Author Topic: Mojave mile info is out!  (Read 17822 times)

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Online Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2009, 10:55:21 AM »
Just a hypothetical question as we won't be going to the MMile anyway:

Our leathers have built-in body armor - but I don't know if it's CE-rated or not.  I wonder if we showed up at inspection with our leathers -- would they look for the CE rating - or would they simply note "Yeah, he's got body armor" and let us pass?

Just wondering.
Jon E. Wennerberg
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Offline Dean Los Angeles

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2009, 11:15:08 AM »
Quote
Totally different animal.  Short course, asphalt, aimed at street cars/bikes.

I wouldn't be so quick to call it a short course. No dirt or traction issues. Look at the speeds as Maxton.
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Offline Nortonist 592

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #17 on: December 02, 2009, 08:31:21 PM »
Quote
No dirt or traction issues.

Looks like no land speed racers either.
Get off the stove Grandad.  You're too old to be riding the range.

Offline Glen

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #18 on: December 02, 2009, 08:38:40 PM »
I doubt if it will be a big spectator draw, more like a bunch of street racers. From reading their web site the set up is for making laps and no spectator park along the course. Hope they have success with the event.
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Offline willieworld

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #19 on: December 02, 2009, 09:14:34 PM »
slim    that is a good question----you know i dont have a problem with any rule if its written down i will obey it ---what really pi$$es me off is when they (rules) are applied differant from one person to the next or from one group to the next------i want all of you to have a fun and safe holiday -----willie buchta
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Offline isiahstites

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #20 on: December 02, 2009, 10:08:42 PM »
isiah stites may be the only one there ---that is if he has the right tires ----if anyone plans on going i would read the rules a couple of times     willie buchta

Not looking likely Willie.............I do not have CE armour in my leathers and I am not sure if I want to pay for them to be changed.

It does sound like an awesome event that is being put on and I hope that they do well.

Scott

It looks like they will accept some "off the rack" racing leathers with stretch panels. You can find deals on good one piece suits with all the armour, if you shop around.

Thats a good idea Randy! I wouldn't mind having a riding set of leathers.

Scott

McRat

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2009, 10:24:54 PM »
I doubt if it will be a big spectator draw, more like a bunch of AIRPORT racers. From reading their web site the set up is for making laps and no spectator park along the course. Hope they have success with the event.

Fixed it for you!   :cheers:

Can't be street racing, that's free, and you don't keep your car when you're though.  The State of California keeps it.


Offline 836dstr

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2009, 07:51:49 PM »
I was kind of intrigued at first but quickly released that there were not many LSR Cars that would qualify because of design or operating characteristics. Too bad, always looking for other venues.

Could change topic title to "Mojave mile  is out!" Best of luck to them.

Tom
« Last Edit: December 03, 2009, 07:54:07 PM by 836dstr »

Offline KeithU

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MKM comments Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #23 on: December 20, 2009, 02:59:26 AM »
Calm down folks, don't panic, stay cool.  8-)

The Mojave Mile rules that you've been flaming commenting on, are marked "preliminary" for a reason.  If you check the website, you'll see that they've been pulled for rework.  I'm willing to admit that maybe the book was a bit too "preliminary" to have been released.

Oh - forgot to introduce myself, my name is Keith, and I'm the "K" in MKM Racing, promoters of the Mojave Mile.  I'm largely responsible for the rulebook.

We really do appreciate the commentary. As you know, we don't come from the LSR community.  Lacking that background, maybe we missed the mark a bit on the first pass.  McRat had an excellent observation, that we appeared to be catering to late model street cars and bikes. He is correct.  That is a large part of our target market. However, we certainly aren't out to exclude anyone, or any group as a whole.  I'm here to tell you that we're willing to be accomodating.  In fact, we're possibly willing to let LSR folks run at our event in a special LSR division which would pretty much use SCTA rules.   Would that appeal to you?  There are some issues that would have to be worked out.  And there are some areas that probably won't be changeable.  But I bet we can arrive at an acceptable compromise.

Let me lay out some of our issues for you.  The main one is that the layout of this airport isn't a convenient triangle like Maxton, and "our" runway isn't an unused part of it.  We don't have the luxury of being able to do whatever we want, off on our side of the field.  Both the race runway itself, and the return taxiway, cross other open and possibly active runways.  Strict traffic control will be essential, and it is probable that we will have to occasionally stop racing to let a plane land on a cross runway.  Worse, the runway that we are racing on is still theoretically available for an emergency landing at any time.  We are required to be able to quickly and completely clear the runway with almost no notice.  That's why there can't be a bunch of racers lined up on the runway itself. Maybe one or two, that's all.  The staging lanes will either be on the taxiway or clear back in the pit area, probably a combination of both.  A lot of the issues that you've been complaining about stem from this one major item.  It also has a lot to do with why we aren't yet able to cater to spectators.  There's just not really any good place to put them.

Now for some specific items: There was comment about push starts not being allowed.  I want to be clear here, this is a standing start event. No one is going to get to do a rolling start with a push truck.   Having said that, the only problem we have with a simple push start just to get the engine running, is having a good place to do it that won't clog things up.  It can't happen on the runway itself.  Even if the vehicle just needs a remote starter and not a push, any vehicle that can't restart itself could become a liability if the above-mentioned air emergency happens. We're still not entirely decided as to exactly how the pre-staging lanes are going to work.  It's possible that start crews and simple push-starts can somehow be accomodated in future events.  But I'll be honest with you, it's probably not going to happen at the first one. 

