GPF Update
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
Since the Mustang is this year’s Featured Marque for the Grand Prix Festival, I thought you might be interested in this bit of Mustang history compliments of the IMRRC.
https://www.racingarchives.org/blogpost/mustang-prototype-debuts-at-the-glen-in-1962/
Enjoy,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
We have been getting our share of rain in Watkins Glen lately. That is good news because the more rain we get now, the less likely we are to get rain on Friday.
Having said that I want to remind you all that the Grand Prix Festival is a rain and/or shine event. The only thing that will change if it rains is that when you drive past me when I am standing in the middle of Franklin Street urging you to keep up with the car ahead, I might be wearing some sort of rain jacket. Otherwise nothing changes. If anyone decides not to show up for fear of rain, don’t expect any sort of refund. You signed up for a rain or shine event, and as long as we put on the event, we have provided what you paid for whether you show up or not.
If you are worried about rain, I suggest you bring your raincoats and umbrellas. I find that the more that people bring raingear, the less likely it will actually rain. I never show up to race without bringing my set of rain tires. That way, I rarely have to use them.
One more thing. If you are driving with your top down while doing your laps of the Old Course and it starts to rain, do NOT STOP to put up your top. If I catch anyone doing that, they will be removed from the laps. If you just keep going and keep up with the car ahead, you really won’t get wet. But if it worries you that much, put the top up before you start your laps.
Of course as was the case last year, if any brief shower happens to show up, it will most likely happen during the laps of the Sporting Roadster Tour, and of course all of those cars will have their tops down. Go figure. I can tell you that since 1993, we have had very few tiny amounts of rain during our Grand Prix Festival even though we have seen torrential rain either a day or two before or on Saturday or Sunday after.
Either way, all you have to do is keep up with the car ahead, and all will be right with the world.
See you soon,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
Wow, what a great event yesterday! You Stone Bridge Drivers really did your part so well this year. I have been doing this since 1993 and it seems to me that maybe you all kept up even better this year than ever before.
I was really pleased with the lack of gaps that I saw on Franklin Street. Although I did notice one fairly large gap that could have only happened because one car failed to keep up with the car ahead of them. I mean really, if that car had kept up there would have been no way for that train to get between that car and the car ahead. I gave them a hard time about it, but I didn’t throw them out. In fact it turned out that I didn’t have to remove anybody from the laps as a result of their inability to keep up. Most of you just got the job done.
Of course I always count on the Lotuses to be the best at keeping up and the motorcycles also do a great job maybe because they ride in tandem formation so keeping up is just natural for them. Usually the Tour de Marque cars tend to be new to the event so that can be problematic, but I have to say I was pleasantlt surprised by the ability of the Mustangs to get the job done properly. Even the Concours de Elegance cars did better than usual this year.
Maybe it was all the rain on Thursday that got people in the mood on Friday to do a good job of keeping up. The Roadsters also did a great job of keeping up even though they usually do well with that anyway.
I know I put a lot of emphasis on keeping up (really?) but you have no idea of how that one little thing affects how the entire festival runs that day from the beginning of the day to the time that the SVRA cars come down from the track. In fact the SVRA cars always leave the track heading for downtown precisely on time whether we are done with our Stone Bridge Driver laps or not. And your ability to do your part has a seriously direct effect on how that whole schedule works or doesn’t.
Thanks so much to all of you Stone Bridge Drivers for signing up in advance so that we are able to do the necessary planning that then allows you to do such a good job of being the Grand Prix Festival.
Remember if you want to keep up with the Grand Prix Festival ahead of you, there was an Early Bird Registration form in your packet. That gives you all first dibbs for a limited time to sign up for whichever Stone Bridge Driver Event you qualify for before we open registration up to the general public.
See you next year,
Casey