Anyone been to Club Motorsport in NH? Anything I should know?

**cohny** · 09-25-2017, 03:09 PM

I'm going to be up at Club Motorsport this weekend for a two day event. I've never been before but it looks like an amazing track so I'm very excited. I'm curious to see if anyone's been there or has any feedback etc.

**Pelican Parts** · 09-25-2017, 05:07 PM

Hello - are you going to be tracking your car? Are you looking for feedback on the track itself?

**cohny** · 09-26-2017, 09:58 AM

More feedback on the track itself. I try to make the most of my time at the track so I'll usually do a lot of research ahead of time about the different lines to take etc. This track is really new though so there isn't really any information out there. I thought some members here might have some insight.

**RyanC** · 09-26-2017, 11:29 AM

Some of the COM instructors were up there a few weeks ago and posted videos on facebook and youtube. Dave W had some good footage posted on ye old youtube, IIRC. I haven't seen any writeups yet, though. I'll need them also since I will be there Friday/Saturday.

**TXBDan** · 09-26-2017, 01:40 PM

I just cancelled my registration for the event. Major bummed.

I've been out of town 5 weekends in a row and haven't had time to get my car in shape. I'm chasing some brake issues, might be a master cylinder.

I spoke with a few of the COM instructors at WGI and a buddy of mine ran it a couple weekends ago. They said its overall a slower track than you'd think in terms of top speed. That's not super helpful i guess, but that's the only thing that stood out besides being otherwise really fun.

Have fun! (and build your car for T70 next year)

**cohny** · 09-27-2017, 10:33 AM

Dan sorry to hear that, definitely a bummer. Hopefully we'll get more than one weekend up there on next season's schedule. As far as T70 goes let's see if I can get competitive in T60 first, or maybe even just a decent seat

**MaineGuibo** · 09-28-2017, 11:06 AM

I was there on Monday for an instructors day. The big takeaway is to make sure your car is below 89 dB. They are under a lot of pressure from the town so they will be black flagging cars and sending cars home that go over this threshold. The flagging stations are temporary and some are hard to see, so take that in mind as well. I have a hard time defending people not seeing black flags, but when one is wearing a black shirt and only holding the flag, it is understandable.

The track itself has some good flow in some sections, then turns very slow in others. Very slow in turns 5 and 15. Major flow in the turn 7-8-9a-9b section. Do not lift in 9b!

I don't have the time right now to do a full track description. Look at some of the videos to get you started. I just wanted to warn all about the "new" sound limit!!

**RyanC** · 10-05-2017, 04:23 PM

I thought the track turned out pretty well; the facility is terrible, but they did just open so it can only get better. The paddocks were hit or miss, but at least the porta potties were clean.

The were aggressive with noise for us, dozens of cars got flagged, but they gave us a 92dB limit. Most cars made it back out on track.

My first session was terrible (all 4 laps of it). Spent the rest of the day instructing, which netted me about 125 minutes of studying the line. Got a second session at day's end, and ran a 1:48.4, which I felt pretty good with. Got 4 wet laps in on day 2, then time trialed with a 1:45.5, so even better. Lots of time left on the table in a couple of spots.

Overall, I thought the track flowed well. T1 is, weird. Pit out is right where you want to track out (there WILL be a wreck there, and it will be bad). We didn't have any real issues there, but it's just a terrible spot to send cars on track. The T1-2a-2B complex was fun, and is fast. Some cars got upset with the bump in the 2a apex; I wound up taking 2a about a car width off the apex, which felt fine. Entry into 3 is fast, and you can scrub enough speed to take 3, which I felt like worked best with an entry a bit to the right of mid-track.

4 is flat, and for me I found the best run up the steep entry of 5 by dropping to 2nd gear (which tops out at about 62mph for my car). Braking for 6 is downhill, so brake earlier than you'd think and probably avoid trail braking much into 6, as the grip isn't great. There's a lot of track out space in 6, and you can get on the gas hard, track out, and still get over to the right for the entry to 7. 7 turn in, for me anyways, was right about where the 'extra' track starts on driver's right.

