Track Review: Monticello Motor Club

[brave1heart]

I put together a write-up on Monticello here: http://www.onehotlap.com/2011/12/one...llo-motor.html. Hope you enjoy it. If you have some feedback on the track, please send it along. Rumors are, they may allow clubs back on it next year.

"Monticello is a highly technical track and it offers every turn imaginable: increasing radius, decreasing radius, high speed sweepers, a mostly blind high-speed left turn, a carousel, a hairpin, a double-apex turn that tortured even the most advanced drivers, a classic 90, a magic mushroom (don’t ask, just go on with your trip!), a tight switchback that only autocrossers have seen before, and a long straight comparable in top speed to Watkins Glen’s back straight"

[von_zoom]

Thanks for sharing. Fantastic looking layout, and a test to enjoy.
Wish I could drive it.
vz

[SchnellM3]

I was looking at getting up there sometime this spring. Either in the E46 or. Flying up and doing the V school they offer.

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by brave1heart

I put together a write-up on Monticello here: http://www.onehotlap.com/2011/12/one...llo-motor.html. Hope you enjoy it. If you have some feedback on the track, please send it along. Rumors are, they may allow clubs back on it next year.

"Monticello is a highly technical track and it offers every turn imaginable: increasing radius, decreasing radius, high speed sweepers, a mostly blind high-speed left turn, a carousel, a hairpin, a double-apex turn that tortured even the most advanced drivers, a classic 90, a magic mushroom (don’t ask, just go on with your trip!), a tight switchback that only autocrossers have seen before, and a long straight comparable in top speed to Watkins Glen’s back straight"

is that the track where michael cooper beat the crap out of the ctsv caddy?

[paradocs98]

My first ever HPDE was at Monticello a year and a half ago with NASA/PDA. I was a newbie, and I was in my then-current E60 M5, but it was a blast. Very high speed and many interesting aspects to the track. I wish I could go back now that I have the M3 and more experience! I do wonder, though, how these types of tracks stay alive with only private memberships in this economy. I've heard fantastic things about Spring Mountain in Nevada and all the amenities it has to offer, and you could perhaps justify its membership fees based on all those extras, but Monticello was nowhere near as developed when I saw it last year...

[brave1heart]

Originally Posted by bobbyd1961

is that the track where michael cooper beat the crap out of the ctsv caddy?

This story? http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/14/c...gets-pat-on-t/ I wasn't familiar with it but looks like you're on to something.

[brave1heart]

Originally Posted by paradocs98

My first ever HPDE was at Monticello a year and a half ago with NASA/PDA. I was a newbie, and I was in my then-current E60 M5, but it was a blast. Very high speed and many interesting aspects to the track. I wish I could go back now that I have the M3 and more experience! I do wonder, though, how these types of tracks stay alive with only private memberships in this economy. I've heard fantastic things about Spring Mountain in Nevada and all the amenities it has to offer, and you could perhaps justify its membership fees based on all those extras, but Monticello was nowhere near as developed when I saw it last year...

Their target market is individuals with net worth of 20 mil or more. I know that for a fact. It would be hard for anyone else to afford the initiation fee (50-200k I think) and then the monthly fees in addition to that. Since they are relatively close to Manhattan, they have a ton of prospective members. Problem is, they didn't hit their membership targets - if I heard that tight, they were looking for ~ 500 members and only got less than half of that. So the challenge for existing members is that their membership has almost no liquidity: because the club still accepts members, existing members cannot just sell their membership to anyone else. This is the the reason why the Club did not finish all its plan to build out more facilities on the track (spas for the wives, etc.) so it is somewhat limited compared to a full-blown golf country club for example. But most importantly, the track is fully finished and it is spectacular!

[adc]

Originally Posted by brave1heart

Their target market is individuals with net worth of 20 mil or more. I know that for a fact. It would be hard for anyone else to afford the initiation fee (50-200k I think) and then the monthly fees in addition to that. Since they are relatively close to Manhattan, they have a ton of prospective members. Problem is, they didn't hit their membership targets - if I heard that tight, they were looking for ~ 500 members and only got less than half of that. So the challenge for existing members is that their membership has almost no liquidity: because the club still accepts members, existing members cannot just sell their membership to anyone else. This is the the reason why the Club did not finish all its plan to build out more facilities on the track (spas for the wives, etc.) so it is somewhat limited compared to a full-blown golf country club for example. But most importantly, the track is fully finished and it is spectacular!

Do they allow non-members on track? May be a silly question...

[paradocs98]

Originally Posted by adc

Do they allow non-members on track? May be a silly question...

Word is that they closed it to outside, non-member "riff-raff" (most of us) last year when then-current members complained that exclusivity was being lost. I think now you either have to be a member, be an approved guest of a member, or get a special invite to gain access.