I'll be doing a track day on July 12th at the Lightning Circuit at New Jersey Motorsports Park with EMRA (Eastern Motor Racing Association). They are a great club and I've done two days with them before and had a great time. I want some fellow RX-8 guys to come down with me!!

They are offering the Deal of the Century for drivers who have never ran with EMRA before: $100 OFF for the day!! (Regular cost is $225 pre-registration, or $275 late registration) They will also hit first-timer's with a $20 TT license fee for the morning technical instruction in the morning. Total cost for EMRA newbies = $145 For myself and others who have done an EMRA event before, it's 225.

Information about Time Trials with Emra is here:
http://www.emraracing.org/Emratt.htm

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What: Time trial practice sessions plus timed sessions. They run 20ish-minute lapping sessions, and run between 3 and 5 of these sessions over the course of the day, depending on how many cars are there. You will get at least 60, and probably closer to 90 minutes of high speed track time. Also, they have experienced instructors who can go out with you for your first session(s) if you'd like. Passing is usually restricted to straightaways and with a point-by.

Where: New Jersey Motorsports Park in southern NJ. I'll be driving down from Long Island.
Lightning Circuit is a 2-mile road course. Click here for track Video [click here for track map]
For you guys who have only done something like the smallish circuit at Etown, this is a legit full-size road course, and I'm sure you'll see speeds of 115+ mph in your 8's.

When: Sunday, July 12th 2009. Tech inspection is usually around 8AM.

Who: Anyone! EMRA will organize groups for each session based on driving experience and relative speed of cars. I did my first day with EMRA a few years ago and had no previous track experience, and there are lots of first-timers there. Lots of people there are also seasoned racers with decades of driving experience.
Any car can run, as long as it passes basic tech/safety inspection. Modified cars are also certainly allowed, although they may be assigned to different classes than stock.

How: (Note that online registration will only be open for this event after June 23rd. I'm just posting this ahead of time even though you have to wait till the 23rd to actually sign up.)
Online registration is really easy. Make a profile at:
http://www.emraracing.org/EmraRegi.htm#eregi and go from there. I'm not sure how the first-timer discount works with the online registration, but email me or the EMRA registrar with any problems.

Other info: Time Trialing is NOT a race. However, the final session of the day involves timed laps where cars are spaced out so you can put in your best possible lap time. Performances are sorted into different car classes, which can be found on the EMRA website so you can compare how you all did. www.EMRAracing.org

You will need a helmet, and it "must meet Snell M2000, SA2000, M2005, or SA2005 certifications." Borrow one from a friend with a motorcycle, someone on the forums, or I found a decent one on ebay for 40 bucks.

You don't have to do much to get your car ready, but there are a few things on the "good idea" list. Changing brake pads is definitely up there. Flushing coolant and brake fluid is also a good one. We can talk more about car prep later though.

Feel free to contact me with questions or to organize a group drive down there from the NYC area.

-Andrew B.
PM me, or email elysium19[at]gmail.com

PS- Here are some photos from my first two days with EMRA (before I modded the car at all!)

 

i was gonna go to this but unfortunately i work that day.

 

This sounds awesome. hopefully some interest gains for this. I would like to attend

 

Count me in for sure... marking it on my calender right now

 

i will go for sure if you can guarantee my hard top will get on the track.....they have clauses for roll bars on verts and i wanna be certain.......other wise i got my helmet and im ready to go!

 

Im in,,,, cant wait...

 

I just emailed them to check about this. I have a feeling you would need a rollcage but let me verify this. My girlfriend has a miata and she wanted to know as well. Idon't know if I would trust those hardtop latches, personally, in a rollover.

See section 2.1.2 in the car prep booklet:
http://www.emraracing.org/forms/EMRA_Rules_Ver_21.pdf

It's sort of ambiguous though, so I'll let you know what he says.

 

Awesome! I'm keeping a list in the first post and will remind everyone to register once it opens up.

 

i used to live 20mins from there damn i would love to go but my daughter turns 2 that day

 

Sign me up, heading to NJMP this saturday in fact to go gokarting.

 

mine is an NC with a power retractable hardtop.....not a placed one......so when its on its on.....im kind of a grey area

 

The response from the safety officer:
"The factory hard top may remain on the car, however the car is still considered a convertible, and must have a 4 point roll bar. A full cage is not required for time trials."

You are sort of in a gray area, but I think they assume (probably correctly) that any top that folds up can't be THAT strongly reinforced.

You wouldn't need a full roll cage, but you would need a roll bar, which I doubt you'd want to put in just for this. [If you are interested, they can be bought new for about $350. For examples, see http://www.bethania-garage.com/why.htm ]

Sorry bud, but hope that helps...

For everyone else, just to be clear, RX-8's do NOT need any kind of roll bar. Just convertibles, to be on the safe side ;-)

 

Don't count me in, but I'll definitely be watching this. My friend who owns a G37 might join.

 

My friend may join me in his WRX

 

You know what? Count me in.

Does your vehicle have to be inspected by a mechanic with a form prior to the event or is it just a self-completed checklist.

Will there be helmets available to be borrowed?

 

Hey there

no, it does not need a mechanic's inspection. they will run a basic tech inspection in the morning, that's all you'll need. we can talk about car prep here beforehand, you really dont need to do anything except take the junk out of your trunk.

There probably will NOT be helmets to borrow. I bought a motorcycle helmet online for $50, just make sure it's properly certified according to the webpages posted above, or PM me for details. Or ask around the forum, I'm sure a lot of local guys could help you out.

Sweet!

 

i want to go its just way to far. got to try and set up a carvan if anything.

 

i would so be all over this if they werent such sticklers.....i been on englishtown and they were just fine with it....this place sucks!

 

I would imagine that it has to do with the greater potential speeds that you can reach as opposed to a smaller track like Englishtown

 

makes no difference....my car has roll bars behind the seatbacks but they arent good enough for this particular track.....if i can drive on limerock which is a far older and more known track why couldnt I drive on nj motorsports tracks.....the track just isnt doing roll over research on certain types of hard top convertibles so they ban them all.....its sad and lazy

 

Im waiting for A LOT OF PARTS for my FC to come in, should be all here by friday, then I will work as fast as I can see if I can get it up and running.

if my FC isnt ready by then, I just gonna take my 8 out.

and I need to get a helmet ...

so I MIGHT go. not sure yet.

 

That'd be pretty sweet if you could get the FC to go lol

 

was just there this past friday - see my vid in the multimedia section...

 

I'm in as well. This is going to be my first track event. I'm most likely going to bring a friend along who will be driving a Porsche 911 Turbo. haha

 

hellz yeah Garrett... you got a helmet...