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Old 04-10-2013, 11:24 AM   #1
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Motor sporting SMBers out there?

I've noticed in a bunch of posts that there seem to be quite a few SMB owners and potential owners who are in motorsports: threads about towing cars, autox, motocrossing, etc. etc. Came up again in a post about solar showers.

So I was wondering how many of us are out there? I think the recreational activities SMBers participate in influences how we fit out our vans, and some of the insights from those other activities can help even those SMBers who don't participate in such sports.

The SMB is a great motorsport vehicle. I used to tow a spec Miata around before I sold it, and then flat-towed a street legal Miata to autox and HPDE events. I've got a BMW E30 I'm trying to fix up as a street-legal track car; not sure if I'll ever figure out a way to flat tow it.

And if you're a SMB owner who's never done motorsports, I'd still encourage you to check it out. Here in NorCal we have three killer tracks, Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway at Sears Pt (formerly Infineon), and the SCCA's Thunderhill near Willows. If you're toodling around, Laguna Seca is a great place to camp. They have several nice campgrounds just outside the track, and they're often available on days when there isn't a big event going on (a rarity that close to Monterey). There's mountain biking and great views, and at many events you can wander down to the track and watch.

Sonoma Raceway is another great place to camp. They don't have campgrounds, just parking lots, but I have spend some amazing nice nights there. And Thunderhill is another nice spot to stay at a place up on I-5 where not much else is available, and it's near some superlative backcountry. Both places often let spectators come in and stay on weekend or weekdays when paid events aren't happening like NASCAR or something. At amateur races (which are frequent) spectators are often welcome, and if you say you're a newb checking out the scene people are usually super helpful. You can learn SO much talking to people; the guy with the Lambo or the Formula Ford might be just as willing to talk about his Ford diesel as his/her racecar. It's like a live version of Top Gear. Even at some paid events (like motorcycle or car track days, which are non-races where you pay to go 'round and 'round) the promoters will welcome you in to watch, they'll just want signed waivers of liability, and sometimes camping is limited 'cause of space issues.

And then there's all the off roading. Aside from motocross and enduro, which are very fun to watch, there's now the ultra4 series, which is the King of the Hammers guys. It's like rock crawling and Baja racing rolled into one; they've got a big one coming up in Glen Helen in late May. It's a zoo, but again if you are at all a gearhead it's off road porn. And you can learn a lot from these guys.

Anyway, I'm curious about who else has this obsession out there in SMBosphere.

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Old 04-10-2013, 12:02 PM   #2
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

did someone say post up photos of your track car?

*right coasters checking in.



<edit>
added video:

[youtube:1cg897az]
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Old 04-10-2013, 12:19 PM   #3
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

^^^ great shot!

we dont have any cool places to play like the bigger cities, so we are stuck with the smaller venues. ive been autoxing and hillclimbing for 14 years (my wife 7) and we just started our 4th season of rallyx with a 89 awd civic wagon. i really, really enjoy these rallyxs. just wish more people would come out to them. the entire operation is right on the verge of folding.

wagon in action.


vid from last weekends event: http://s231.photobucket.com/user/shenri ... b.mp4.html


im actually taking this year off from autox as im kinda bored with my current car, a ill prepared smf civic. in fact, im toying with the idea of selling it to fund a top for the van. wife is codriving a well prepped stx mazdaspeed miata this season (and last) with a friend when shes not working. its a badass car, im pretty jealous honestly...

our civic

a vid in the small ass parking lot we have: http://s231.photobucket.com/user/shenri ... 0.mp4.html

i also chair a hillclimb here in the boise area called the Freezeout Hillclimb. this year will be the 47th consecutive running of the event. its a 1.8 mile road out of a town called Emmett. we legally close the road off and you get to run the exact line you want using both lanes not having to worry about oncoming traffic. super laid back event where ive been over a 100mph at the finish. if anyones interested in checking it out, let me know. we love seeing new faces at our events.

a vid of me in a borrowed car (06 evo MR) up freezeout road. ignore the narritive, im a retard...
http://s231.photobucket.com/user/shenri ... 6.mp4.html

once our van is closer to being a realistic, livable space, the plan is to start checking out a few of the closer tracks and the rest of the hillclimbs on the schedule. the wife has never raced on a track and i know she would love it. weve never had a tow rig, so not having to baby the racecar to, from and at the event will be a nice change. if it breaks and we load it on the trailer and go home.

we do lots of crossover from camping to racing with the basics, chairs, insta-shade etc, so this will be a helpfull thread for us to help build our van. look forward to see the other racers posting up thier ideas.
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Old 04-10-2013, 03:29 PM   #4
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Motor sporting SMBers out there?

Use to track my car at willow springs, Fontana and and button willow for Redline Time Attack.

Way before I got my smb.

Would love to tow and camp with the smb once I get back into racing again.
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Old 04-10-2013, 06:16 PM   #5
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocsmb
Use to track my car at willow springs, Fontana and and button willow for Redline Time Attack.

Way before I got my smb.

Would love to tow and camp with the smb once I get back into racing again.
Maybe there needs to be a camper-van class in autocross?


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Old 04-10-2013, 06:24 PM   #6
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Motor sporting SMBers out there?

I spend several weekends each summer at Oregon Raceway Park www.oregonraceway.com about two hours east of Portland. Not racing but photographing and shooting video for one of the track owners. You can see them at photos.larrie.com.
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Old 04-10-2013, 08:52 PM   #7
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

I have a 24' aluminum trailer with Porsche stickers, can I be in the club?
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Old 04-11-2013, 12:33 AM   #8
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Motor sporting SMBers out there?

Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocsmb
Use to track my car at willow springs, Fontana and and button willow for Redline Time Attack.

Way before I got my smb.

Would love to tow and camp with the smb once I get back into racing again.
Maybe there needs to be a camper-van class in autocross?


Herb
More like demo derby
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Old 04-11-2013, 12:49 AM   #9
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

Only reason I got my Van in the first place was to tow around my Toy Hauler and all my Toys!!
And only after I started using it as a Tow truck and toy hauler did I start to turn the Van into a SMB!!
Here are a few of the toys I haul around!!


This is my 1200hp Race truck. Gonna be tearing it down and rebuilding it here in the near future so that I can hit 200mph in the Mojave Mile.




Street bike that I take to the track every so often. I'm trying to get off the street with it because one day something dumb is gonna happen with all the crazy drivers out there.


Stunt/Moto/beater bike


Trail riding bike


I go to a bunch of tracks all over So Cal and Nor Cal but plan on hitting up alot more of the events here in the near future once I get a few things settled in my life.
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Old 04-11-2013, 06:07 AM   #10
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Re: Motor sporting SMBers out there?

^^^ nice toy collection. that truck is badass! details?

Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Maybe there needs to be a camper-van class in autocross?
we have a truck class for the hillclimbs. a tacoma has the record at freezeout right now. someone come take it from him, lol.
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