AMP progress

[TeamEvolutionMS 0]

I'm there 3 days a week, stop by and say hi. Just lemme know beforehand.

[bigbird4120 0]

Just saw this on FB

 

Hope this is good news.

 

I had shoulder replacement surgery April 4th and hope to be out there at AMP ans RA by the middle of the month. See y'all at June Jam.

[08Bullitt0572 0]

Just saw this on FB

 

Hope this is good news.

 

I had shoulder replacement surgery April 4th and hope to be out there at AMP ans RA by the middle of the month. See y'all at June Jam.

 

 

Looks good. They have another couple of weeks before I get there.

[08Bullitt0572 0]

If anyone wants to get a taste of AMP this month, Hooked on Driving still has spots open for May 18. One thing to note though is that HOD just sent out an email saying that AMP told them no slicks will be permitted on track until after May 30 due to the fresh paving, so that means no slicks will be allowed this time.

[kbrew8991 0]

define slicks - Non-DOT stuff, or even DOT approved stuff like Hoosier, Kumho V710, BFG, etc and what about lesser stuff like a Toyo RA1 or Nitto NT01

 

(just asking because it could make a difference to some people )

[08Bullitt0572 0]

define slicks - Non-DOT stuff, or even DOT approved stuff like Hoosier, Kumho V710, BFG, etc and what about lesser stuff like a Toyo RA1 or Nitto NT01

 

(just asking because it could make a difference to some people )

 

 

Don't know - I sent the guy an email.

[MikeAtl 0]

Looks like a bunch of questions were sent. Here is the answer that came in an email today:

 

"There have been some questions on what constitutes a slick allowed at Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) for our HOD event May 18 over the next 30 days. As long as the tires are DOT legal you are fine. Also many race prepped cars do have groves or tread which would also be allowed. However a true slick such as used in a Formula Atlantic, etc would not be allowed. I hope this clears things up."

 

I will be there for a few hours as a spectator. Wish I were driving..

 

 

Mike

[08Bullitt0572 0]

Looks like a bunch of questions were sent. Here is the answer that came in an email today:

 

"There have been some questions on what constitutes a slick allowed at Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) for our HOD event May 18 over the next 30 days. As long as the tires are DOT legal you are fine. Also many race prepped cars do have groves or tread which would also be allowed. However a true slick such as used in a Formula Atlantic, etc would not be allowed. I hope this clears things up."

 

I will be there for a few hours as a spectator. Wish I were driving..

 

 

Mike

 

You beat me to it. I'll be there driving- can't wait.

[beerkat 0]

AMP whould be better off limiting the tread wear number as Ken was hinting at NT01 and other 100 tread wear tires will pickup asphalt.

[Golin 0]

I've seen some of the videos put up by AMP on Facebook. I can't really tell, but it seems like the track is really tight with not too many opportunities for passing. Is it more of a driving club track as opposed to a track for racing? It looks like it's cramped on the videos, but that may be a trick of the camera. Anyone have any first hand accounts of the feel and flow at the track?

 

GT

[jimbow 0]

The straights are at least three cars wide with extra room.

 

Couple of turns would be sketchy for a pass, but doable

Its wider than it looks, think F1 track with elevation changes

 

The 98db limit is probably more of a concern for racers.

[ME2z 0]

The straights are at least three cars wide with extra room.

 

Couple of turns would be sketchy for a pass, but doable

Its wider than it looks, think F1 track with elevation changes

 

The 98db limit is probably more of a concern for racers.

 

I'm curious about the passing zones for HPDE1,2. There is a long straight from 16 to 1. I don't know about 1-2, 6-7-8, 10-11, 11-12. There may be some trains. I will be there next week.

[n80 0]

I'm curious about the passing zones for HPDE1,2. There is a long straight from 16 to 1. I don't know about 1-2, 6-7-8, 10-11, 11-12. There may be some trains. I will be there next week.

 

How about getting back to us after you run AMP and let us know your impressions from a DE perspective.

[Drumrboy 0]

I did an at-speed ride-along this weekend for a session....didn't drive it but have these observations to offer....FWIW

 

 

 

1. The front part of the track is very technical, like Barber....very busy - no time to check gauges and enjoy a cigarette. VERY sharp turns....second gear kinda turns.

 

2. In many ways its a momentum track despite its size, because there are few straights, proper straights...where the track is, uh, straight....you need to be fluid among the turns to keep speed up....if you sprint from corner to corner, like I do when I'm driving like an idiot, I think times will be slower.

 

3. Elevation change is amazing. 3/4 of the track seems to be like RA's esses into T5.....you're almost never going flat and straight. Some of the turns are at the top of hills so you have to trust the track'll be there (like T11 at RA), and some of the turns at the bottom of hills require you to position the car as you crest (like you do for T12) or you'll be all goofy. At RA this happens a couple of times, at AMP it happens 5-6 times.

