Elistan

I'm just wondering what you thought of the facilities, track (both condition and layout) since some of us might be interested in doing some DEs there at some point.

altiain

I'm not marcucci, but I was there with him, so I'll weigh in with my unsolicited opinion.

First thought: Bring spare brake pads. Front and rear.

The track is a lot of fun, and much more technical than either MSR or TWS. It has three very hard braking zones (hence the brake pad comment - marcucci and I managed to go through 4 pairs of pads between the two of us), a lot of nice elevation changes, a couple of blind corners, and some corners where the camber changes mid-corner. It is a very challenging and entertaining track. 1.7 (?) miles, 11 turns. I think Todd saw just this side of 100mph on the longest straight, I saw just shy of 90mph in the Miata.

It's also probably not a good track for novices. Most of the course is lined by tire walls less than 30 yards from the track edge. The reason for this is because the tree line surrounding the track probably starts 50 yards from the track edge. More than one person managed to end up in the tire wall on the day that I was there. In my opinion, the technical nature of the track combined with the lack of runoff does not make for a good learning environment, although I think experienced drivers will find it a treat.

Surface is not as smooth as MSR, but it has supposedly been recently resurfaced in patches. Not too bumpy, probably similar to some of the TWS infield (like the Carousel). Not appreciably hard on tires... but I cannot stress the need to bring spare pads enough. You will need them.

Facilities are pretty good - cafe/gift shop that served both lunch and a pretty good breakfast while we were there, three story main structure with room for classrooms or briefing areas, covered paddocks, etc. But there isn't much around - there is one gas station in Hallett, and it's probably a good 30 minutes from the nearest Autozone or similar parts store. The only bad part about the facilities is that everything is on the interior of the track, and you have to cross over the course to get to it, so you have to time your arrivals and departures. Probably not a bad idea to bring a 5-gallon can of spare gas, so you won't have to struggle to get out to refill during an event (I burned most of my tank - 12 gallons - in four 20 minute sessions).

I'll definitely be going again - it's a fun track to drive, and track time up there is cheap.

marcucci

My only additional comments:

I'm nto as afraid to recommend this course to amateurs, at least if they are decent drivers to begin with. If this course was supposed to be one of the more/most technical, then I must be better than I thought (or much worse). I didn't find the track THAT challenging, though it's certainly more "complicated" than MSR or perhaps even TWS.

I thought the surface was excellent. I don't recall once hitting any bumps or inconsistent pavement unlike TWS. After having run MSR, I think it is as good. I seem to be the lone person with this opinion, though.

There ARE tire walls, but there is a lot of runoff where I think it's needed. The few places where there aren't would only be dangerous for someone who has never run the course before (and is going balls out), or for a COMPLETE braking system failure. The short runoff is near some tight turns (lower speed), I think that 95% of drivers with a drive-through or instructor should be OK.

I can't speak for the people that ate shit in the tire walls, but I didn't once feel like I was going to be in danger of introducing myself to one. I did have one "off," to avoid hitting another driver that stopped for a red flag. That's the only downside- corner workers seem to be asleep, and the course is fast enough that the corner stations come up FAST.

The runoff is nice. MUCH nicer than TWS. Pretty smooth, it's like driving on pavement covered in grass. None of the Baja-Buggy stuff like at TWS.

I was topping out third in one straight and going into 4th for about 4 or 5 seconds in another. I don't recall seeing 100, though I know I was over 94 or 95mph in that one straight (a copilot said he saw 98 once). That's something else- passengers seem to be allowed, based on the club. That's NICE!

I ripped my stock pads up the first day (to the backing plate) and a set of Autozone pads (they carry s2k pads!!!) the second day (to the wear indicators). I was shocked. I had heard that Hallett was rough on brakes, but never knew how much. I would definitely suggest bringing pads and fluid as well as tools and bleed equipment. I'd suggest going down only on new pads/rotors.

Ultimately, I think it was an awesome course. As fun as any other I've been on. Think of it as an MSR with more turns and a little more speed. Not as high-speed or long as TWS, but pretty close. I'll definitely go back, for the money, it's a better deal than TWS and as much fun.