New MID-AMERICA MOTORPLEX
"If you build it, they will come..."
As of November 11, 2001, we are not JUST talking about the "Field of Dreams"
baseball movie... now the motorsport enthusiast have our OWN "dream track" in a
SW Iowa corn field...
More than 120 vehicles took to the ALL NEW 2.23 mile, 15 turn Mid America
Motorplex (MAM) on Sunday for a chance to experience what will truly be an
AWESOME driving facility. The day was broken down into "Parade Laps" (pace car
controlled low speed laps), and four different "Touring Groups", Imports &
Domestic "Economy Class" (for the lower HP cars), Domestic & Import "Performacne
Class" (for the higher HP cars) and a combined "Motorcycle and shifter kart" run
group.
The base coats of asphalt are down and the layout of the track complete. The
final "high-tech" top coat of aslphalt is being laid today (Monday, 11/12). No
apex curbs... no marked apexes or track out and a pretty significant drop off at
the edge of the track meant that everyone had to mind their Ps & Qs... which
they did...for the most part... and... how does 75 degrees under bright sunny
skies sound?? AWESOME day it was...
If you want to see some pics from yesterday's event, go to
http://www.midamericamotorplex.com and click on the "pictures"
button. I will be posting some in-car video on my web site as well in the near
future... I'll let y'all know when it is posted. Our local Mustang club had no
less than 15 folks show up... on less than TWO DAYS NOTICE!!! We'll be posting
pics on our web site as well,
http://www.mustangclubofcentraliowa.org soon...
Personally, I logged almost 70 miles of
on-track driving in the slow ol' farmer dude Mustang (felt RIGHT at home whizzin'
around in the middle of a corn field!!!). This track will TRULY have something
for everyone! The 2,222 ft "west straight" allows for BIG speed (I was seein'
high 120s, low 130s), while three different "S" combinations make for some
"thinking" driving... three turns are increasing radi sweepers and require a LOT
of patience to drive "correctly". This will be a GREAT track to teach on and
offers something for both the novice and advanced drivers.
A HUGE "thank you" needs to go out to Mark Tichner and Aaron Johnson (and a HOST
of others) for taking this "idea" from paper to asphalt (in LESS than a year I
might add) and providing us ALL with a new place where we will be able to come
out and enjoy our driving hobby.
There is STILL a LOT of work to be done (paddock paving, control building,
classroom/concession facitlities, worker stations, etc, etc. (the first
"official" event is scheduled for early April 2002. But if the track is any clue
of things to come, I hope you ALL consider a trip to SW Iowa sometime in your
driving career and get the chance to enjoy MAM for yourself.
Written by Jeff Lacina
