Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Thought I should give you an update on progress on the Sol Real Resort. We continue to present to prospective members and investors each Tuesday evening, with excellent response. Our legal documents are close to being finalized which will let us get serious with investors. The highlight of last Tuesday was a locally produced simulator on which my track layout had been created so people could drive the course, including me. The computer programmer did a great job on inputting what is at the moment a conceptual plan, so it was pretty close. Best lap time was his, he has had more time with it, and in a Rahal BMW the track has an average speed just over 100mph. Four high speed points with over 160 mph on the main back straight, but 150 possible at a couple of other points. I know this will get faster as people sort out the corners.

The thing that struck me was that apart from myself and the computer guy who input the tack, and does drive, no one else had a "mental map" of where they were. Given that the layout has been out there almost since the day we started I was very surprised. For any driver the most important thing to learn is to develop the map in your mind with all the gear changes, braking points etc, so that driving the car is automatic. One driver could not even tell which layout he was on despite driving it for probably twenty laps! The simulator will be at the presentations every evening, and our own unit will be available in five weeks. It will be a valuable marketing and training tool, as well as a great addition to the clubhouse. It will have a wide range of other tracks and cars to drive, and the kart track of course.

In other news we have the land in escrow and have started the rezoning and development process with the city. We have our engineering and legal team engaged, and the first meeting with the city was very encouraging. Membership applications will be available next week, which do not require and financial commitment until the track is built, but secures a place in the list.

Well we now have the design for the Austin F1 track, and I think it is everything we feared. They say it will be a classic track, and it is, classic Tilke. How many corners can we fit in? Over 20 is the answer.

In other bad news, Cycle News has ceased publication, the only weekly motorcycle magazine here in the US. When I came over to run the USGP for Kenny in '93 I was amazed at the lead time for the other monthly's, we could barely run a couple of ads for a race nine months away. Victim of the internet or is there something else going on here?

Rome is the latest place that says it is going to run an F1 GP in 2012. Is anyone keeping track of how many races there will have to be in 2012 to accommodate all these? Or who is going to lose their race is probably the better question. Spa? One thing is for sure, Bernie has plenty of options for squeezing more money out of, Russia, India, Qatar, Bulgaria, Rome and Austin. We won't have a race at a track we recognize soon, or worse, one that we want to watch.

On the home front I moved house over the weekend, not a lot of fun even though we have done it often. Still sorting out the mess. Looks as if the Grand Bayou track in Louisiana is ready to move on a redesign, and still having contacts with overseas potential circuits. Sol Real has been going through some introspection and rethink on the site, but we are about through that. Basic layout will not change as the lots here are all based around a section, one square mile. So I can now get into the detail of the layout and look at how to build in some elevation without moving a million cubic yards of dirt! Good presentation again last evening and another likely founder. Once we have the legal documents finalized we can move on closing some deals.

My day started early with calls and e-mails from here and the UK. Long talk with an old friend who had some interesting information about recent departures at NASCAR and ISC. The downturn in interest is starting to hurt at very high levels. Talked about the direction of the sport and the growth of country clubs, and the Cologne Forum on tracks.

No sooner had we got off the call with me promising to send him details of the Forum but there was an e-mail inviting me to a panel discussion in an extra session at the Forum on "The Future of Motorsport Circuit and Venue Design." That should be interesting and very nice to be asked as the first panelist. Apparently the Track Engineering session that I am moderating is being well received.

Then had a call from the UK about a software/hardware system to manage our memberships and operations at Sol Real. Certainly an interesting morning.

Thank you Eddie for some insight into Rossi's potential problems, but it also occurred to me that Yamaha may be being less than helpful to him now. There was a piece that said he was not given the new front forks to try at the Brno test the day after he formally announced he is going to Ducati.

Marcus Ambrose is going to Richard Petty Motorsport and Ford. RPM have not had a lot of success lately, but they do seem to be on the way back, so let's hope Marcus can continue a successful NASCAR career with them.

Here in Arizona it is the monsoon season. You probably thought monsoons only happened in places in Asia, but no we have them. Usually just means the humidity is a bit higher, nothing like Louisiana, but enough for the natives. Last night we had a heavy storm which curtailed the attendance a bit at our Tuesday presentation, but still went well. If all the people who put off till next week come it will be standing room only! Have an interest from Los Angeles for a group of members, so word really spreading. The searches for this blog site include a number using Sol Real, so that tells us we are having an impact despite only being "live" for a couple of weeks.

As the motorsport world is getting back to business I thought I would just bring you up to date on the Sol Real project. Still early days and we continue to present to would-be members. Starting to move beyond that to begin the engineering process and think through the operations and management once we are up and running. Potential members ask a lot of questions about how this is going to work, so we need to have the answers, and be ready to turn the switch on once we do have pavement.

Looking at membership databases, and what sort of information we want to store on our members. No point in re-inventing the wheel if there is something out there that will do what we want. We have the people to write exactly what we need, but then there is all the testing to make sure it works, and the ongoing support.

Meeting with the local engineer down at the site later this week. I always like to work with a local engineer, he knows the codes, soils, materials and contractors better than I obviously do, so with my input on the racing side we get the best of both worlds.

Seems we are stirring up the other tracks in the region. First there was the one who did not want me to come and inspect it for the SCCA, and now another is getting all out of shape about some things on our web site. We must be doing things right. Healthy competition is what this country is about. I recall when I rebuilt Phillip Island and wanted a Touring Car race CAMS said we had to get the OK from all the other tracks within 200 miles! You can guess how well that worked. Talk about restraint of trade. If you have confidence in your own product why do you fear the competition. As I said before, let's grow the market by providing more places for people to go rather than fight over the last couple left because there are no decent tracks. Some Country Clubs are collaborating by offering driving rights at each others venues, now that is building the market. Not sure that I would want to do that unless the other venue is on par commercially, it might devalue our membership.

Not much other excitement, MotoGP had a test day at Brno and Lorenzo was still quickest. Rossi still running around fourth. Do we think this is still the leg and shoulder problem, or is he accepting this year is done and waiting for Ducati? Hard to see such a competitor doing that, but I am surprised how he did not run better at Brno. Any comments?

"The devil is in the details" as they always say, and they would be correct. Starting something like Sol Real from absolute scratch is about details, and what to attack first. Projects evolve, so you do not want to lock into some things too early, but you still have to give sensible answers to questions, and "I don't know" does not instill confidence. Following the successful first presentation we met yesterday to go over the questions that prompt the need to fine tune the details of our package. Country Clubs for motorsport are still in their early stage of development as an idea, and each of the existing  clubs are working from their own model, so there is not a set path to follow, which is both good and bad. There are so many possible scenarios as well, and some of the answers will have to be developed over time and experience.

Working through mundane stuff like business cards and some corporate clothing takes time, but are important part of building our brand. More meetings scheduled in the coming days with small groups or individuals, and a group presentation will be staged every Tuesday from now on. Moving forward and moving fast!

Not a lot else going on. ALMS at Mid-Ohio this weekend, but don't look for it on TV, it is delayed a week. Hope I can remember or be bothered to watch by then. How can you take this seriously with this sort of timetable. Can you imagine NASCAR doing this?