Driving Country Clubs

[gaijin]

Driving Country Clubs Bring the Autobahn Close to Home

by Andrius Mikonis
ForbesAutos.com

CHICAGO — Do you have a fast car but nowhere to see what it will do? A driving country club may be coming to a metropolitan area near you.

Think golf country club amenities, but with a racetrack instead of links. It’s a place close to home where members can go to exercise their cars and driving abilities in a safe environment, without worrying about speed traps. Most importantly, this is not professional racing, but rather somewhere to drive as fast as you like, as often as you like.

The idea has evolved over the last few years, with three clubs already open and with more on the way. Established clubs are attracting everyone from professional drivers and racecar builders to car enthusiasts. The only qualifications members need are a fast car, driving certification to be determined by the facility, and of course, you have to pay to play.

The key here is the club component, setting these businesses apart from the traditional racetrack venue by offering regular on-track driving opportunities without having to join a sanctioning body or wait for special events. This most often takes the form of a country club model, where members pay an initiation fee and annual dues for track access and use of a clubhouse and related facilities.

A prime example is the Autobahn Country Club, which opened this spring in Joliet, Ill., and is an hour's drive from downtown Chicago. “It’s the first purpose-built club of its kind,” says founder and president Mark Basso, “We’re getting a lot of interest from around the country.”

A carefully landscaped 3.57-mile road course winds around 320 acres. A larger clubhouse is in the works to supplement the Autobahn’s current building. Members can also lease trackside lots to build their own garage and spectator buildings.

"Members are on their own as far as insurance coverage if they wreck their car, but they are covered as participants under the club's liability insurance," Basso said.

But men aren't the ones having all the fun. Three primary members are women. Steve Wagner, one of the four founders of ACC says there are several members' wives, almost a dozen by his estimate, who come out and drive on a regular basis.

Developer Matt Page, who is laying out plans for a soon-to-be announced 800-acre site in northern Texas, says his country club will feature a combination of Old English architecture and “the look of a Kentucky horse farm.” Even garage facilities will resemble stables. Page wants it to feel more like an exclusive and relaxing retreat than a racetrack. Truck access to the paddock will be through a separate entrance to keep the operations behind the scenes. A high level of service, including a concierge, will be this club’s hallmark.

A quite different club idea is under construction at the Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. Alan Wilson, who designed Autobahn and many other tracks worldwide, said this setup is based on drivers’ clubs at the Goodwood and Silverstone tracks in England and the Sports Car Club of South Africa, which he says are “great social places where at any time you could bump into Formula One drivers.”

The Miller Motorsports Park track will hold sanctioned races — four organizations have already signed on — as well as have a private club that will have a core membership, but will also be open to credentialed members of the visiting race. Home club members will not only have ample track use, but also free spectator access during races where they will be able to meet and socialize with the incoming group. “The idea is to mix and match elements of motorsports,” explains Wilson.

Autobahn management feels that opening the private club to car shows is important for business, with plans to include a public car museum as part of the clubhouse. “It adds to the excitement of the race track atmosphere, but the members will always have a private area to retreat to,” Basso said.

The cost of annual fees differs between each club. Racers can expect to spend $3,000 annually at the Autobahn Country Club, $100 to $175 per month at the Virginia International Raceway, and $50 to $75 per month at Ranch. Also, the VIR and Ranch have additional charges for usage by day or half hour, respectively, while ACC does not. Most of the clubs in development have pricing posted to pre-sell memberships.

The main attraction at all these clubs is a road-racing course, though some of the clubs will offer other driving venues such as kart tracks, skidpads, and less commonly drag strips and off-road trails. Though driver certification is required by all, typically these tracks are designed with safety in mind because a wide variety of skill levels will be accommodated. This means ample room to run off the track without hitting anything, as well as limiting speeds by keeping the length of the straightaways relatively short.

Matt Page, however, says his Texas club will have a much longer straightaway on one of three courses for only the most competent drivers, as this will be useful for manufacturers that might rent the track for testing. “Everything will be built to SCCA standards,” he said. “Safety is first.”

Another feature nearly all these clubs possess is a track with multiple configurations, allowing club members to drive simultaneously and independently while another group can rent another part of the track. You’ll see anything from street cars to vintage race cars to motorcycles. Page says he wants to “celebrate all kinds of motorized vehicles,” and he wants to make room for “gearheads with muscle cars, even Model T’s.”

All of these racing clubs run in much the same way, by grouping similar vehicles and drivers together to go out on the track for a predetermined length of time, then the next group goes out. Occasionally, there might be timed racing. Rental customers include car clubs looking for track time, sanctioned organizations holding races, manufacturers for testing, consumer events, or training employees, and corporate clients looking for an activity. “We sold out every weekend and 60 percent of the weekdays,” Basso said. “It takes the burden off the members to have to cover all the operating costs.”

Location is an important consideration. Back in 2000, the scenic 3.27-mile road course of the Virginia International Raceway was resurrected after a long hiatus, and reopened as America’s first driving country club. However, it is billed as a resort destination catering to both in-state and out-of-state members. The advantage of a club like Autobahn is its proximity to a major city; the club is 49 miles from Chicago. “You can leave the office at noon, get an afternoon of driving in, and still be home for dinner,” Basso said.

Alan Wilson thinks noise is the biggest problem with getting a new club built in a populated area these days. “The noise issue doesn’t have to be a necessity,” he says, pointing out that most recreational drivers won’t see any difference driving a car on the track with a muffed exhaust. “These clubs will evolve, and without the noise will no longer be a negative to the surrounding area. Then they will be more socially acceptable.”

The demand is there. At the end of Autobahn’s season, only 20 memberships remained available from the original 300. “We had an amazing year,” said Basso.

Photos courtesy of Autobahn.

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Clubs in Operation:

Autobahn Country Club
Joliet, Ill.
815/722-2223
autobahnmb@comcast.net
www.autobahncountryclub.net

Motorsport Ranch
Cresson, Texas
817/512-3162
info@motorsportranch.com
www.motorsportranch.com

VIRginia International Raceway Motorsport Country Club
Alton, Va.
434/822-7700
www.virclub.com

Clubs to watch:

Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
801/563-4175
bmiller@millermotorportspark.com
http://millermotorsportspark.com

Club Motorsports, Valley Motorsports Park
Tamworth, N.H.
www.clubmotorsports.com

New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, N.J.
www.njmotorsportspark.com

Pine Run Motorsports Park
Pine City, Minn.
651/982-4778
info@pinerunracing.com
www.pinerunracing.com

Matt Page can be contacted at straight8llc@hotmail.com
Website under construction

[bobbyhi]

Good article. Never knew that these existed. I see that Minnesota is trying for build one. Hope it goes ahead. Sounds like a great place to race. Thanks again for the article.

[cuisinartvette]

They need to spread the joy out here, hardly anywhere to run

Pomona-No street "grudge" nights
LACR-You'll run faster in outer space.
Bakersfield-Closed for winter?!

And people wonder why the street racing problems are so bad...

[WB9MCW]

Joliet Jake is very happy. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to J-town and check it out someday! thnx 4 the nice info post !

[Corvette95]

Any more word on these clubs?

[midnite902]

Motor Sports Ranch in Cressen Texas

[evl_twn]

Autobahn is up and running. One of the groups I do motorcycle trackdays with ( www.nesba.com ) has regular events there. I'm not sure about 4 wheeled events.