA Superbike final is at Mid-Ohio the same weekend so I may head up to Mid-Ohio for a day instead.  I can afford a daytrip in Ohio but not a weekend in Georgia sadly.
Have fun down south ya'all.
Fax

Hey Fax - if you can get down to Road Atlanta, we'll take care of the rest - it's not like you haven't helped me out a few times.
I dunno if Chop can step-up to the plate - but if so, you gotta do it, bro.

Matt, I'd love to, haven't seen you and Dave all summer and it would be great to catch up with Richard.  Its one of my favorite races of the year.  But as I said earlier, I decided to put off the job search until after Labor Day and kinda screwed myself when it comes to Road Atlanta.
Make sure you guys get your passes, and most importantly infield parking passes pre-ordered.  You don't want to have to park outside the circuit and walk in carrying coolers.  Those hills on the way in are a bitch carrying a bunch of stuff.
Fax

Unfortunately I won't be able to give Fax a lift as I'm flying.  Obviously I'd be more than happy to if that wasn't the case.  If ticket prices continue the way they're going, I might be driving to Seb****, in which case - game on.   ;D

Nah guys, would love to go but, I'll be fine without it.  As I said in a previous post, the cars have all but lost me. For me the bikes are where its at now.  If I went it would be to see the boys (Matt, Dave, Ricardo, Phil, Chop, Randy, etc.)  Doing the experienced rider school at Mid-Ohio this weekend with a friend, thats going to eat some dosh as well.  See you at Sebring in March.
Fax

See you there, Fax.  Then we can have a humdinger of an argument about cars v bikes. ;D

WIKKID!!! I am planning to do a track day on my R1 on the bugatti (24 hr moto/ moto gp) circuit at LM next year.. only 30euro per day!! 8) 8) 8)

Andy ;D

I am with Matt on this one John.I will be glad to pack some extra lunch meat and BEERS.Let us know how we can help persuade you.Lets see,how bout FREE BEER!

I am on my way! ....












Just kidding but see you in March

Lush ! ;D

Termie, not a fan of the bikers?  I've enjoyed both the cars & bikes over the years, but really struggling to stay interested in the cars these days.  Still love the history of the sport and willing to talk about it for hours.  Single seater racing in my opinion is a laughing joke and watching another Audi parade is boring me out of my skull.  At least the Vette's and Aston's are putting on a good show.  Fagey, a track day at the Sarthe would be very cool, taking the ZX up to Mid-Ohio Thursday, going to try and keep the feet on the pegs.  Randy those are my favorite two words...FREE BEER! :D
Fax

Erm, think I said bikes, not bikers! Presume they come in all different shapes, sizes and tempraments like most other groups of people.

Yep, I stand corrected, bikes, not bikers. ;)
Valentino Rossi forever, Michael Schumacher...Please fall off the face of the planet.
Fax

Will help you push.

In a perhaps futile attempt to get this thread back on the subject - Randy - what are your plans for this? When are you going? How many? Where you gonna be?
There was some talk of you driving up on Thursday - is that still your intention?
As last year, we'll stay Sat night at the track, rather than risk it with the GA law enforcement community. Assuming that you are doing the same, any chance you could make a little room for my Suburban and Dave's Vette, like last year?
Get right back to me, you crazy freak! 

I will be part of a crowd of around 8 seasoned endurance racing fans coming down from North Carolina. Most of the crowd would love to hear more about Lemans if anyone would care to drink too much and go on and on about the adventure.

 Oh yes, Road Atlanta is much closer to us than S------ so we could bring extra equipment/provisions for those travelling extended distances.

OK,here goes.
We are leaving St.Pete either Weds.night after work or eeaaarrrrllllyyyy Thurs.morning.
I am riding with MyCarr and MyDonna in thier RV.
Julian and Floris of DFH are flying to Orlando on the 25th.They are renting a car and staying with MC and MD for a couple of days before we head out.They are going to follow us to the races  and after the races head to the east coast to stay with Jupiter John.
We are going to get the same spot as all the years before.Should be a pretty good showing of Turn 10 peoples.
Should be no problem saving a little room.

I am looking forward to seeing you guys again.
Someone try and talk fax into coming.

