Miatas at Laguna Seca Raceway 2012

[— kung fu jesus —]

MAR 31- APR 1 2012



This is a fantastic event sponsored by Mazda!

http://www.miatasatmazdaraceway.com/

The entry fee is $250 for one day. It is Saturday and Sunday. You can choose either or both, at added cost.

Non-driving participants is $35. That would allow you ride along, do a parade lap during lunch, and a bag of schwag.

In the past, KINOD and SOCAL people drive the Saturday event.


As a group, we normally leave at O' dark thirty from the Industry KINOD spot on Friday morning. We drive out of LA up the 101 to Santa Barbara, where we eat breakfast and link up with Ventura county and other people. From there we continue up the 101, exiting to the Pacific Coastal Highway. We then take the PCH north all the way to Half Moon Bay and Monterey.

A few of us were at Woolery's on Christmas and we discussed some initial plans and changes for this year. We welcome input and ideas, but this is what we talked about:

Leaving an hour earlier, leaving the KINOD meeting point at 4am. This allows us more time to GTFO of LA before the morning rush hour.

Limiting the stop at the IHOP in Santa Barbara to ONE hour.

Forgoing the stop at Morrow Rock and using it as simply a fuel stop and stretch stop.

Stopping for a group photo at the Bixby Bridge on the PCH, sort of like we did for this photo:


We will, of course, stop for fuel as needed in a conservative manner (more often than typical).

The goal with those changes is to shorten the length of the drive up, avoid the traffic in LA, prevent confusion while transferring from the 101 to the PCH (as we have had in Morro Bay before), and arriving in Monterey BEFORE the afternoon rush hour where the group has become scattered in the past.

Taking mental notes from previous M@LSRs, we want to pick a centralized hotel or hotels that are close to each other so the group isn't scattered once we arrive. The extra-curricular activities have been more fun when we were together. in 2010 we were scattered all over the city at different hotels. We were thinking since the "host" hotel is the Embassy Suites, we can utilize a few other hotels in close proximity, like the Holiday Inn, that are less expensive.

We also would like to try to arrange a few events to do Friday and Saturday night. Restaurants, activities, etc. This would allow us to have a bit of an itinerary, though loose and optional, so people know what the plan is and can decide whether or not they want to participate.

For the day Saturday, we are thinking of only renting ONE garage to store our items. The second garage we had in '10 for exiting the pits would be omitted.

We also discussed traveling techniques in transit to and from Monterey. We are thinking of using Latitude, posting a route, and a loose schedule so people can travel at their own pace. We encourage people to travel as a group, but we need the pace to be brisk. We all know cars stacked in a queue on the freeway slows the entire group. We encourage the "swarm" technique on multiple-lane freeways and frequent lead changes. We might have volunteers to ride at the back of the pack for you to determine where in the group you are. If you see those volunteer cars pass you, you are now behind the pace. The volunteers will not slow for you, unless you signal.

We also want to avoid other confusing incidences, like cars with photographers pulling off to get fly-by pictures. If you see a car pull off, KEEP GOING. We don't want to see 10-20 Miatas pulling off on the shoulder by mistake. If you have a problem, pull off and call one of the members ASAP. We will also have 2-way radios. We will pick a channel and monitor radio traffic. If you need help, pull over and signal someone from the group.

We also ask those who don't feel comfortable with the pace, especially on the PCH, to stay towards the rear. Don't bunch up, don't make stupid passes, keep the car in your lane, etc. Keep in mind, once you are on the PCH, there is only two ways to go; north and south. It is impossible for you to be on the PCH and get lost. The group may stretch out as we hit traffic, so don't panic. You should have an address for the hotel you have chosen, so if you lose cell phone reception, it will come back as hit Big Sur and Pebble Beach. Basically, if you wind up in San Francisco, you went about an hour too far north!

We don't want this trip to have rules or a rigid schedule. We want everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves. These are just suggestions.

If any of your are driving up in other vehicles other than Miatas, post up, we should start a list that can offer you a way to recoup some money by hauling gear for others that can't fit it in their Miatas (wheel/tires, baggage, wings, etc.).

PLEASE post up your thoughts and ideas!