Country club for car enthusiasts?
source site - A Driver's Paradise - A Country Club For Racing - AutoSpies Auto News
I read about a Country Club in New York designed for people who like to drive fast cars, fast. Some people join country clubs for golf, in the case of the Monticello Motor Club, you join to drive fast.
Built at the site of a retired airport, developers have designed a race track with over 400 feet in elevation change, a sweeping corner with a 8 degree bank, and a straightaway capable of blasts up to 200 MPH.
Sound to good to be true? Well it is and it isn't.
this looks like an interesting place. why can't car enthusiasts have a country club like the golfers do? perhaps we need to do a bit of research on the appropriate model and economics of doing so. i believe there is a market, but a very small one, so only one country club might be doable at the moment.
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http://www.thefazz.com/me
naza:
Let me the first to sign up!.....
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»TheFazz:
you should check out the website.... *droool*
http://www.monticellomotorclub.com/
only catch: the membership admissions fee.
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»naza:
..only USD125,00 for initiation and USD7,500.00 per month...can la!
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»skwong:
A slightly better alternative strikes me - Nürburgring aka THE RING!
With EUR 20 you can blast your kapchai through 100 corners or so!
Details are here: http://www.nuerburgring.de/home.324.0.html
Some interesting youtube clips of Top Gear on THE RING
See how Sabine schmitz lapped the Ring in a van!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f95lV9ATzFw
Jeremy Clarkson pushes his Jaguar (Diesel) around the Ring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA6uEuh0ELY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr1DLLkzKL8
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»timmsm:
Mizi / Fizzy - time to renegotiate the allowances
__________________________Da Lobster
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»saa73:
That's a great idea...I think we have a slowly but surely growing market for this...and why not..a lot of us already hang out together socially anyway..so instead of going to Fazz's house, we can go to club instead!
For us at my-KART - it may start with getting a small club area, with a view to getting our own "club house" on the premises of CK perhaps?
But going for a full fledged country club would probably mean we need to have that somewhere around Sepang, and in collaboration with other car enthusiast and motorsports clubs/organisers like BMW Club, Alfa, HPC, etc...
Of course, as AJK Makan...I'll ensure the food's top class..
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»Jules:
Okay. Time to put money in mouth.
If I do this, how many of you will join? To elaborate, an organisation I am atached to is looking at a PD located CAR track.....and this club thing can be easily done.
Keen? If yes, who?
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»Jules:
Btw, this idea is NOT NEW.
See the Ascari Race Resort on www.ascari.net
Even Jeremy Clarkson and the TOP GEAR has used this....
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»karter_stuart:
SIGN ME UP
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»TheFazz:
sounds interesting.... however, PD is location-wise away from the where the target market (middle income) is.... however, if it is a premium club (like the one above), then perhaps it may attract those people.
i would like somewhere near the klang valley. any chance of this?
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»edwynlow:
Early member can get discount ah? I'm game!!!!
__________________________Consistency. "Do one thing at a time; Jules" - EL
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»Tarmizi:
sounds like ulu ayam je
__________________________NO MONEY NO HONEY
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»edwynlow:
ULU AYAM!!!!! 2nder!!!!
__________________________Consistency. "Do one thing at a time; Jules" - EL
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»Tarmizi:
for those who just starting to think about driving their perodua or saga up and down ulu ayam, please do upgrade your brake systems. i suggest ventilated cross-drilled disc would do fine. mintex brake pads preferred.
HAHAHAHHAHA.
BEWARE OF THE SUBARU DOMINGO AWD VAN SAYUR!
__________________________NO MONEY NO HONEY
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»Jules:
Well, given the price of real estate in Klang Valley - I think any projects which need huge parcels of land such as a race track will incur monumental expenditure to just acquire the land. So in reality, there is NO CHANCE. Just look at what PKNS did to Batu Tiga....its a another featureless housing estate...
On the choice of this proposed facility, PD is not too far from KL and the location south is also ideal for our richer SG neighbours. So that's a compromise and ideal for business. Its afterall, not too far from F1 circuit or KLIA too.
Then of course, there's also the issue of land cost....which needless to say supports the location on its own accord.
On a separate area, some of you may know there is Kampung Gajagh car/bike track in Perak....close to Teluk Intan and that can be converted to a resort too, if you have the cash.....
In the end, any idea need funding and marketing sense to make it economically viable and sustainable in the long run. Its ppl like CFO Fazz who spoils the fun...he he but then that's his job!
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»TheFazz:
fair enough. what is the plan for the PD location?
in any case, my thoughts of a motorsports country club is as follows:
1/ safety is paramount
goes without saying. there should be on site medical facilities, emergency response and safety designs built into the track and club.
2/ needs to be family friendly
motorsports in malaysia today is a petrol-head hobby... very little family involvement. so casual enthusiasts (not your true hard core) will often find it difficult to get "visa" from the family. one way to solve this is to have facilities like swimming pool, playgrounds, playrooms, spa, salon etc for the family to enjoy whilst the petrol-head is burning rubber. like golf, when the golfer is "cutting grass", the rest of the family is either playing or relaxing.
3/ needs to allow multiple functions to happen concurrently
often tracks are built such that one group function occurs at a time. so you may find it difficult to use the track if some other group is already using it. which means that you give up after trying a few times. golfers today can generally go to the course at anytime.
