msumlin

We are currently working on plans for the 2011 Grand-Am Mazda Corrals. Mazda has consistently had the largest amount of cars at Grand-Am races, as always we are looking to enhance and grow these events.

With that said, here is what we have agreed to so far.

1. We'll have a Car show at every event we host. We will have best RX-8/7, 6, 3, Protege, etc. All so the best of Show/Corral winners at each corral winners will be judged by Mazdaspeed Motorsports and Grand-Am Marketing for a very special prize and trophy. Trophys and prizes will be handed to all class winners.

2. Crew Member for a day is goig to be expanded. We ran a test program with SpeedSource where we have Mazda Corral particpants work in the pits with SpeedSource. This has proved very successful and all of the Mazda teams are committed to this program. No one else is doing this except us and it has worked well, as Mazda is still leading in GT.


3. Mazdaspeed Motosports and Mazda USA support is being expanded as well. We are still finalizing the details, but we will have tents at all of our events, hospitality. In addition, we will be raffling off Mazdaspeed apparel and swag


4. Sponsorship we are securing sponsorship from various aftermarket companies to help with prizes, hospitsality and more. we already have a couple of sponsors lined up for Daytona.


5. Corsa Care Care Products and Pirelli Tire will have their modles come down to the corrals and take pictures with the cars and the owners as well.


6. Grand-Am will be adding more prizes to the packages as well, as will their sponsors and partners.


So stay tuned for more as we get the schedule for the events out. The first event will be the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2011!

REsuperD

sounds like a pretty awesome event. i'd definitely do all i can to take part

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Good Job, I only attended 2 events this year. I would like to expand that to 4 in 2011.

darnellm

iTrader: (1)

You had me at Pirelli Tire models!
Nice seeing you at NJMP.
It was my son's first event and he definitely
wants to go to more.
I made it to 3 events this year.
Keep up the good work!

Chibana

Excellent! I'm hoping to go to Mid-Ohio again next year (assuming Grand-Am is there again in 2011).

BJP

iTrader: (2)

I'd love to be there at Mid-Ohio...hell, I'd probably make the trip to Watkins Glen next year!!!

REsuperD

where will one find/keep posted on information for this? i really want to take part. crew member for a day sounds pretty awesome

Huhwha

I don't think the schedules are done yet, but I hope they separate the Grand-Am race from the IRL stuff at Barber next year. That really went very poorly and was outrageously expensive. I'd love to have a Mazda corral there if Grand-Am get its own weekend again.

I'm giving a lot of thought to the second Watkins Glen event next year. It woud make a great meeting point to catch up with my brother - he's about 4.5 hours away and I'm about 7 hours away.

Of course, Mid-Ohio is a given. Next itme though, I will leave the cooler at the corral! It didn't fare well on the track Let's see if we can move this off Father's Day weekend though. I would have liked to have seen my iRacing buddy Wyatt win the TDI race!

I'd still like to get to Lime Rock. Let's hope they move it off Memorial Day weekend.

Jersey is a remote possibility. The weather has sucked 2 years running. Monsoons last year and excessive heat this year. Sounds like this needs to be moved on the schedule as well.

Having said all that, I must say that the corrals have gone quite well. We had a great time at Mid-Ohio and the access to the teams is excellent. I had a great discussion with Jon Mirachi of Racer's Edge - a real good guy who truly enjoys talking to other Mazda owners.

Of course after watching the RX-8 sweep of the podium by Speedsource at Jersey, I can't wait for the next race!

msumlin

We know that Daytona is set in stone, that is a given. I am sure that Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock and VIR, 6 hours at the Glen is set as well, those seem to stay the same. Once the season is over, the schedule will be out and we will move forward.

We are extremely pleased with the crewmember for a day has worked out with SpeedSource. I get nothing but great positive feedback from the crew chiefs and crewmembers as well. We've done a good job in assisting them in the pits and look where they are, haven't lost a second ona pit stop yet.

So stay tuned, if you have ideas shoot me a PM or post it up, we want as much input as possible.

msumlin

Well, we are currently working on the corrals for 2011 for the Grand-Am Rolex and Continental Series. As you may or may not know, (most of you do know) Mazda won both the manufacturers title and drivers championship ( Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato #69 RX-8).

With that in mind, we are working on the corrals for 2011, here is what was discussed yesterday in a conference call.



1. We are looking at having all of the pricing for all events completed before January.

2. Looking to have hospitality for all of our events. (Food & drink)

3. Sponsorships for each of our corrals.

4. More dealership involvement, where we can have them bring out cars to the event, etc.

5. Additional ways to market the corrals, tv/radio, print, Grand-Am website, etc.

6. More support from Mazdaspeed Motorsports

7. Grow corral events @ Watkins Glen, Barber and other tracks.


Looks like Ford, GM, Honda and BMW want to try and emulate us! The companies may come on as sponsors/partners with Grand-Am. I will of course be seeking Mazda USA and Mazdaspeed Motorsports to offer more support for us, as we have continually led the way in attendence, especially at Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock and VIR.

