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Originally Posted by broadrun96
Exactly that AND IMSA had the leverage to tell WEC to shut it, you're joining our event so deal with it as is. A spring event would not have that leverage as it would be standalone.
And yes, my fears are purely motivated by costs and changes already. The previous tape that was up to limit parking along the T3-Esses fencing is gone but now you can't walk the fence from T4 to the top of the Esses as it is RV camping to the fence. Trees have been planted but nothing to improve the comfort stations, the hot water was not this year. Porsche took away the camping for Petit inside of T10 for their car corral so people who had been there for years were throw aside. The corral was cancelled this year but still no camping allowed. And the entire run from Bobs' Hill around and to the Esses along the track was converted to Reserved RV sites, I pay it but it's not cheap. But hey we have a new tower. And that's without the FIA mandating who knows what but they would try and then we'll get nickel and dimed as the fans to fund it.
And Road Atlanta has a spring event that packs the place pretty regularly, The Mitty with HSR fills many of the camping areas. Ok, not the fancy guys with Reserved RVs out on the skid pad and T6 and T7 but you can park right there and see everyone pretty close to the track
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Exactly my thoughts as well. Seems like the track is being eaten up by reserved RV EVERYWHERE. Even though I have a reserved RV spot I've had for going on 20 years it just seems that any open area is now blocked and marked off. The waiting list for a reserved RV spot is quite extensive. even now
The Porsche people are taking way too much space. The parking area behind the Jumbotron use to be accessible to anyone dropping off and setting up at turn 10A/10B. Great place to park your golf cart too. Now there's no parking spots near the track. The Porsche people even had IMSA people guarding the fenced area to keep people without special privileges from getting in.
I spoke with Rick Humphrey about the situation in the paddock area and how they've destroyed the fan experience by blocking off the hot pit area with teams up against the fencing. He did say that they are aware of the issue and will work on trying to improve access to the hot pits next year. The decision to change the paddock area was requested by IMSA due too additional entries in the WeatherTech series but Road Atlanta did have a say. They just didn't expect the layout to be quite so close to the fences.
The basic problem is simple. The Petit Le Mans is getting too popular, and the track is having a hard time accommodating everyone who's wanting to attend. This is true both from a viewer and participant standpoint. Let's face it though, racing is a for profit sport and tracks are trying to find every way possible to exploit an increase in fan participation. Better more fans than less. I remember all too well the bad days of Road Atlanta before the Petit Le Mans and Don Panoz.