I found it tough to get down to the apex of 7 (despite haranguing my students for doing the same), but I wasn't carry so much speed that it affected my entry into 8. 8-9a-9b is a hit/miss/hit apex; use the curbing to turn into 8, on the curbs at 8's apex, miss the apex of 9a by a car width or more, then turn in a bit early for 9b and get right on the curbing. Track out of 9b is steeply uphill and grippy, so you can run fast. I feel like I could have stayed close to flat through the 8/9a/9b complex but I didn't have enough laps to try. There's not much space on either side of the track in the straight between 10-11, so if you go off... you're gonna have a bad day.

11 is fast, deceptively. Lots of people were braking early and taking a wide line; I felt like staying track right and braking late was better (at least for me). I felt like I was early a lot in 12, but if you can take 12 a bit on the later side I think you can carry more speed through the turn. Flat on the gas exiting 12, and get to the curbs on the inside of 13 and make that 13/14 sequence a parabolic arc. The track changes color about 2/3s of the way across (the outer third is less grippy pavement). Track out to the pavement seam that divides the pavement types, lifting/braking gently to turn in for 14. I was hard on the gas through 14, avoiding the curbing on the right by a car width or so as I went into 15. Brake hard into 15, and carry the brakes down towards the apex... then back on the gas.

There are some good videos up on the Tubes of You from our event, with Jake W running a screaming 1:36.x in his E36M3.

The track claims it to be the best track in North America, which it definitely is NOT. It was fun, though, and had its challenges. I felt like it was very intimidating coming in cold, but after a few laps it was much more straightforward. I definitely liked it, but I could name a half dozen tracks that are as good/better.

The flagging stations, in my opinion, are absolute garbage, though. There weren't enough of them, the flaggers were new (so that will change as they get more experience), but half of the stations were out of the driver's sightline. When I was on the cooldown lap of the last session of the day, most of the flaggers had already left their stations... in other words, they weren't waiting till the track was clear. The workers will get better, but the track really needs to revisit how many flagging stations they have, and where they are located. Being 60 feet up a hill is not a great spot, especially when you are hauling the mail coming up through a turn, with eyes on the track.

Hopefully they make safety and paddock improvements, as I think there is a lot of potential.

**cohny** · 10-06-2017, 10:59 AM

I have to agree with all of the above points about each corner. The track definitely has some awesome sections. I really liked turns 2 - 5, and turns 7 - 9b are awesome too.

The pit out situation is really bad though. I also agree that if nothing changes there is going to be a really bad accident one day, really bad. If a car were to lose control and go wide through turn 1 they could fly right into a car entering the track. Given the setup I'm honestly not sure what they could do to change it, but IMO something really should be done about it. The flagging stations were laughably bad too. Some of them were like a football field away on top of a cliff overlook. They were really difficult to see and in no way in your line of sight most of the time. This situation would be a lot easier to fix than the pit out issue though. They just have to build some raised towers like they have at NHMS or Palmer and they'll be fine.

Overall though I had a fantastic time. I really enjoy this track and Palmer more than some of the others we have in this area like NHMS or Thompson, and I'm stoked we have these new tracks coming in. I was able to get down to the 1:53s for the TT which I was very proud of.

**RyanC** · 10-08-2017, 11:55 AM

Here's a GoPro vid of my time trial sessions. Harrys Lap Timer wasn't working for some reason, so there's no data overlay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyVrYhKWcdY

**DocWyte** · 10-09-2017, 04:25 PM

92dB limit is really restrictive. Even some street cars with stock exhausts will be louder than that...

**BlackHawkRacing** · 10-12-2017, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by DocWyte

92dB limit is really restrictive. Even some street cars with stock exhausts will be louder than that...

We got pushed down to 89dB last weekend and they were enforcing it; a lot of black flags were thrown.

**DocWyte** · 10-13-2017, 10:39 AM

That's brutal.

**TXBDan** · 10-13-2017, 11:55 AM

I heard it was tough. I guess there's a silver lining to me running a stock intake and exhaust... I'm like a Prius on track.