As for bikes and leathers and such - that section of the rules has already been reworked due to popular demand.  You won't have to have the CE armor, or any armor. You won't have to have a one piece suit either.  A normal two piece zip-together racing suit will be OK.  Some of the other esoteric bike stuff has been changed too, like needing only a 15 degree deflection rather than 20.

As for having to drive the vehicle back to the pits - that's been changed too.  You can use a tow-back if you wish.  It's a bit of a pain because the tow truck will have to go "backwards" up the same taxiway to get to the far end. But enough people asked for it, and we're at least willing to try it.

Now, back to accomodation for LSR racers. We still think that this isn't the right place for some vehicle types such as full streamliners.  We're a little skeptical about sidecars too.  And we're not sure we want anyone using "fuel".  These issues can be discussed in the future.  But here's what I've been thinking.  We (MKM) would provide two special LSR racing divisions, one each for cars and bikes.  Any LSR vehicle that already has a current SCTA logbook and chassis sticker would be eligible to enter, possibly with the requirement for having recently passed an SCTA/BNI/USFRA tech inspection.  Might possibly accomodate ECTA too.  The key is that, within those divisions, SCTA car prep and safety equipment rules will apply, not the MKM rules in the rest of the rule book. Sound like a possibility?  Is this workable?

I have only two areas where the SCTA rules give me pause.  One is tire speed limits.  We would like to use our list of limits rather than the SCTA list.  They're mostly not that dissimilar, but it would mean that (as an example) V rated car tires would be limited to 155.  The other area is brakes and stopping.   Because of the start line and timing locations we have to use, we have about 4000 feet of stopping distance, with about 600 feet of dirt after that.  Cars with the usual (poor) LSR brakes can use chutes.  But is a fast LSR bike with no front brake going to eat dirt before it gets stopped?  You would know better than we would.  But right as of now I'm leaning toward requiring front and rear brakes on all vehicles.

I should point out that we have not formally approached the SCTA about this plan yet.  We hope that they will be willing to go along.

Your comments on any of this are most welcome. You can reply here or reach me at KeithU@mojavemile.com. Thanks for your time.
 

Keith Uddenberg
MKM Racing
Las Vegas, NV

Offline bvillercr

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #24 on: December 20, 2009, 10:33:09 AM »
I think that most LSR vehicles can start their engine in line, but like us our gearing is so high that we would need a slight push to get us going.  I have never started a run without a push, so the car may pull through the gear with our HP. 

Keith thanks for your post. :cheers:

Offline White Monster

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Re: MKM comments Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #25 on: December 20, 2009, 12:15:54 PM »
Both the race runway itself, and the return taxiway, cross other open and possibly active runways ... probable that we will have to occasionally stop racing to let a plane land on a cross runway.  Worse, the runway that we are racing on is still theoretically available for an emergency landing at any time. 

I want to be clear here, this is a standing start event. No one is going to get to do a rolling start with a push truck.   

Any LSR vehicle that already has a current SCTA logbook and chassis sticker would be eligible to enter, possibly with the requirement for having recently passed an SCTA/BNI/USFRA tech inspection.  Might possibly accomodate ECTA too.

Keith,
A few quick points that immediately come to mind after reading your update;

1) The FAA has jurisdiction over all airports and as a policy, generally does not allow this type of activity on active runways.  They have in the past over ruled the local airports that have given permission.

2) Push starts, usually are due to gearing, not to start the car.  Also, they commence the push from the starting line, so it is not a running start.  If you mean the vehicle has to use it's on-board motor to launch like at a drag strip, then lots of folks are out.

3) The ECTA uses SCTA rules, so there is little or no difference between the two sanctioning bodies.
Same goes for the LTA.

Good luck with your event.
 :-D
Be safe, go fast, have FUN !

Offline willieworld

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #26 on: December 20, 2009, 12:34:27 PM »
keith--el mirage is 1 1/3 with a 3696 foot shutdown area and all of it is dirt --there are car records there at over 300 mph and lots of bike records there over 200 one thing we all know how to do is stop --motorcycles there arnt required to run a front brake although many do --my wife and i both race sidecar bikes and would like to come to your event    thanks  willie buchta
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Offline Richard Thomason

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #27 on: December 20, 2009, 01:05:08 PM »
Mojave is actually a pretty cool venue. I was just there last month with the World Class Driving Extreme Event. Got to drive Ferraris, Lamborghinis, a Ford GT and others. I also went 212 (speedo indicated only, no idea if it was right, but was still fast and fun) in a McClaren SLR. Will you have timing lights to measure speeds? That may be an issue with the airport, but maybe not. The other thing that's really cool about Mojave is that you don't know what you are going to get to see. The Proteous (Burt Ruttan) taxied and took off right in front of us. Plus there were several remoted piloted jets that came through (mostly F16's). Fun place to be. It is an active runway and airport security are all over and giving clearance etc. Going west there is more of a hump in the runway that obsures the breaking cones for quite a distance. Great place though, had a ball. By the way, stay out of the middle of the runway, it's a lot rougher from the landing impacts of big planes.

Offline White Monster

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Re: MKM comments Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #28 on: December 20, 2009, 01:09:57 PM »
You can reply here or reach me at KeithU@mojavemile.com. Thanks for your time.

I tried to send my comments to above email address, but got the error message below;

The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<KeithU@mojavemile.com>
    (reason: No Such User Here)
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Offline bak189

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Re: Mojave mile info is out!
« Reply #29 on: December 20, 2009, 01:25:02 PM »
The contact E-Mail address does not work for me...................Also????????
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