4/ needs to be available on weekdays, nights, and in rain
most tracks are available for a limited period: on a dry weekend day, which limits to only 2 twelve hour sessions per week... very underutilised, and therefore a huge cost burden. perhaps pricing deals can make it attractive to be used on weekdays, in the wet and at night (or a combination of these). solving this will also help 2 above. golfers usually go on weekdays too! now there is night golfing as well.
5/ overall cost of running and membership fees must not be too far off from golf
this is self explanatory.
6/ must have facilities for meetings, hanging out etc
a country club is usually a social club. so facilities for "lepak" must be there. it must be a DESTINATION for people to willingly take a (especially) a long drive out.
7/ the facilities must have minimal environment damage
ideally, existing flora and fauna must not be significantly touched to build this country club. so using existing (unused) country roads, terrain, topography etc is a must. the targeted customers are generally more conscious of these issues nowadays.
8/ must support grassroots, and motorsports development
it should be open to general public and must feature on grassroots motorsports development programmes. this must again not be yet another elitist motorsports club. so i would say membership should be open to all... although we need to have some value proposition for premium members too.
9/ proximity
my original point to jules is this. generally, proximity will allow regular visits. so we may need to test, simulate and balance the overall development cost versus the revenue streams. it is like opening a shop: the choice is whether you want to open it in mid-valley mall (high cost, but high traffic), or at shah alam (lower cost, low traffic)? at the end it is about the overall economics of doing so. looking at cost alone is insufficient. my hypothesis is that the elasticity of demand, and behaviour of general motorsports "customers" is not so good - in a sense that they won't go too far (take SIC).
anyway. love this discussion.
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»karter_stuart:
GUYS!! i was so surprised to see this when i randomly was flicking through TOKL (Time Out Kuala Lumpur) magazine! apparently there is already such a thing in Malaysia. its not as big and doesn't have all the features listed above i don't think but its a start....
the website is www.motopark.com.my
the place is situated in Bukit Jalil is its not too far to drive at all.
according to TOKL the place is still under construction and the finish date is yet to be announced but from the website it looks like its finished i think?
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»timmsm:
Looks like completion is targeted for Feb next year (http://www.motopark.com.my/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,60/func,view/catid,22/id,340/#340)
__________________________Da Lobster
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»karter_stuart:
my bad
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»Jules:
and the latest I heard abt the KL MotoPark is.....its OFF!
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»Jules:
Fazz,
Many thanks for your concise & well laid out reply. Yes, your points are valid and when developing any infrastructure projects - there are many considerations.
As stage, the plan is still in its infacy and the little I know of it is as follows :
Location
Well, the land belongs to one of our business associates and its an old plantation which is now abandoned. Due to this, the owner is willing to put this land into the project at minimal cost.
Hence that would explain how the PD location came about.
Well, PD is not that far logistically from KL and the site is just off the PD to Kuala Sungai Baru/Malacca border trunk road. It is on Negeri Sembilan side of the border.
I have colleagues who stay in Seremban and commote by car daily to KL, so I guess if they are hardcore enough - a drive to PD for a weekend out on track plus picnic for the family....cos it is close to the sea, is not unrealistic.
Now as a poor comparison - each time HPC organises a event, we have full house on all public groups. Yes, FULL house. I said poor cos sure, PD is not SIC but a track is more than just location.
It has to be the track layout, safety, management and value for money. Why build a track in downtown KL and charge an arm an leg to run? That will also kill all demand even if the supply is WORLD CLASS standard.
Anyhow, I take your points but unless you can provide me a land which befits your ideas of a great location....all we can do is talk & dream. Btw, its a CAR TRACK, so we expect ppl to drive their vehicles down. If it is a kart track then yes, more logistic nitemares to bring the karts there....
Safety
Due to the smallish plot of land - the track is also quite short by car standards. Yes, this is also due to the fact we have to allocate run-off areas, paddock building and a clubhouse. We plan this to be a advanced training circuit as well, so there will be areas for such exercises....I have seen the layout and hence I know. And yes, we can have 2 circuits running at the same time!
Impact on Natural Habitat/Flora
Sure, it is plan that we use the terrain and minimise any fauna and flora disturbance as this will optimise soil moving and later rehabilition cost. I must confess, we have not been on ground, so we dun know for sure.
Naturally, it all comes down to cost. At this moment - the facility is strictly a training and racing venue, not so much a club yet but I am sure, this can be managed when the availability of the facility is identified. Only then can the membership fees ( if such a format is adopted ) be determined but of course, no one will be a millionaire running this place - so I dun think the fees will be out of reach for the common folk.
Well, guys - that is all I can reveal at this moment and for the sake of motoring, I am hopeful the promoters of the circuit will be sucessful. At least then, I too have another place to play...
Cheers!
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»TheFazz:
jules
thanks for the reply. i note the circumstances of the development and agree that for cars, PD may not be a bad proposition in terms of distance.
in terms of pricing, i am of the opinion that demand (and elasticity) determines the price. i generally do not approach pricing on a cost plus basis, but would instead ask what does the demand curve look like.
as you say, there is quite a demand for track time - as proven by the HPC events.
however, mine is only a conceptual point to state that i do believe that a city located driving club is not necessarily out of the question. that said, if there is insufficient demand then building in the heart of KL may be a loss proposition.
as for the KL motor park - i was looking forward to it... but sad if it is canceled.
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