**jimmypet** · 10-13-2017, 02:18 PM

LOL the only thing I own that would pass that is my trailer.
Guess I'll never be going there

**cohny** · 10-13-2017, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by TXBDan

I heard it was tough. I guess there's a silver lining to me running a stock intake and exhaust... I'm like a Prius on track.

Ha! same here. I've almost hit people in the paddock because they come flying in the front of me on a bicycle or something. It's like you're invisible.

**BlackHawkRacing** · 10-15-2017, 04:48 PM

I feel like they are making a point of being tough on sound from the start so they can show the town they can be a "good" neighbor. Wouldn't be surprised to watch it calm down over the years. Additionally, I'm not 100% convinced they are measuring dB from the correct distance; a few of the cars flagged were objectively not loud.

Regardless, know there has been a small but vocal group of residents that have been raising hell from the get-go of this project. Apparently, while all the cars were queued on the sholder of the road, before the gates opened, several cars drove by video taping the "traffic" and had some disparaging comments for several people standing outside of their cars. That was told to me second hand so take it with some salt but not surprised if it was accurate. On the other hand, manager of the Days Inn I stayed in said that, since the track opened, they've never been so busy. Damned if you do, damned if you dont I supose...

**jimmypet** · 10-15-2017, 07:49 PM

Where did they build this place in a Hospital Zone with a Senior Living facility attached and the Mayors mother inside it?

**RyanC** · 10-17-2017, 03:28 PM

There aren't actually that many close neighbors that I saw; but it's on the side of a mountain, and sound carries (although you couldn't hear the cars from the gas station, so I don't know how far the sound issue extends). I get the sense they are trying to avoid complaints as opposed to responding to complaints. Given the length of time they have spent getting the track to this point, I can't blame them. I recall getting solicited for an 'early' club membership probably 14 or 15 years ago... And they just opened.

The track did bitch at a bunch of our guys for waiting along the road prior to our event being open for trailer dropoff. The deal we had with them was a 4pm entry time the day praior, so we can drop off and unload (which was communicated to the club members); but when a bunch of our guys showed up at 4, the gate staff turned them away and said they had to wait until 5pm. Miscommunication between the organizations, I'm sure, but a bit better organization could have averted any issues and complaints from the locals. That is more of a growing pain than endemic issue (unlike the sound), but still kind of annoying when your club pays top dollar for rentals.

I'm imagine they have a couple tens of millions into it at this point, or close to it, so I can't blame them for being cautious.

**TXBDan** · 10-17-2017, 04:29 PM

These new tracks (Palmer, Club Motorsport) are a privilege. If the towns want them shut down they'll find a way. The best thing we can do is obey the sound restrictions, support the local economies by buying food, gas, etc, there and by being nice and especially not driving like idiots in town.

Mr. Speedy Pant's wife in our club was complaining to me that her husband got black flagged for sound on his third warning at Palmer and couldn't do his TT. I was like, sorry, he had two chances to fix it. I won't stand for your husband's selfishness ruining this track for the rest of us. She rolled her eyes and walked away. These people need to go.

**BryDog** · 10-20-2017, 11:34 PM

Here's my video. It was only my second session ever, so I am not going all that fast. I was able to achieve a 1:52 in my 330ci. Not bad for me and considering everything is new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjN7KyaauXA&t=325s

Overall, I found the track to be excellent. Easily my favorite. Flowing and relatively safe given the amount of slower corners and massive runouts in some corners. Turn 9b is the most dangerous. I think I was around 90mph there by the last session.

**0100** · 11-08-2017, 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by TXBDan

These new tracks (Palmer, Club Motorsport) are a privilege. If the towns want them shut down they'll find a way. The best thing we can do is obey the sound restrictions, support the local economies by buying food, gas, etc, there and by being nice and especially not driving like idiots in town.

Mr. Speedy Pant's wife in our club was complaining to me that her husband got black flagged for sound on his third warning at Palmer and couldn't do his TT. I was like, sorry, he had two chances to fix it. I won't stand for your husband's selfishness ruining this track for the rest of us. She rolled her eyes and walked away. These people need to go.

I agree 110%