This is the first of a series of updates youll be receiving over the coming weeks with more details as we get things confirmed. Starting with this note, the ensuing emails will be very important to ensuring a smooth event for everyone, so please do take the time to read them carefully. First the fun informational stuff. (There is other VERY IMPORTANT stuff further down.) Participant registration As I write this our numbers have surpassed 1,500 cars and 2,100 people registered. Please remember that we need each person to register individually in order for us to have an accurate count for food for both the Friday and Saturday BBQs. If someone will be attending with you, please make sure that they are registered. Social Media The reason we have been able to register so many cars is you! This has been a totally grassroots effort, enabled by people getting the word out through social media. Please continue to spread the word by sharing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – we want to break 1,600! We now have official hash tags: #MX5Turns25, #LongLiveDriving and the one we suggest for people to share their photos: #MiatasAtMRLS. Logo Gear In addition to t-shirts and hoodies there will be event posters and pins available at the Merchandise booth at the track. Pre-ordered shirts and hoodies will be available for pick up from the gear truck at the Friday check-in/record attempt, or from the Merchandise booth at the track during the weekend. Supporting Good Causes One of the benefits of getting large groups of like-minded people together is the opportunity to help others. As part of this event well be supporting the Monterey County Food Bank, the SPCA and the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. We will have bins for canned food donations at the Friday event, and all three of these great causes will be represented at booths at the entrance to the Fan Zone all weekend for further donations or volunteering information. Miata transport We have been fortunate in being able to get some“good guy” rates to transport cars to the event from both U.S. and Canadian transport companies. Please click on the “Miata Transport” tab on the left side of the page at the event website. Photos/Video In case you hadnt figured it out yet, this is going to be a very special event that will also include lots of press coverage! There will be lots of media and PR people there, which means that you should be prepared for the possibility of being in photos or video that might later be published. Photo Drones Due to track safety regulations DRONES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED AT THE TRACK. We’ve contracted with the same helicopter group as last year for this year’s aerial photography/video work. Self-Guided trips of the area As not everyone is into all the racetrack aspects of the event, we want to offer other options for people during the day. Mazda has prepared some great self-guided trips around the gorgeous Monterey area, designed by people who know it intimately. Well be posting maps and info soon so you can get together with friends (new and old) to have a drive. Special Guests At this point we can absolutely confirm that Tom Matano, Bob Hall, Norman Garrett and Mark Jordan will be attending. They’ll be speaking, interacting and mingling. Stay tuned – it’s going to be exciting to get so many of that original ‘A’ Team all together in one place. More Fun Stuff In addition to BBQs on Friday and Saturday night we’ll have our own DJ on Saturday, along with a movie in the park on Saturday. There will also be an entire “Fan Zone” in the paddock area with a cool display of heritage cars, another display with a host of race cars, and two racing simulators. The next generation MX-5! Look forward to something very rare and special just for us! I’m happy to report that as part of the event you’ll be able to view the one-of-a-kind prototype design model for the next generation MX-5. This very delicate model isn’t something that would ever normally be put on display, but has been brought from Mazda’s studios for us enthusiasts to see. It’s a private glimpse into the history of the design process of this gorgeous new car. Now for the more important stuff: What to bring: The usual Miata gear (sunscreen and a hat) are a good start, plus something to sit on for the movie/BBQ on Saturday evening (a folding chair or blanket). Also a snack or lunch and something to drink during the day on Friday. (Note: We have arranged with Embassy Suites to provide some excellent box lunch choices at a very reasonable cost. Details to come). Most importantly bring a great attitude and willingness to be flexible and pitch in and help if needed. Standard Miata enthusiast stuff! Friday’s world record attempt: The plan is to build a giant solid block of cars, with “MX-5 25” spelled out in empty spaces inside the block. Needless to say this is a very ambitious undertaking, and well need a lot of organization and all the help we can get from everyone to make it a success. We will also need about 40 more volunteers to help us with the registration process. This will involve simply getting people to sign the waiver form, check them off the list and get their wristband on. If you’re interested please drop Lisa an email at lisajo885@yahoo with “Friday Volunteer” in the subject line. This will all take place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Wolf Hill. We will be sending out a separate email with time schedule, maps and detailed instructions within the next week. For planning purposes, we will start checking in and staging cars from at 11am to 3 pm on Friday, with the goal of having everyone in place for a very important event at 3pm, followed by group photos and video of the world record attempt at 4pm. The BBQ will go from 4pm to 7pm. