GPF Update
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge drivers,
Our hard deadline for signing up for any open Stone Bridge Driver Event is Friday August 27th. That means any mailed in registrations must be received by that date or they will be rejected. There just isn’t time to process any registrations after that. We have too much else going on as we put all of the final GPF puzzle pieces into place.
We do still have a few spots that are open.
Concours d Eelegance has very few spots.
Founders Tour has room for a couple.
LOONY Lotus Rendezvous can stand a few.
The Lane Yamaha Motorcycle Rallye has plenty of room still.
And the Tour de Marquee/Alfa Romeo has room for just 2 cars as of this moment. Oops, we just got one in, so that leaves only one spot as of now.
On another note, keep in mind that we have a no refund policy. As long as we are putting on the event, we have the same expenses whether you decide to show up or not. If we have to cancel an event that is a different story. But if you have signed up, you are committed and we have committed that money to putting on the event with or without you.
Do expect to see a lot more updates from me between now and 9/10
Keep on keeping up,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
In the past we have had a few issues where well intentioned folks would try to help direct traffic downtown during your Cayuga Health System laps of the Old Course. Some of them knew what they were doing while others didn’t have the knowledge to be able to properly help. We always listen to or read your comments and suggestions (good, bad, or indifferent) about how the event works and possible ways to improve it. Of course we rarely follow these suggestions, but here is a case where you folks made a suggestion that actually made some sense to us.
When you are downtown or out on the Old Course during you laps or during the parking process, there will be a lot of different people trying our hardest to get you to go where we want you to go. This year, all of those people will be wearing the same brightly colored safety vests. Pay attention to any of us who are wearing these vests and definitely disregard anyone who is not wearing one of these vests with the exception of police or fire/rescue personnel.
Hopefully if we see anyone in the street without a vest trying to “help” we will dispose of them in a proper manner.
Otherwise, if you manage to keep up with the car ahead of you, there should be no problems.
See you soon,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
Last night the Grand Prix Festival Committee had their last meeting before this year’s event. Everything is a go. Of course we have tons of last minute hatches to batten down along with numerous T’s to cross and I’s to dot, but basically everything looks to be on track for another great Grand Prix Festival.
I want to remind you all that the hard and fast approaching registration deadline is Friday, August 27th. Any registrations received after that date will be rejected.
As of this moment we still have room in the Lane’s Yamaha Motorcycle Rallye. The Concours de Elegance has room for 4 more cars. There is room for just 5 more cars in the Ryan William Vineyard founders Tour. Just 2 places left in the Knapp Sporting Roadster Tour. And just a couple of spots left in the LOONY Lotus Rendezvous.
Everything else is completely full.
On another note, when you show up for onsite check in, one of the things that will be in your packet will be an Early Registration form for 2022. As a Stone Bridge Driver in this year’s event, you get first dibs at signing up for next year until we open it up to the public after 10/15/21.
Taking advantage of that early registration is a great way to keep up with the car ahead of you.
See you soon,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
As predicted the Knapp Vineyards Sporting Roadster Tour is now full.
More updates to follow soon.
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
I am happy to report that the Ryan William Vineyard Founders Tour is now also completely full.
If I remember correctly that may just leave a very few spots in the Concours de Elegance, and some room for some motorcycles in the Lane Yamaha Motorcycle Tour. Oh, I think there are also a couple of places in the LOONY Lotus Rendezvous.
Unless you own a truly Concours condition car, a motorcycle, or a Lotus, if you haven’t signed up by now, you are out of luck for this year.
That’s what can happen when you are not keeping up with the car ahead of you.
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
We are getting closer.
I have attached your Old Course Rules Acknowledgement form. Please print it out, fill it in and bring it with you to onsite check in.
Below is an explanation of the Rules of the Old course that I expect you to have fun following, or should I say keeping up with.
Casey
Rules for Laps of the Old Course for Stone Bridge Drivers
During your 2 lap tour of the Old Course it is an open road, not a closed course. There will be oncoming traffic and there may even be local traffic mixed in with your group if you wrongly let that happen.
Be aware that one third of you want to drive too fast, and wish the rest would speed up.
Another third of you want to drive too slowly, and are annoyed at how fast everyone else is going.
While the other third just wants to do it properly with everyone keeping it at a safe and proper speed.
My goal is to keep this festival going for as many years as possible. That means NO MISHAPS on the Old Course. It is better to have a little bit of fun for a lot of years than to have a lot of fun for only one year.
Although each Stone Bridge Driver Event will have its own lead car, there will be one common pace car that will pace each group for all of the Stone Bridge Driver Laps. This year the pace car will be a Miata driven by Robyn Resch our veteran Pace Car Driver. Our Sweep Car for each group this year is a blue 1970 280SE Mercedes driven by David Tobin of Tobin Motor Works.
