Laguna Seca ALMS race 12-13 May 2012

The race was not quite as Formula 1, but worth it. The track is very accessible - you can walk around if six hours of concentration on the race feels overwhelming. Besides, you can view the race and take pictures from virtually every location around the track. 


The BMW corral was very well organized, placed near turn five. There were many vendors, booths of VW, McLaren, Chevy, Cadillac, etc., but unfortunately, BMW wasn’t present. 


I would highly recommend the event for race aficionados who do not want to travel far or pay a pile of money for a real race experience. The cost of the ticket was $50 per person plus $15 corral pass per car. Compare this to the typical $500 and up for an F1 race and the experience feels even better.
-Damian Kachlakev

Photos by Damian Kachlakev

News!

May 19th - There will be an informal (unofficial) drive after the Donut Derelicts weekly show in Arroyo Grande in the OSH lot on Oak Park.  The cars start leaving at 9:00 so plan to get there earlier and look them over.  There is always a good selection of hot rods with a few exotics as well, the Ferrari Daytonas of Tom Elerding and Richard Cole often participate.

Please let me know if you plan to attend - this event is not sanctioned by BMWCCA and will not be insured.  We may decide the route on the spot, but Foxen Canyon from Santa Maria to Santa Ynez for brunch is trending well early.  

June 3 - The new Spring date for the San Luis Obispo Concours to be held near the Madonna Inn.  A link with information on the activities and all the details for the weekend:  http://www.sanluisobispoconcours.com/  They have offered space for a BMW Corral for $10 per car in addition to the $10 general admission.  Once again, please advise if you are interested and I will make arrangements for the corral.

Take a good look at the website as there are a number of activities over the weekend, all for a good cause, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County.

In other news, I may not have a BMW on the road by then (the '72 CSi is still in the garage).  We purchased a new Mazda 3 hatchback and the red 330i will be sold, my wife much more comfortable in the Mazda.  

We had a great turnout for the Pozo drive, 20 people in 14 cars.  In addition, some youngsters from the Cal Poly Driving Club joined us at the start, although they were driving a different route.  One of them rode with us in his early CS coupe, a black beauty.  A very nice fellow - if anyone caught his name please let me know, as I would like to make contact with the Poly group.    I saw a silver Z3 that came to an untimely end where 229 tees into 58, the young driver trying to look cool with a very large CHP officer looming over the roadster, assessing the situation.  It appeared he ran off the pavement and into some brush at speed, the front end seriously deranged but not from impact.  I don't know if he was part of the Poly group, as there were lots of folks out that day including a LARGE number of motorcycles.

Cheers, Dennis