COTA going private!

Not sure if y'all heard, looks like COTA is going private in 2027 so 2026 is the last year for us peasants.

My thoughts...

It was inevitable. From day 1, the track never wanted the poors on their track. I'm shocked that it went on for this long.

I think the layout sucks especially for HPDEs. Besides T2 thru T9...it's ok. Not worth paying $500 a day. And I usually catch up by T6 or T7 all of the skilled straight line drivers so it is rare to get a clean shot through that part of the track. Maybe 3-4 times per weekend? Then rinse and repeat...blow by me between T11 and T12, catch them in T16-17 and sit behind them until T20 to 1.

For me, it was cool to say I ran on the same track that F1 drivers have been on but I never felt like...oh! I have to go back!!! What I like the least is the type of person it attracts. So COTA doesn't want me, I really don't want COTA so I'm cool with it.

Now some rumors. Apparently it will be limited to 250 members. If you're interested, well, you're already too late. They have a waiting list. I did the math, they will make $412 million from the initiation fees and $12.5 million per year in dues. The math makes sense. The track and the facilities will be used less AND will make a similar amount of revenue per year.

This is probably the only way the track survives. The economics will rarely make sense due to property taxes and land values without government funding. Unless it is a destination track like WGI or Laguna...gov'ts won't spend the money.

I read this somewhere recently too. But I guess .. so what? Is it really going to not allow any track day groups? One of the best tracks by me is a private country club and they still allow rentals for groups willing to take the whole track.

It's honestly one of the "one and done" tracks for me lol. I found it fun the first time, then i started bitching about how I need at least 500whp and more torque to find it fun lmao.

I don't even drive it on iRacing, unless I'm in GT class racing.

To everyone else, def do your best to drive on it before 2026 ends, to at least experience it your self then get mad at how slow your car is.

kolosy wrote

I read this somewhere recently too. But I guess .. so what? Is it really going to not allow any track day groups? One of the best tracks by me is a private country club and they still allow rentals for groups willing to take the whole track.

From what I understand, no more DEs. Members get 250 days per year. The rest is for the professional races and concerts. I get the impression that COTA track management hates dealing with DE orgs. For example, I heard they cancelled a DE event because of a concert at the amphi-theater that popped up. COTA did not want to mess with the concert.

omgzirra_exe wrote

It's honestly one of the "one and done" tracks for me lol. I found it fun the first time, then i started bitching about how I need at least 500whp and more torque to find it fun lmao.

I don't even drive it on iRacing, unless I'm in GT class racing.

To everyone else, def do your best to drive on it before 2026 ends, to at least experience it your self then get mad at how slow your car is.

The tight switchback turns are annoying - T1 and T11 - which kills all momentum before the long straight.

bigjae1976 wrote

From what I understand, no more DEs. Members get 250 days per year. The rest is for the professional races and concerts. I get the impression that COTA track management hates dealing with DE orgs. For example, I heard they cancelled a DE event because of a concert at the amphi-theater that popped up. COTA did not want to mess with the concert.

Oh bummer. It’ll be interesting to see if it stays that way.

bigjae1976 wrote

The tight switchback turns are annoying - T1 and T11 - which kills all momentum before the long straight.

oh yeah, the ones where i have to kill my entry speed to focus on exit speed just to kill my entry speed again

bigjae1976 wrote

From what I understand, no more DEs. Members get 250 days per year. The rest is for the professional races and concerts. I get the impression that COTA track management hates dealing with DE orgs. For example, I heard they cancelled a DE event because of a concert at the amphi-theater that popped up. COTA did not want to mess with the concert.

clowns. closing a trackday at a track for a concert at a track.

it was never about the cars it seems.

MaX PL wrote

clowns. closing a trackday at a track for a concert at a track.

it was never about the cars it seems.

Correct...it is about money.

I have never been overly interested in trying COTA. I am a fan of older tracks that utilize the topography of the area instead of just bulldozing everything and starting from scratch. With that said, it's still a shame we are losing access to another track in the US.

Rubin

former 240 s14 wrote

I have never been overly interested in trying COTA. I am a fan of older tracks that utilize the topography of the area instead of just bulldozing everything and starting from scratch. With that said, it's still a shame we are losing access to another track in the US.

Rubin

The main attraction is to run on an active F1 track. Overall experience, Road America is FAR superior.

bigjae1976 wrote

Not sure if y'all heard, looks like COTA is going private in 2027 so 2026 is the last year for us peasants.

My thoughts...

It was inevitable. From day 1, the track never wanted the poors on their track. I'm shocked that it went on for this long.

I think the layout sucks especially for HPDEs. Besides T2 thru T9...it's ok. Not worth paying $500 a day. And I usually catch up by T6 or T7 all of the skilled straight line drivers so it is rare to get a clean shot through that part of the track. Maybe 3-4 times per weekend? Then rinse and repeat...blow by me between T11 and T12, catch them in T16-17 and sit behind them until T20 to 1.

For me, it was cool to say I ran on the same track that F1 drivers have been on but I never felt like...oh! I have to go back!!! What I like the least is the type of person it attracts. So COTA doesn't want me, I really don't want COTA so I'm cool with it.

Now some rumors. Apparently it will be limited to 250 members. If you're interested, well, you're already too late. They have a waiting list. I did the math, they will make $412 million from the initiation fees and $12.5 million per year in dues. The math makes sense. The track and the facilities will be used less AND will make a similar amount of revenue per year.

This is probably the only way the track survives. The economics will rarely make sense due to property taxes and land values without government funding. Unless it is a destination track like WGI or Laguna...gov'ts won't spend the money.

Am I mathing right? ~$1.6mm as an initiation fee? That's triple of the highest that I've ever heard (Flatrock @ $500k). Annual dues seems about inline I suppose at $50k, but that initiation is bonkers!

Signed,
Someone that can't afford any of this mess.

It is a sliding scale. Starts at $1M and as more are sold, price goes up. Last 50 are $2M.

Apparently they have a wait list. For a poor like me...it is totally ridiculous. But I guess if you've got the money and then you can spend it on something that only 250 people can have, why not?

COTA is also building garages and condos as well.

I am a million percent not the targeted client here, but woof!

Stolen from FB, but assuming it’s right holy crap COTA.

kolosy wrote

Stolen from FB, but assuming it’s right holy crap COTA.

Dang VIR is looking like a deal!

It seems AMP has actually reduced their cost via a multi-tier approach. I could have sworn that was something like $75k initiation.

Completely off tilt, they also offer a one-time $10k for lifetime and no other associative costs (ever) for karting. It's a hell of a track.

You're going to see more tracks like Thermal and Spring Mountain pop up. More member only/no outside DE type places. There is one in TX that most don't know about called DOMO that is under construction.

I'm pretty sure Eagle's Canyon is going that direction.

It will get harder and harder to not be a member somewhere and get on track in the future.