Most groups will not be split car by car but rather the first half of your group will go up the right lane towards the S/F line and then the second half of your group will be directed by our professional splitter Dancing Dan to take the left lane to head towards the S/F line for the start of your 2 laps. The person who does the splitting is a pro and is used to splitting real race cars driven by pros, so act accordingly. Meaning look for his signals and do what he tells you, and try not to hit him. He is trained to not move, so you only have one spot to avoid. By splitting the group in half, it should work out that whichever cars are in front of you and behind you as you approach downtown Watkins Glen for your standing start, will be with you for the entirety of your laps.
Each group will get a standing start, beginning with the right lane with the cars that are in the left lane following on the end of the first half of the cars. This will happen one lane at a time. In other words one lane will proceed and then the other will follow. This will all be at the direction of our traffic people who will all be wearing yellowish safety vests. So, all you have to do is pay attention and go when and where they tell you to go. If the one car in the moving lane is slow on the uptake, the next car in the waiting lane might be directed to go, to try to keep you all together. Of course then you will be out of order, but that is just one of the many bad things that can happen when one of you fails to keep up with the car ahead.
There will be no passing at all while doing your two laps on the Old Course. Sorry, but we really have to keep it safe for the longevity of this great event.
Keep in mind that when we do our laps, the Old Course is still an open road. It is NOT a closed course as it is for the SVRA cars, later on.
There will be no breaking of any speed limits while doing your two laps on the Old Course. There will be Police cars patrolling the course in the opposite direction who will be issuing traffic tickets to any violators.
Standard NY seat belt laws will still be in effect and will be enforced. And the driver and every passenger in your car must have signed a waiver when they showed up at their respective events. That means no added passengers for your two lap tour. And if I catch any driver texting or talking on a cell phone while driving, you will instantly be thrown out. And definitely no stopping anywhere on the course to switch drivers or pick up or discharge passengers.
While speeding is prohibited, driving too slow will also not be tolerated. If you and/or your car are not capable of maintaining 55 MPH outside of the village limits, we ask that you agree to not participate in your respective two lap tour of the Old Course. Please tell your event chair at your drivers meeting that you won’t be able to keep up and you will be told where to go and what to do so that you will still be able to park with your group.
Anyone who is taking part in the two lap tour, who fails to keep up with the group, will be pulled out of their group on Franklin Street by one of the traffic workers and asked to remain there while the rest of their group completes their laps. I know this sounds harsh, but I have to tell you that not keeping up with the car ahead of you can be as dangerous and/or disruptive as driving too fast.
It will be up to each and every Stone Bridge Driver to KEEP UP with the car in front of you. You will not be required to break any speed limits or drive in a dangerous manner to accomplish this task of keeping up. But it will only work if everyone does their part. If one car lags behind, they hold up the train behind them, and then they have to go too fast to catch up, and then we have huge holes in the group, which in turn encourages pedestrians to cross the street, which can of course put them and our entire festival in jeopardy. Also even relatively small gaps will unnecessarily allow local cars and trucks to get into the mix which will then make it impossible for you to keep up without dangerously speeding. When I see the gap on Franklin Street and you tell me there had been a big truck who got into the line, I automatically know you were not keeping up properly. That is the only way that truck could have gotten in front of you.
Treat it like a funeral procession in a big city that has to go through traffic lights all together as one unit. They can do it, so can you.
You all know the old joke: Why did the pedestrian cross the road? No it really wasn’t to get to the other side. It was because one of you failed to keep up with the car ahead of you and now we have a bunch of pedestrians in the way. Shame on you!
Not keeping up with the car ahead of you not only encourages stupid pedestrians to put themselves into harm’s way, but it will also allow cars, trucks, and dreaded RVs out on the course to get into your line and in the way of everyone. The best way to keep them out is to keep up with the car ahead of you. This will also make it impossible for the interlopers who try every year to get into the act.
We have a lot of Stone Bridge Driver vehicles to put across the Old Course in a very small amount of time. That creates a very tight schedule that only works when you are doing your part by following directions and keeping up with the car ahead of you.
Another thing to consider is that while you are enjoying your 2 laps of the Old Course, you are also “The Show” downtown for many, many spectators. Well, it isn’t much of a show if there are big gaps between groups of cars. That leaves you just one choice:
Keep up with the car ahead of you.
Please help the festival by doing your part to obey these rules. You will still have a fun drive and you will find that it will be so much more enjoyable for everyone when you are all going at approximately the same speed.
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
Our SBD windshield stickers have arrived for this year. The Alfa Romeo enthusiasts among you should appreciate the design. I should note that since we have been using stickers on the windshields they have always been supplied by the same vendor who is Solo Performance Specialties. https://www.soloperformance.com/
For those who don’t already know, these stickers will be applied to your windshield by a volunteer when you arrive at onsite check in for your Stone Bridge Driver event. The correct position for that sticker is on the outside at the upper left hand (driver’s left) corner of your windshield. Failure to have that sticker on your car and in the correct position will eliminate you from doing your Cayuga Health System Laps of the Old Course.
Lame excuses such as it fell off, or I have it under my seat, or even there it is on the upper right hand corner will not work. It sounds harsh, but at normal speed on Franklin Street we have only one quick shot to spot the sticker in the right spot or not. If it isn’t there, we will have no time for you to plead your case. You are just thrown out of the laps and that is that.