Hey Randy, I'd love to come down, really!  The Petit is one of my favorite races of the year and its painful as hell to miss it.  However absence of income is a big deterrent to attending.  If I was employed, I'd be packed and ready to go now.  I wouldn't be able to do this track day instruction thing at Mid-Ohio tomorrow if my buddy hadn't won the free passes and is picking up the hotel room.  Have a beer (or twenty) for me at Road Atlanta.
Cheers,
Watching it at the pub Fax

 :'(

Gotta go with you there Fax, if you want edge of your seat racing then it has to be MotoGP, Superbiges etc, not wild about Motocross though.

My brother has been all over Europe on his Honda Blackbird (180mph+) watching the MotoGP and says the crowds can be a lot of fun too.

>Martini...

Thanks for this Randy - day-fags that we are, we probably ain't going to get there until early Saturday morning (too old to sleep in the back of the 'burban two nights running0. We'll see ya's all trackside and if you could clear the riff-raff so that we can get our cars alongside for the evening, that would be absolutely splendid, old chap.
Likewise, looking forward to seeing you again - been too damn long.

Where did Lee Self dissapear to?  Can I assume he'll be there as well?

Really looking forward to my first ever trip to the Petit, and meeting up with some of the CA crew. Randy - we met at the Champagne Bar at Le Mans this year, but it was all a little hazy! As part of 'Team Harper' this year, I'm sure the brothers will be gentle with this Petit virgin....

Fax - get your a*rse down there!

Rich

My brother has been all over Europe on his Honda Blackbird (180mph+) watching the MotoGP and says the crowds can be a lot of fun too.

>Martini...

totally agree.. the moto gp is wikkid.. and we know how to party ;D

Well, guess I'd better chime in.  Tickets and Parking passes are bought.  Matt - we're totally relying on you for equipment and beer hauling this year. At least the RoadToad had a couple of square cms of trunk space and a "backseat".  I can almost get 4 CDs and a radar detector in after my curvy ass has been situated.  I must say, this car is turning out to be considerably more fun than I expected.  Ricardo - bring your flying hat and goggles!

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/thIMG_35341.jpg)

The sales blurb for both the C5 and C6 reckons you can get two sets of golf clubs in the trunk of a vette - that may be, but I couldn't get a "Polar Roller" in mine, upright, that is.
I have a significant amount of room, so dinna worry about beer, coolers, chairs, bags and tents.
I'm going to book the Friday overnight in Buford GA, so we don't have a long haul on saturday morning - I'll email the details. I'm assuming we're all OK with Nigerian - but I'll get a couple of safety-bud aswell - and maybe a case of beer-flavored water for Randy, in appreciation of the parking spaces.

A question for somebody with half a brain (ie half a brain more than me) - if Petit Le Mans starts at 11.45 in the US, when is that in France?  I'm going to be away and need to set the old recorder! ???

France is six hours ahead of Brasleton, Georgia - so, using my half-brain that would make it 5.45pm in Garlicville, FR

Merci bien Matt! :)

At the risk of creating interest in this event, what is the enthusiasm level for the Petit Lemans? Panoz and company appear to prefer the low profile and, based on encounter with local law enforcement during dead cat burnout attempts, I would say that the establishment has little interest in the spirited crowd as well . It's no S------; however, RA was quite the party hole prior to Panoz. What's up with the alcohol prohibition?

  I understand that a CA'er was caught smuggling booze into Road Atlanta last year. If that is true, what would you do differently to ensure that the party rolls on as it should?

 

 

Alcohol ban at Road Atlanta?  What Road Atlanta are you talking about :o
Booze is no problem at RA, its not lunacy of Sebring proportions but a good party still.  The only clamps they put on at RA are the quiet hours after eleven.  By quiet hours they mean no loud music and burnouts.  Other than that you can drink beer till your face falls off.
Fax

Yes, I too am wondering what the blazes he's on about!  Booze ban indeed.

Fax - we're gonna miss you buddy.  Ricardo arrives here in Indy a week today and we set off Friday morning for Buford, GA to hook up with Matt and his driver.

Sounds like Matt has been causing confusion for Guinness distributors in the Greater Orlando area with an extreme "spike" in sales.  Finally, we're not going to faff around locating beer supplies on Friday night!  Hey, I may even remember my radio...

Alcohol Policy
Road Atlanta’s mission is to create an environment that allows customers to
experience excellence in entertainment. At our fans request, we are providing
expanded food and beverage services throughout the entire facility, including
the Sportsbar.
State of Georgia and Hall County law prohibits alcohol from being brought
onto our facility. Road Atlanta offers a variety of food and both non-alcoholic
and alcoholic beverages at reasonable prices.
Road Atlanta will post signage informing our race fans of the Hall County
Ordinance at our entrance and throughout the facility. If you have any questionsregarding our no alcohol admittance policy, you may email us at info@roadatlanta.com or mail your comments to 5300 Winder Hwy, Braselton, GA 30517. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us implement this policy.

