Miata Mailing List: June 1996, Message #66
sponsored by



     


   From: Michael.Opalak@xcellenet.com
Subject: Miata Games Cost
   Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 09:53:44 -0400

>Has anyone noticed how expensive Miata Games '96 is?? I live in
>Athens, Ga (1 hour away from Atlanta) so of course I'd love to go
>and meet fellow Miata enthusiasts. But $230 for registration?
>Hot Laps for $65? Driving schools for $85 and $75? Autocross for $$25?
>$480 to participate in every thing? I think not.
>
>Mark,
>Can't agree with you more, I live in Lilburn, GA and would also like to
>attend, but the cost ist the cost is totally insane.  I spoke to them about 
just coming in
>to watch the events or to see the vendors and was told that unless you paid
>the $230 you could not even see the vendors!!  ($230 only gets ONE person 
in!!!)
>Went to Road Atlanta in April to see the vintage racing (have a Morgan) 
Cost
>for the entire weekend including touring laps of the track on both saturday
>and sunday was $29.  It's too bad that the organizers decided to turn this
>into such a profit generator  (must have been influenced by thed by the 
olympic
>gouging going on in Atlanta at the moment). 
>Would like to attend and meet some of the NET folks and the vendors that 
are
>on the NET, but $400 plus will buy a lot of goodies for my Miata.
>Lance in Atlanta

Being the Chairman of the Track Committee for the Miata Games, hopefully I 
can address some of these concerns.  First off, $230 for registration is 
right in line with the registration costs for the other national events such 
as Cleveland and Indy, especially considering what we're offering.  The 
Miata Games is not just a weekend get together of Miata enthusiasts, but 
three solid days of Track and Road events.  The registration cost includes 
touring laps of Road Atlanta, scenic road tours, a huge vendor midway, 
funkhana events, two dinner banquets, two lunches and a bunch of freebies.

For those who wish to experience the thrill of Road Atlanta at race speeds 
and have the neccesary safety equipment (as specified by Road Atlanta and 
The Car Guys), we offer a solid hour of track time for only $65.  I 
challenge anyone to find anywhere else where you can lap Watkins Glen, 
Sebring, or any other equivalent track for a dollar a minute.  This isn't a 
parking lot somewhere lined with orange cones, but the most challenging road 
course in North America.  This is a great deal.

The driving schools we're offering a also a great deal.  Both the Decisive 
driving school (designed for those who wish to learn how to better handle 
their Miatas in emergency situations) and the Performance Driving school (
for those who wish to learn how to get the most out of their Miatas on a 
track) are being taught by the Car Guys, one of the leading performance 
driving schools in the country.  Our schools give you the same instructors 
on the same track as their normal schools, at a fraction of the cost.  If 
you don't believe me, call the Car Guys and ask them how much their one day 
school at Road Atlanta is.

Unfortunately, our insurance for the event specifies that we cannot have 
spectators wandering around the event, for safety reasons.  If we were to 
allow outside spectators, our insurance costs would be even higher, driving 
up the total cost additionally.

Believe me, we on the Event Committee want this event to be as low cost as 
possible.  The criticisms regarding profit gouging I've heard are quite 
frustrating, because we have designed no profit into the weekend.  All 
registration and other costs are there to simply cover our costs.  Our event 
costs more than the other national events because we're offering more.

It's going to be a great event, one you'll regret missing.  If you have any 
additional questions regarding the games, please feel free to email directly 
at michaelo@xcellenet.com.  Thanks.

Michael Opalak
'91 A Classic Red
Chairman, Track Committee
Peachtree Miata Club, Atlanta GA
http://www.miata.net/miatagames