 

4. The track seems MUCH wider than it looks like on video. This is very comforting

 

5. There don't seem to be lots of places to really hurt yourself.....I suspect there will be "racecar collection depots" in the kitty litter at T1 and T10 but for the most part it looks safe. The only weird part is how hilly it is...I imagine if one were to go off track at just the wrong angle, some of the hills might cause a rollover- but it'd have to be pretty bad luck for that to happen.

 

6. There is no straightaway. Despite the advertising of "a straight 30% longer than RA's", there isn't a long proper straight. The high-speed section is a series of sweeping turns ending in a short straightaway that runs across the start/finish line. So when you finish the front 3/4 of the run, you enter the high-speed section and essentially judge how much go-pedal the car can hold ....first a left sweeper (with a nasty dip at center track...stay left and you miss it - it does unsettle the car a bit and cost you testosterone for the rest of the sweeper) , then a right....and THEN it seems like you have to lift just a little to make the corner onto the front straight (where S/F line is). I don't think the top speeds will be as high as RA's, The guy I rode with was doing 125 or so at the end of the fast section....I think he's faster than that going into the braking zone for 10A.

 

7. At the end of the front straight section.....the fastest section of the track....is T1, which is like that very tight left-hander (T5) at Barber. About 130 degrees, downhill and probably a second gear turn.....so its like 10A at RA - "Please God, let the brakes work properly and I promise to not ________ again" (fill in your own blank)

 

8. My host/driver described it perfectly....the front part is very technical and very busy, the latter part is simply a question of testicular fortitude (he used a different term)......

 

9. Lastly, I don't like the gators at all. ALL the gators are those nasty rumbly serrated ones (like on the left after 10B at RA or after the last right hander at CMP). There are no (maybe few...I didn't see/feel any) of those smooth ones that you can put a tire on and not jar loose a filling from a tooth. I guess that's done to discourage using gators as part of the track, but I just don't like the unsettling effect of those rumble-strips. But then again I'm a puss with fillings so maybe I'm overly sensitive to jack hammers in the face.

 

All in all it looks like a fun track. Kinda a mix of Barber and CMP with elevation changes like Mt Everest. I wish I could do it in my car (because I know the car better than I do the Mustang) but it will NEVER pass the sound limit. My pal had to put new mufflers on the Lotus to be sure he was OK. There was one C6 Z06 who had loud exhaust....probably half as loud as the loud Thunder cars, and everyone was talking about him having to do some work to be "legal" sound-wise.

[Golin 0]

Very cool. Thanks for the first hand account, it's what I was hoping for. It sounds like the elevation is even more crazy than it looks, and that the track is wider than it appears. Both good things. Hopefully the dB limit won't be too restrictive. It'll be good to get down there and see for myself, one day.

 

GT

 

 

I did an at-speed ride-along this weekend for a session....didn't drive it but have these observations to offer....FWIW

 

 

 

1. The front part of the track is very technical, like Barber....very busy - no time to check gauges and enjoy a cigarette. VERY sharp turns....second gear kinda turns.

 

2. In many ways its a momentum track despite its size, because there are few straights, proper straights...where the track is, uh, straight....you need to be fluid among the turns to keep speed up....if you sprint from corner to corner, like I do when I'm driving like an idiot, I think times will be slower.

 

3. Elevation change is amazing. 3/4 of the track seems to be like RA's esses into T5.....you're almost never going flat and straight. Some of the turns are at the top of hills so you have to trust the track'll be there (like T11 at RA), and some of the turns at the bottom of hills require you to position the car as you crest (like you do for T12) or you'll be all goofy. At RA this happens a couple of times, at AMP it happens 5-6 times.

 

4. The track seems MUCH wider than it looks like on video. This is very comforting

 

5. There don't seem to be lots of places to really hurt yourself.....I suspect there will be "racecar collection depots" in the kitty litter at T1 and T10 but for the most part it looks safe. The only weird part is how hilly it is...I imagine if one were to go off track at just the wrong angle, some of the hills might cause a rollover- but it'd have to be pretty bad luck for that to happen.

 

6. There is no straightaway. Despite the advertising of "a straight 30% longer than RA's", there isn't a long proper straight. The high-speed section is a series of sweeping turns ending in a short straightaway that runs across the start/finish line. So when you finish the front 3/4 of the run, you enter the high-speed section and essentially judge how much go-pedal the car can hold ....first a left sweeper (with a nasty dip at center track...stay left and you miss it - it does unsettle the car a bit and cost you testosterone for the rest of the sweeper) , then a right....and THEN it seems like you have to lift just a little to make the corner onto the front straight (where S/F line is). I don't think the top speeds will be as high as RA's, The guy I rode with was doing 125 or so at the end of the fast section....I think he's faster than that going into the braking zone for 10A.