Also, this notice came along with the event ticket:

 

Just keep it out of plain sight when entering and it's not a problem.  :police:   ;D

Maybe it's me, but I find the "all Georgia State laws" bit somewhat disturbing. I miss the old days of no holds barred four day outdoor parties. As I recall, there weren't too many problems that required intervention from the authorities.

If all of Don's races are going to turn into family friendly events, I think I'd be better off staying at home and taking the kids to Chuck-e-cheese.

 For what it's worth, a fellow in our crowd had a near miss with the authorities last year. The incident involved burnouts, chants for anarchy, golf cart wheelies, and alcohol (of course). A friend tried to compliment one of the cops for his patience and understanding and he didn't take it to well. It was touch and go, but he managed to fade into the crowd and avoid the wrath of the law.

Lesson learned. The cops are far more serious than pre-Pnoz days.

HOLY sh*t.  It does say that in the 06 Guest Guide.  Anyone know if this is a new ordinance?  I don't remember seeing any signs in the past.

I simply cannot imagine these guys removing beer/turning folks away - it would be insane.

If this turned "dry" (no byob) it would destroy the event.

Sounds to me as if they are aiming to try the same as they do at a lot of outdoor events over here.

They don't allow the punters to take their own beer into the venue, but will readily sell them their own overpriced warm pisswater.  The reason they give for this is they can then control the amount that an individual has to drink and can prevent any drunken behaviour.
The world and his dog know that this is utter bollocks and that there are a miriad of ways around this.

The real reason is that by banning entry with alcohol they will have cornered the market and by selling their own it will be more money into their pockets.

These signs have always been posted.I have never had anyone even question me about it.If they do ask you ask,F*****G LIE !

Sh*t!! Hope we manage to get our Guinness stash past the Road Atlanta Cooler-Police  :(

Gotta admit in all the years we've gone to the Petit we've never had the slightest bit of agro from the authorities, we sat up in the esses with a mound of empty Guinness cans in front of us and never been questioned.  Hell, we drag around a cooler that holds three cases of beer and ice for Christ's sake and they've never said "Excuse us sir, can we inspect the contents?".
I suspect most of the disclaimers and posted signs are there because they have to legally be posted.  From my experience at races you usually have to do something pretty outrageous and or stupid to get yourself in hot water with the local Johnny Law.  At most venues golf cart wheelies and burnouts will attract some unwanted attention.  Over Superbike weekend at Mid-Ohio this year we saw a couple of dudes go off in handcuffs after the police warned them several times about doing burnouts.
I wouldn't worry too much about the beer police ;)
Fax

No sh*t Sherlock!!  ;) ;D

Huh? What's that now??

Hi Dave,
 I remember reading that in the last few years and as stated already keep it out of sight and they have not bothered in the past. presume it will be the same this year.
Phil

Hey Phil:

I guess I've just been too hungover on arrival to ever notice this in the past.  Are you not making it this year?  If not, we'll put a chair out in front of the esses for you anyway and pour an occasional Molson on the ground in front of it in your honor.

I say we drink the Molsons and then pee on the ground in his honor. ;D

Hi guys,
            Does not look good. I am beginning to run out of options to get to Atlanta. So must reluctantly admit it will not happen this year.
I am honoured at your suggestions. may I suggest a compromise. Get Amazing to drink a Nigerian and then he can piss on what ever he likes. :o
Does anyone have a CA flag to fly as I and some others on here will be watching on TV while downing Guiness in your honour.
Questions : Should I keep the socks I was going to wear or just throw them away without the red clay marks ??? ::) ;D
Phil

Phil go to your local Little League basaball field and walk around in your socks.Once they are stained real good,just like they would be at RA.Then simply hang them off the egde of your tv,it will be just like being there.I have never done a Nigerian[at least that Ican remember]so it would be an honor to do one for Phil. ;D

Randy, Randy, Randy... I must have been with your Mr Hyde at Le Mans this year as you necked a full tall boy in front of me at the Champers stand in the very wee hours.  Nigerian Lager (Guinness) is the staple of any sensible man's endurance race.