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for everyone to have their cars at the staging area on time so that we have everyone there before 3pm. Trust me – you won’t want to miss this. Check in groups: We’ve devised a system to help reduce the amount of time you’ll need to wait in line at Friday’s world record. Everyone will need to be part of a group whether by geographic area, club, group of friends. To keep things going smoothly each group will have an assigned check-in time. Group size should be a minimum of 20 cars and a max of 80 cars. We’ve started a new section at Miataforum to facilitate this, and will be looking for Group Leaders. The Group Leader will help keep the group together, ensure they arrive at their assigned time, and will help with the final documentation/verification process for the world record. Each group will then drive through the entrance to the grid, where they will be directed to first park their cars, then go to one of the registration tables to check in. Please join a group! Individuals not in groups just showing up for the record/registration process will just hold up the entire operation. We will be posting detailed check-in instructions along with maps at the website, Facebook and Miata.net soon. Our “Head Cat Wrangler” for the groups will be Ami (jacobsona@gmail), who will be the primary point of contact and coordination for all the group leaders. The importance of check-in: Make sure you check in! Once parked, you will be directed to registration tables where you’ll need to sign waiver forms and get your wristband. That wristband should stay on your wrist all weekend and will allow access into the track and paddock area. There will be a lot of cars going in and out of the paddock, and the people guarding the gate will need to see your wristband to allow you through – that means BOTH people in the car. Check in will also help us document/verify the world record you’ll be participating in. We will be posting a group check-in schedule as well as a map/diagram of the registration/record area and step by step directions at the website soon. Parking at the track: Due to the sheer numbers of cars, parking in the paddock area will be tightly controlled – MX-5 Miatas and approved support vehicles only. If the paddock gets filled, please be patient as we direct you to other parking areas. We will be sending out more details of the parking plan in subsequent emails. Parade laps: We will be offering parade laps starting at noon on Saturday, going out in 3 waves, with each wave taking 30 minutes. The first group will be NAs, the second group NBs, and (you guessed it) the third group NCs. We’ll do our best to get everyone out there for laps, so we’ll need everyone to work together to make this happen. On Sunday we’ll offer one 30 minute parade lap session for those who missed out on Saturday. We will need 20 additional volunteers to help us direct traffic during the Parade laps. If you would like to help, please send an email to lisajo885@yahoo with “Parade lap volunteer” in the subject line. Sponsors and Vendors: We’re fortunate to have lots of great sponsors who have been with us from the very beginning, and a record number of new vendors joining us this year. Please make sure to take a stroll through Vendor Alley, where you’ll find a huge assortment of awesome items and special deals you’ll find only at this event. This is a wonderful chance to personally meet the people who have made these businesses so successful, to ask questions and learn about their products. Haartz Corporation (the maker of the material used in MX-5 tops) will be giving away a brand new top along with $200 towards installation via an online giveaway. Complete details can be found on cards you can pick up at any registration table or at Event Central. Special thanks to our supporting event sponsors: Miata.net P R Motorsports Flyin’ Miata Moss Miata Goodwin Racing 949 Racing TrackMasters Racing (organizer of the track event portion of the weekend) Haartz Corporation And thanks also to our vendors: Clearwater Audio Trackspeed Engineering Blackbird Fabworx American International Motorsports (AIM Tire) Bauer Ltd (Catfish cars) Lesher Motorsports Maruha Motors of Japan Monster Miata Chikara Motorsports V8 Roadsters Jackson Racing Miata Mecca
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 17:19:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015