 

7. At the end of the front straight section.....the fastest section of the track....is T1, which is like that very tight left-hander (T5) at Barber. About 130 degrees, downhill and probably a second gear turn.....so its like 10A at RA - "Please God, let the brakes work properly and I promise to not ________ again" (fill in your own blank)

 

8. My host/driver described it perfectly....the front part is very technical and very busy, the latter part is simply a question of testicular fortitude (he used a different term)......

 

9. Lastly, I don't like the gators at all. ALL the gators are those nasty rumbly serrated ones (like on the left after 10B at RA or after the last right hander at CMP). There are no (maybe few...I didn't see/feel any) of those smooth ones that you can put a tire on and not jar loose a filling from a tooth. I guess that's done to discourage using gators as part of the track, but I just don't like the unsettling effect of those rumble-strips. But then again I'm a puss with fillings so maybe I'm overly sensitive to jack hammers in the face.

 

All in all it looks like a fun track. Kinda a mix of Barber and CMP with elevation changes like Mt Everest. I wish I could do it in my car (because I know the car better than I do the Mustang) but it will NEVER pass the sound limit. My pal had to put new mufflers on the Lotus to be sure he was OK. There was one C6 Z06 who had loud exhaust....probably half as loud as the loud Thunder cars, and everyone was talking about him having to do some work to be "legal" sound-wise.

[TeamEvolutionMS 0]

Who did you ride with ? Should have asked me for a ride at race speed, really gives you a better feel for the track than the "recon" laps everyone was doing minus the few instructors they had there. Feel free to stop by any time.

[retlaw 0]

looks like a track that'll be a blast to drive .... if there aren't all that many cars on track at the same time ... not many DE passing zones .... think VIR Grand East .... a mile and an half of follow the leader ... AMP looks like the entire track ( at least for DE 1's and 2's ) will turn into one extra long train

[08Bullitt0572 0]

Bob, thanks for the great write up. I can't wait to hit the track on the 18th.

 

 

I did an at-speed ride-along this weekend for a session....didn't drive it but have these observations to offer....FWIW

 

 

All in all it looks like a fun track. Kinda a mix of Barber and CMP with elevation changes like Mt Everest. I wish I could do it in my car (because I know the car better than I do the Mustang) but it will NEVER pass the sound limit. My pal had to put new mufflers on the Lotus to be sure he was OK. There was one C6 Z06 who had loud exhaust....probably half as loud as the loud Thunder cars, and everyone was talking about him having to do some work to be "legal" sound-wise.

[robbodleimages 0]

KC

 

Where's the racing room at AMP? I surmize that you are a pro AMP guy. I have to choose between August Road Atlanta and October AMP.

[TeamEvolutionMS 0]

KC

 

Where's the racing room at AMP? I surmize that you are a pro AMP guy. I have to choose between August Road Atlanta and October AMP.

 

If by racing room you mean places to pass and or set up a pass, there are actually a good bit. There are 3 heavy braking zones, all of which you could out brake someone. The track is wide enough to facilitate passing anywhere, but some places aren't good unless you have some large "attachments". Picture the esses at Road Atlanta but faster and slightly shorter. I think you'll find there are so many different racing lines that you'll have plenty of opportunities to pass, especially if you trust your equipment and get to know the track. There are 6 blind corners, 4 of which are potential passing areas. The front straight is also a place you could pass, but it isn't a "straight" straight away. It curves to the right at a pretty good amount. If I had to compare this track to another, I'd say it was a combination of Barber and Infineon Raceway (Sears Point). When you do a lap, it doesn't feel like a short track because you are busy for the entire lap, no resting room, no "easy" corners. There's also massive G load which means you feel like you're doing 150 mph until you look down and realize you're actually doing 80. If you want a few "demo" laps to learn the track before an event shoot me a pm and I'll make it happen.

[Drumrboy 0]

Bob, thanks for the great write up. I can't wait to hit the track on the 18th.

 

Ken, enjoy it, it'll be fun!

[08Bullitt0572 0]

Here are some new AMP videos that have been posted:

 

Promotional:

In-car:

 

HOD said they still have a few spots open for next Friday the 18th.

[Drumrboy 0]

The dip just before the bridge is pretty extreme....really loads the suspension and feels like some cars would bottom out the travel. Nothing I rode in did, but I wonder if that "dip" is gonna stay that way or its just a natural point of settling that will be repaved/patched in a few months.... if anyone has asked the question and knows the answer please tell!

[robbodleimages 0]

that spot in video looks really brutal. maybe it will soften up in time....or will start breaking expensive cars and get fixed.

[Falcon 0]

Holy Off-Camber Batman!

 

I didn't see any stores. Surely to goodness they will build them shortly since that appears to be an auto-x course at a shopping center parking lot and they just haven't finished the project, yet.