<<<<<<br>Finally, a long awaited gathering in San Diego is<br>materializing (at<br>least two of us are interested ;)). Folks in<br>Southern California ,<br>Arizona, and anyone willing to drive a few hours<br>might be interested too.<p>On Saturday January 23, 1999, there will be a 1 day<br>"High Performance<br>Driving" track event in San Diego County at<br>Holtville. Holtville is 2<br>hours East of San Diego and I'd guess about 3 hours<br>West of Phoenix.<p>Current thoughts are to meet for an early breakfast<br>in San Diego, then<br>caravan to Holtville for some track time. LA area<br>folks could spend<br>Friday night in San Diego, drive down to SD early in<br>the morning for<br>breakfast and/or caravan, or just drive directly to<br>Holtville.<p>Here is the information I have at this time:<br>The event has been hosted regularly for the last 5<br>years by Dave Turner,<p>http://www.daveturner.com<br>Cost: $100<br>Requirements: helmet<br>Description: "My driving events have just enough<br>structure to keep<br>things safe. We welcome all cars and usually get<br>from 35 to 50. I am in my 5th year of putting on<br>driving events and have never had an on track<br>incident.<br>The Holtville track is probably the safest race<br>course in the USA. It<br>is made up of airport runways and has plenty of<br>run-off room. The track is<br>1.5 miles with 9 turns.<br>I do have driving instructors available. There is<br>no tech inspection. You<br>are expected to bring a safe car to the track.<br>There is no gas at the track."<br>This sounds like an informal event, oriented for<br>track time. No timing,<br>no competitive racing, just you and your car and an<br>instructor if you want. He divides the cars up into<br>2 or 3 groups depending on how aggressive you want<br>to be. Each group will run about 10 laps each time<br>so you won't overheat<br>your tires, engine, or brakes. He said that brakes<br>suffer the most so<br>you might want to have new front pads and/or bring<br>an extra set. He<br>said it is easy to get in 50 laps, and if you try<br>real hard, 150.<p>I should get more information in December. I'd like<br>to get some<br>feedback from folks who might be interested. Please<br>email me directly<br>at mailto:kmiddaugh@ixpres.com so we can keep the<br>list traffic to a minimum.<br>>>>>><br>--<br>Ken Middaugh<br>General Atomics<br>San Diego<br>