Daytona is scheduled for January 28-30, our pricing should be similar to last year, $55.00which included camping, next to Lake LLoyd.

We will still have raffles for the following:

1. Piloti Shoes

2. Mazda Team Apparel

3. Grand-Am Swag

4. Parade laps (excluding Daytona)

5. Corsa Car Care Products

6. Escort 9500ix Radar Detector($500.00 value)

7.. Crewmember for a day on a Mazda team, Speedsource, Team Sahlen, Freedom Autosport and others if needed.

8. Paddock Tours, personal autograph sessions and photshoots with Mazda teams

9. Tech talks

This is just a sample of what we have planned for 2011, we are still working on some additional ideas as well. So stay tuned for more updates and we hope to see you st 1 or more of our events for 2011. And for you members that live in the SE we will be hosting a corral @ Barber next year. Also a new track has been added; Road America, which is a great track, can't wait to do parade laps there!

Chibana

Cool. I can't wait for Mid-Ohio. It was fun this year. I would love to see more involvement from sponsors, Mazda, and local dealers.

dezau

iTrader: (3)

I"M DEFINITELY GOING TO THE DAYTONA ONE, I"M NOT GONNA MISS THIS THE 2nd time lol

msumlin

Here is the final schedule, all dates marked with asteriks ** is where we'll be holding corrals

**Jan. 29-30 Daytona Int’l Speedway Rolex 24 -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge**

Mar. 4-5 Homestead/Miami Int’l Speedway -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge

**Apr. 8-9 Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge (IRL Race)**

**May 13-14 Virginia Int’l Raceway, Danville, VA -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge**

**May 28 & 30 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Ct -- Rolex Series and Continental Tire Challenge**

**Jun. 3-4 Watkins Glen Int’l, Six Hours at the Glen -- Rolex Series and Continental Tire Challenge**

**Jun. 24-25 Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge (Nationwide Race)**

**Jul. 8-9 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterrey, CA -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge**

**Jul. 23-24 New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ -- Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge**

Aug. 12-13 Watkins Glen Int’l, Watkins Glen, NY -- Rolex Sports Car Series (Sprint Cup Race)

Aug. 19-20 Montreal, Quebec, Canada--- Rolex Sports Car Series (Nationwide Race)

**Sep. 16-17 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH – Rolex Series & Continental Tire Challenge**


Looking forward to another great season of racing in 2011.

msumlin

Well, we have our first ticket pricing for next year. Here is a great bargain for race fans:
got an email from the Group Sales Manager at Watkins Glen Int'l ... June 4-5 weekend is Sahlen's 6 Hours at the Glen ... his quote:

"Sahlen’s 6 Hours at The Glen GRANDAM Weekend is June 3-5 - New Car Club Corral and weekend ticket price will be offered, this $20 rate will not be available to the general public. Infield Corral parking and weekend parade laps will be included at no extra charge. Trackside locations are limited and reserved for groups of 25 cars or more. ..."
for $20 , you can't BEAT that price!! mark your calendars people and save up your money ~ if you haven't already been there, the Glen is a fantastic and fun venue located in the finger lakes region of NY. beautiful country and fun times to be had!!

omgitspeeb

iTrader: (2)

We're tentatively planning to go to Daytona this year. Watkins Glen is about a 6 hour drive from me - so planning those two as well. We're DEFINITELY in for New Jersey in July (had an awesome time at that race this year)... Might have to add VIR and Mid-Ohio too. I'm so hooked.

Great rate for the 6-hour race at the Glen. Thanks for posting!

REsuperD

i'm gonna try to do road america and/or laguna seca. will keep watching here

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I'm planning on being there for the Laguna Seca Race.
First time attending a Grand Am race...

msumlin

The largest events are Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio and VIR, the 6 hour race is going to be huge. We've already got pricing done for the event, $20.00 for the entire weekend!

We are working on pricing for Daytona, last year we got a great deal $55.00 for the weekend, including camping, we are looking at the same thing for next years event. Also, the major hotels have agreed to cut there rates by 30% for this years race, so. book your rooms early!!!!

dezau

iTrader: (3)

^ priceline ftmfw!
can't wait for the daytona race

Chibana

I've got my room reservation for Mid-Ohio already!

Razz1

Not if the Dark side can stop you..........

BigC94

It sucks only having one race on the west coast. I'm definately looking forward to it!

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Same thing we say about SevenStock.

msumlin

Pricing for the Mazda Corrral for Daytona is $45.00 We'll have further detaisl as soon as DIS sends me the flyer, they sent me one for the Camaro Corrral!! Sacreligious!

sblethen

iTrader: (3)

This look like a GREAT program! I am a new Mazda fan and I am looking forward to going to these events. Stupid question... is the corral only for street cars or can we tow a racecar? Do you sell tickets at the event or do they need to be purchased in advance?

Thanks,
Stephen