In addition to hanging your cruddy socks on the TV Phil, perhaps remaining in the same pair of underpants from now until next weekend will also assist in your participation in the atmosphere of the event.

The socks idea I like. The underpants idea however stinks so I'll not be doing that ;D
Phil

Quite so, delicious and nutricious, not too fizzy, substantial enough to substitute track food, smooth, creamy, full-headed and ultra refreshing (if properly chilled) - and not particularly mind-splitting the following morning. I can even live with the merde-noir for the following few days, in exchange for all it's benefits.
Dave, you got it right when you proclaimed, "Look after your Guinness and your Guinness will look after you". This time next week it'll be starting to pass through!

Quite so, delicious and nutricious, not too fizzy, substantial enough to substitute track food, smooth, creamy, full-headed and ultra refreshing (if properly chilled) - and not particularly mind-splitting the following morning. I can even live with the merde-noir for the following few days, in exchange for all it's benefits.

[/quote

Matt - splendid summary of the features and benefits of a trackside Nigerian diet. Looking forward to enjoying the supreme qualities of this fine brew with you and Dave next week!

Shows what a forum Newbie I am. Completely f*cked it up trying to add Matt's quote to my reply above. No nice blue box. Apologies...

Richard, I'll explain the procedure in minute detail over a cold Nigerian is the esses next Saturday.
Have a safe flight.

Hope those that are there are having a good time.
I have not seen the CA flag on TV yet? Sitting at home in my Drinking for Holland T shirt drinking Guinness and watching SPEED. reasonable coverage. Some good battles through the field.
Phil

Not seen the flag either or any flamingos ! Sat in a jeff gordon t shirt, watching the TV, drinking Carling.

Hi Phil

Regards
Chris

Sat here watching the PC Screen wishing I was there, looks like it is a fantastic race. Watching the Live timing and the audio commentry from 0157.org

Great Job again guys.

Wish I had motors TV. Noticed that you can buy pay per view rights to motors TV on thier website and view the race over broadband streaming. Did not notice it untill a minute ago. $4.95 for the entire race is not bad.

Watching it on Motors TV :)

YAWANN! They've lost me completely, boring, gone, see ya, outta here....Have a nice life, Fax

What's up fax? Notice you have unsubscribed? Anyone know why???

What a BLINDER of a weekend!
Fantastic weather.  One or two pints of Guinness.

Fantastic drive down and back thanks to RicardoT's very heavy right foot.

Thanks Rich and Matt for the brilliant company - and Seth for being our man servant.

Randy - your "little" secret's safe with us.

Couple of pics I snapped with a disposable camera....

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0001.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0365.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0298.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0259.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0201.jpg)

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0169.jpg)

A few more shots....

(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0347.jpg)


(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0338.jpg)


(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0371.jpg)


(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0335.jpg)

Top quality shots!

Fun weekend.  I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Dave H and his group.  We stopped by the Turn 10 crew's lair just after the start Saturday and it seemed most others had gone elsewhere to spectate.

A big thank you to Amazing Randy, MiCarr, Jupiter John and the others for their hospitality and willingness to give a brother a beer when he clearly didn't pack enough for his walk around the track.  Can't wait to see you guys in S*****g.

I'm really starting to like Road Atlanta.  I wasn't sold last year but it's really grown on me.  I'd really like to see a night race at Road America.  With the ALMS/Champcar doubleheader in August it will be interesting to see how they schedule it.  That will be a mega weekend, to be sure.

Thanks Dave,it was really not a big thing.

NICE PICS ! ;D

Signed
Randy 'LeMans Day Fag'

Randy, tell me a story!

Oh yeah,I had a GREAT TIME !Bitburgers and Warsteiners,beautiful weather,and good freinds.What could be better?It just lets you now how satisfying the little things can be. ;D

F#%& You  Bitch ! :o

Hi,

Great Shots Dave H. Do you have a photo site or something ? I want to see much more of this kind of photos...

Hopefully, you took lot of car #62, the Ferrari driven by S. Ortelli...which crashed after several hours  :-[ .

Special thanks go out to Team Creation for their post night practice hospitality. We were allowed into the tent for an up close look at the entry and a few quick questions. You can't imagine how excited we were to see them take pole position Friday. It's a shame that things didn't go well on Saturday. None the less, Team Creation has at least six new fans in North Carolina.

  Speaking of the fans , did anyone else encounter the new Road Atlanta "Zero Tolerance" policy?