You should also be aware that these stickers have always been made of high quality reusable vinyl. If you save the backing paper, you can remove the sticker at the end of the day and save it for posterity. Some just keep their stickers on the windshield from year to year. I love driving around this state and occasionally noticing a cool car coming the other way proudly displaying last year’s sticker or the last ten or more year’s stickers.
If you have multiple stickers on your windshield from prior years, please move one of them to another place so that this year’s sticker can be put in the right spot.
Remember to keep up with the stickered car ahead of you.
I will be seeing you and your sticker soon,
Casey
Casey Creamer
Hello fellow Stone Bridge Drivers,
You should all know that each participant in any Stone Bridge Driver event gets display parking in one form or another on festival day after your two lap tour of the Old Course. You not only have the best parking spots at the Festival, but the display of your cars IS an important part of The Festival.
Franklin Street reopens at 8:00.
Technically you are parked in for the duration of the festival, but there are a few ways around that. Each Stone Bridge Driver event parks in a different place, so the possibility of being able to sneak out early varies with each event.
If you absolutely, positively, have to get out of town before the latter part of the event, you can opt out of display parking at the end of your second lap. Opt out parking is not recommended, but if you insist on not having your display parking, when you get to the main intersection at 4th and Franklin, opt out at the end of your 2nd lap by one or both people in the car putting your arm out the window and pointing straight ahead. That will give the Police officer and Maryanne (our 4th and Franklin person) a heads up to clear the intersection so you can continue down 4th street and fend for yourself.
If you opt out, do not even think about parking in Lafayette Park with the Alfa Romeos from the Tour de Marque. Any car without the right sticker in that park will be towed.
If you turn the corner and head in the direction of the parking, you will be parked whether you wanted to or not. Once you are on Franklin Street after the end of your 2nd lap you are committed to parking. You will not be allowed to turn around at that point.
First you need to know how to count laps, even though our traffic staff is counting for you and you just need to follow our directions.
Your first lap starts the first time you cross the S/F line regardless of where you entered the course to get there. And your second lap starts the second time you cross the S/F line, regardless of where you exit the course to park.
So, if you are looking to opt out of the parking, after you have crossed the S/F line the second time, when you get to the intersection of Fourth and Franklin the next time, point that you want to go straight and then you are on your own. If you follow the rest of the group that will be parking and you will be parked too, no exceptions. And of course if you are following someone who decides to opt out, take notice of them pointing their way out so that you don’t make the mistake of following them after being told so much to keep up with the car ahead of you.
Please follow the directions of all traffic and parking people. The most important direction will be that all cars are to be parked nose in. We have a lot of cars to put across the Old Course in a very short period of time. While one group is parking, the next group is already on course doing their laps. This complex choreography only works if the group of cars that are parking get off of the course in a timely manner.
A timely manner is my polite way of saying RIGHT NOW!
One key element to that is parking nose in. After your whole group is completely parked, you can find a way to turn your car around if you really need to.
Here is the parking breakdown event by event. (maybe the word breakdown was poorly chosen)
Tour de Marque/Alfa Romeo
All of you will be parking in Lafayette Park and will have no trouble being able to leave at any time.
Concorso Speciale:
You are pretty much locked in for the duration although there are a couple of creative ways to get out of there early, but you should plan on being there at least until the SVRA Cars arrive.
Glenkhana:
You are on display, but there are ways to leave if needed. It could involve ignoring a one way sign.
Vintage Motorcycle Rallye:
How hard can it be to sneak a Bike out?
Founders Tour:
You are on display, but there are a few ways out for some of you via the side street.
Sporting Roadster Tour:
You are on display, but there are a few ways out for some of you via the side street.
Concours d’ Elegance:
You are on display all day and as soon as the Race Cars leave, you can get out of there.
Glenora Run:
Now this one is a little more complicated. Some of you will be parked on the closed Franklin Street diagonal to the curb between 4th and 2nd Street. The rest of you will be in a lot at 8th and Franklin. There will be some ways to sneak out by going the wrong way on 8th street to Madison. Not recommended, but possible.
If any of the ones on Franklin Street leave early it will really harm the display. But those on Franklin Street must move their cars by 8:00 at the latest. At one point we lost the privilege of parking diagonally because a few cars didn’t remember to leave by the time we had to open Franklin Street which is also a state highway and has to open on time. Now we are back to diagonal parking there, but it will only work if every Glenora car remembers to be gone by 8:00.
LOONY Lotus Rendezvous:
You need to be on display because everyone likes to look at Lotus cars, but a few of you will find it easy to sneak out a little early if you have to, via the side street.
So you see, that most of you really won’t have much of a problem, but by all means if you are worried about getting out early, just opt out at the end of your laps when you get to 4th and Franklin.
If you decide to opt out, make sure you let your intentions be known at 4th and Franklin, because once you make the turn to head toward your parking area, you will be parked. There is no way at that point to turn you around or get you out of the mix. You will be parked with the rest of your group.
As long as you keep up with the car ahead of you, it will all work out just fine.
See you soon,
Casey