Monticello Track Info

[rousespointer]

I was around Monticello last weekend, so I checked out the track...unfotunately they were closed and gated, so only could look through the expensive fencing. The track is located on the site of the old Monticello airport. It is on Cantrell road but does not have any parking if the main gate is closed. If the gate is closed, the only place to park is on the public road, which does have some traffic. The road sign for Cantrell Road is not large and I missed it the first time by, and had to backtrack.

To get to Monticello, most people will probably take Route 17 from 84, 87, Thruway. Be aware that the last five miles of Route 17 going into Monticello is a good long climb, coming up from the valley (watch out going down also). My brother-in-laws' fire truck could not make the grade without stopping to fix overheating problem. There are two exits off Route 17 into Monticello. The first is the shortest route but takes you through town. The second a a bit longer but less traffic (take the exit to 17B and then a left turn at the Monticello harness track and Casino). There should not be any major traffic issues on a Sunday.

On the way back home, I spotted a GT-40 (replica, I would bet) pulling a trailer full of race tires! Looked pretty cool with the tires stacked higher than the car.

[Dave_G]

Wish I could make it. Since I can't, I'll just add this travel tip: Remember, it's pronounced Mont-i-SELL-o. If you go around saying Mont-i-CHELL-o people will just peg you as a tourist.

[chaos4NH]

Thanks for the tips!

[StephanAlfa]

Wish I could make it. Since I can't, I'll just add this travel tip: Remember, it's pronounced Mont-i-SELL-o. If you go around saying Mont-i-CHELL-o people will just peg you as a tourist.

Wow! I guess I need to drop my Italian accent in that neck of the woods. Lemme practice: Montisssssellllo, Montisssssellllo, Montisssselllllo.
Same issues with Houston. In Texas it's Houston as we know it. In a district on New York City, its' "House-ton".
Tomatoe!

[chaos4NH]

WOW! Looks like 70+ will make the trip to Montisello! And 5 cars in ST2? That is great for a change (even if Fast Freddy fibbed when he said he wasn't going to the run the M3 this year ).

[fourortwowheels]

i have a question about the time trial portion. i can only do one day of this event, however being a first timer i dont know if ill be able to take part in the TT portion. could any1 elaborate more on this?

[jlwhorf]

i have a question about the time trial portion. i can only do one day of this event, however being a first timer i dont know if ill be able to take part in the TT portion. could any1 elaborate more on this?

Yes, you can sign up for day 1 only. In order to compete in the time trial, your instructor must deem you driving skill at a level that they feel comfortable letting run solo. If you sign up for both days, and you are not signed off to solo, you can get a refund for that second day. At away events, instructors often make them selves available to ride with students on the second day. If you sign up just for the first day and get signed off to solo, our registrar will let you register for the second day at the track.

[chaos4NH]

Gadzooks! up to 80+. better have lots of grills going for the BBQ Monday night!

[fourortwowheels]

i have a question about the time trial portion. i can only do one day of this event, however being a first timer i dont know if ill be able to take part in the TT portion. could any1 elaborate more on this?

Yes, you can sign up for day 1 only. In order to compete in the time trial, your instructor must deem you driving skill at a level that they feel comfortable letting run solo. If you sign up for both days, and you are not signed off to solo, you can get a refund for that second day. At away events, instructors often make them selves available to ride with students on the second day. If you sign up just for the first day and get signed off to solo, our registrar will let you register for the second day at the track.

so does the TT portion only take place on the 5th? and if im signed off to go solo on that day, i can compete in said TT then correct?

[chaos4NH]

i have a question about the time trial portion. i can only do one day of this event, however being a first timer i dont know if ill be able to take part in the TT portion. could any1 elaborate more on this?

Yes, you can sign up for day 1 only. In order to compete in the time trial, your instructor must deem you driving skill at a level that they feel comfortable letting run solo. If you sign up for both days, and you are not signed off to solo, you can get a refund for that second day. At away events, instructors often make them selves available to ride with students on the second day. If you sign up just for the first day and get signed off to solo, our registrar will let you register for the second day at the track.

so does the TT portion only take place on the 5th? and if im signed off to go solo on that day, i can compete in said TT then correct?

Just to be correct, the days we are at Monticello are Monday, May 3rd and Tuesday May 4th. Not there on the 5th. But, you have it correct,you run the 3rd as an HPDE and if your instructor feels you are advanced enough to solo, you can run the time trial on the afternoon of the 4th, after 2 warmup sessions in the morning. Being a first timer, you sign up to do the HPDE on May 3rd.

[boltonite]

TO ALL STUDENTS:

Please REGISTER FOR BOTH DAYS if you wish to do the lapping/open track and Time Trial on the 2nd day, it will make things much easier for everyone and you will get 20 MORE FREQUENT DRIVER POINTS if you pre-register for both days. Refunds will be given to anyone who is not signed-off or otherwise prevented from participating on the 2nd day.

If you have already registered for one day and wish to change your registration to BOTH days, please contact the registrar (comregistrar@comcast.net) or me (treasurer@comscc.org) and we will assist you, you will only need to pay for the remaining balance and you receive the maximum 40 Frequent Driver Points and (for 1st timer attendees) the $100 rebate.

Thanks.
The Treasurer

[fourortwowheels]

so there is no classroom and instruction on the 4th then? either day is fine, ill have a ton of fun, regardless if i compete in the TT portion. i was just curious to get a timed run!

[StephanAlfa]

so there is no classroom and instruction on the 4th then? either day is fine, ill have a ton of fun, regardless if i compete in the TT portion. i was just curious to get a timed run!

Er .. no classroom on the 4th .. I can talk all you want on the 3rd but on the 4th I am all track and getting my set up for the TT.

[WillM]

Just a HEADS-UP WARNING

Speeding and/or inappropriate driving (bedding brakes, etc), on Cantrell Road (and likely any road near the track) are grounds for removal from the event. I believe the track sent someone home early last weekend. I don't blame them! Please respect the track and local community!

[alisonnic]

Like many of us COM members, I haven't driven Monticello. However, I have watched videos for quite a few laps, so I will hopefully have a pretty good idea of which way the tracks go when I get there.

After digging around on YouTube I have compiled a list of some of the available videos:

- Daytona coupe, slow but good video and audio quality.

- BMW M5, front bumper, faster driver but poor sound. Good for seeing low curbs in some places such as first turn.

- BMW M5, faster driver but very poor video quality and choppy frame rate.

- Ferrari F430 Scuderia, very good video quality and wonderful sound, with speed, G force and track map display.

- Porsche 911 at a PCA event. Superb video quality in the HD version but scratchy sound, and the driver is being held up by traffic. Speed, throttle, brake, and track map display.

- Corvette Z06, not too fast but very good video quality.

Although it's built on the site of an old airport, and appears to use the old runways for two of its straights, the track is essentially a modern club track design, folded in on itself to get a lot of track length into a relatively small piece of land. As a result it has a lot of long, slow corners, but there are a few fast sweepers as well, some of which may not be flat in some cars. There's a considerable amount of elevation change, although the videos tend to make it seem flatter than it really is.

There aren't too many deceptive corners with decreasing radii; the first turn looks to be one of the trickier turns because it's downhill with a blind entry. There's a very slow chicane in the corner at the end of the longest straight, which is unfortunate for racing because it interferes with what would have been a very good passing point, but I don't think that will affect COM because we don't allow passing in corners anyway.

I found it helpful to watch the videos while looking at a track map. I found a PDF map at the SCDA web site: http://www.scda1.com/documents/mmc_full_course.pdf

Alison