We encountered the old Road Atlanta "Zero Sobriety" Policy.

Your post suggests you ran into problems.  What happend?

We heard of some people being ejected.  One was a guy in a Cobra that spun his tires exiting the tunnel going up the hill towards the exit on Friday evening.  A trooper stopped him at the top of the hill, took his ticket and he was told not to return.  His passenger was made to get out of the car but allowed to stay.

We were told to turn the music down once but it was track security, not the police.

Surely he could have talked his way out of that one, by saying that the car has too much power and a strange clutch and it takes off suddenly so it was accidental. ;) Unless of course he left 100 foot darkies on the road !  ;D

Great weekend at Road Atlanta, as usual. Our drive up to GA was a bit of a pain due to a work diversion to Panama City FL - but once we got to Buford and had sunk a few black beers, it all clicked nicely into place.
We were lugging a significant amount of beer - but had no troubles getting it onto the property and were soon set-up above the esses ready for the start of the race. So agreeable was the view, company and coldness of the Nigerian, we spent the next four hours soaking up the sun and the race. Guy Smith destroyed his ride right in front of us - in fairness it looked like a mechanical that had him smote the outside guard rail at very high speed, which kind of snapped us out of our Guinnes fugg.
A chance meeting with Turn 10's Lee Self, who was on smudger-duty out at the back of the circuit (where Dave H took those bad-ass pix) lead to an amusing and nostalgic discussion about previous editions of the Petit.
We ended up at turns 3/4 where the Amazing if totally bollixed Randy stood bleary-eyed, nursing a pint of rum and coke. Due to his deep inebriation, Randy let slip about a little faux-pas in his past, which we are never going to allow him to forget. Whilst I'm not a huge fan of 'in-jokes' it would be cruel to 'out him' on this forum - but little-by-little, the truth will come out. That's all I'm saying on this small issue.
Congrats to Audi, Zytek, Prodrive and Porsche for putting on such a good show. Pratt & Miller really have their work cut-out now - and that has to be a good thing.
The Petit is a great event at one of the best road courses on America, nay, the world.
Thank you Dave, Richard, Seth, Lee, Randy and the two hilarious rednecks in turn 10 (I have the most terrible notion I gave one of them my business card).
What a weekend!

I thought my pic looked familiar.  Although a different shot, there are uncanny similarities between mine taken at the Petit this weekend and the one on the main clubarnage.com homepage.

Mine:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d115/DaveHarper/Petit%2006/IMG_0169.jpg)


CA homepage:

(http://www.clubarnage.com/lm04/main-graphic.jpg)

We did have a close call in the paddock area shortly after our time with Team Creation. We couldn't have been more than five feet from the opening of the tent when an older man came up behind us an told us the were closing the pits and it was time to leave. We started back towards the main entrance and briefly distracted by Team Penske. We couldn't stopped for more than 30 seconds when the man came up behind us again. He was obviously irritated and said some less than kind words. Unfortunately, we responded with something to the effect of "easy man, we're leaving". Despite the fact that similar responses have worked well since 1978, he was having none of it. He yelled " zero tolerance", picked up his cell phone, and started calling for the Georgia State Police. Either he was bluffing, or years of experience allowed us to fade into the night. I still don't know how we managed to stay throughout the event. I witnessed one security discussion involving six guys standing by the intersection over by the Esses (I think five is the limit) and was told of one others involving music and 100's at AMA event weeks before.

 The good news is that we still managed a good time. The ration of avoided trouble to actual trouble is still quite high. Even better news is that the NC crowd now has a camp name. It's a long story, but you should look us up at "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" at selected events next year.

Back safely in the UK after my first visit to the Petit. What a circuit! The vantage points at Road Atlanta are incredible, and it's possibly the most time I have spent watching the action on the track in the many, many years I have been going to Le Mans! Stunning.

Cheers to Dave and Matt for making this event such a blast, and for Seth for making sure our glasses were never empty. It was also a little bizarre to be sat in the Georgia sun with a cold Guinness (carefully poured by our man-servant Seth) and hearing our old Geordie friend Hindy blasting from the PA.

Also a big thanks to Dave for letting me hammer is C6 'Vette through most of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia (and doing it all again on the return trip). We avoided the police radar and got the fuel consumption into single figures on many occassions.

Definitely on my race calendar for next year!

I had the pleasure of meeting Randy for a short while and was warned about some of his tall stories. Nothing could be further from the truth.....