Monday, April 09, 2007
The start of Skip Barber race one at the Grand-Am event in 2005.
LAKEVILLE, Conn. - Watkins Glen International has again invited the Race Series to its big Rolex Grand-Am weekend (because Skip Barber drivers always put on such a good show). The date is June 7-10, and the races are open to all Sportsman- or Championship-group drivers 18 or older with at least two Race Weekends’ of experience. This Race Weekend is also rounds five and six of the 2007 Masters Division of the Skip Barber National.
This is a rare opportunity for our Regional Series drivers to compete in front of a very large, very appreciative racing crowd, during a professional road racing weekend! Because we don’t want anybody to miss out on this unique event, we devised a way for the East and Midwest Regional drivers to use this exciting Race Weekend to score points as part of their Regional Race Series campaign: Drivers who are competing in the East or Midwest Regional Series will be allowed to transfer points from this Watkins Glen event back into their Regional seasons! This will count as one of the Transfers/Doubles that have always been available to Regional competitors. The cost for every entrant – Regional or Masters Division – is $3,995, which is just a tiny bit more than the regular Regional weekend price! It is also less than what we charged two years ago,
an event that was a big, big hit with all the drivers. There is no shortage of track time: You will have one (1) 25-minute timed Practice Session; two (2) 30-minute qualifying sessions; two (2) 15-minute Warm-ups; and, of course, two (2) 30-minute races. Big plus: We have also scheduled a
Thursday, pre-event Practice Session: three (3) 30-minute sessions, with full Timing & Hospitality, for $1,195.
Racing Rules: National
Hospitality: National level (including Thursday)
Points: National points scheme, but scored separately for 18-39 drivers and National Masters Division (40+) drivers. For example, if you cross the finish line third but you are the first Regional driver, you earn first-place (33) points to count in your Regional tally. Regional competitors can transfer their points back into their Regional seasons.
Also, as some of you know, Michele Marden’s nephew has leukemia so she and I are working on putting together a “lap-a-thon” for this event. The drivers can donate money for each lap they complete and SBRS will match it. Hopefully they will also get “pledges” from other drivers, teams and crew as well. We’ll have details on this cool charity aspect soon...
Rick Roso
