Hey guys, Fiance CJ and I have a friend who works as an engineer for a factory backed race team. This weekend he's been able to get us tickets to the race at Mid-Ohio. We've never been to a race before, much less a race weekend.
Should be getting more ticket details from him tomorrow, but in the meantime - what should we be expecting? What do we need to bring?
Planning on tent + camp chairs, possibly a small grill, sunscreen..? What am I missing? What should we be looking to do? Anyone else going to be there? Thanks!
In reply to classicJackets :
I will not be there, but all the stuff you listed is good, plus plenty of drinks.
My sons and I will be there, but we stay in a hotel. Multiple changes of clothes and shoes, the weather can vary quite a bit. Lots to drink. Bring your own food if you want to avoid the concession prices. We always park in the infield so that the vehicle and our stuff is central to most of the race course and paddock. At my age (67) my back will be killing me after a few hours of wandering around, so a comfy chair to sit in is a relief. We carry small back packs and soft coolers with drinks when we wander away from our vehicle. Umbrellas are handy for sun or rain. Waterproof gear if it looks like rain.
Mid-O is a really nice track to spectate at. Take a bit of time to get the lay of the land and be sure to view the racing from a variety of places, Keyhole, Madness, Thunder Valley, back straight, pit in are all good spots.
Has anyone camped there with an RV? I keep wanting to take the travel trailer down there for the Indycar race.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Which area do you get a hotel in? Looks like several around and not sure on quality/safety. Looks like rainy weather so camping might be out of the cards
Mid-Ohio is a really pretty track. Hilly, grassy terrain to walk around on and lots of elevation changes to keep things interesting. Bring rain jackets, sun hats, and umbrellas - you'll have both rainy and hot sunny weather this weekend. Pack a couple towels for drying things off. Water and granola bars are my go-to snack to have on hand. Otherwise, what you listed is good. I used to bring a grill and cook but found myself tiring of that and just shell out for concessions for meals nowadays. Unless I'm racing with a team that plans meals, then I'll throw in on that and help out.
classicJackets said:
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Which area do you get a hotel in? Looks like several around and not sure on quality/safety. Looks like rainy weather so camping might be out of the cards
We ended up in a Motel-6 in Mansfield. My son booked it, otherwise I'd have booked something a little more upscale on the northern edge of Columbus.
Mid-Ohio is awesome. You'll have a great time, and there are several great views of the track. Some personal favorite places for spectating: the inside of the Keyhole, Turn 4 and 5 (good view from up at the concession stand), outside of the Carousel.
Like the others have said, plan on walking a lot. Pack in a ton of water, too. And don't forget your sunscreen.
Damn, just lost my post. Let's try again.
SWMBO and I will be there. We usually setup camp in thunder valley and explore from there. I like watching the cars get light coming over turn 9 and then flying past at full song. SWMBO likes the proximity to flush toilets and running water. Since IMSA requires infield parking passes (and I'm cheap) we'll probably be parking with the pleebs.
How much you should bring depends on where you plan to park and how much you like moving around. For a race where we can park in the infield, I usually go all out on packing. Chairs/tables/canopy/grill/big coolers/tarps/blankets. For a race where I'm not sitting next to my car I'll probably leave out the canopy but the rest will probably still go.
I suggest you bring a small radio and headphones. There are many areas you cannot hear the announcers, and many other areas you can't hear them when the cars go by. Being a road course you'll have a really hard time keeping track of what's going on if you can't follow the announcers. They broadcast on 90.3. I use an old MP3 player with a digital FM tuner and a set of ear buds. My old radio with no digital tuner has a hard time keeping the signal depending on where you sit.
We like to bring mountain bikes to get around. It's a game changer if you like exploring different areas of the track. They rent golf carts there too, or you can bring your own for $100.
If you bring a blanket to sit/lay on, bring a tarp to put under it incase it's wet. SWMBO likes to get a good nap in whenever we're at mid ohio, race cars screaming by seems to have little impact on her quality of sleep, but a little moisture soaking thru the blanket is a problem.
Earplugs are good to have. Not always needed on the track, but if you're in the pits it can get loud for people who haven't already destroyed their hearing.
Pits are open and free. Normal closed toe shoes and long pants are suggested/required, tho not always followed/enforced. The pits during IMSA are one of my favorite places.
The open grid walk on pit lane on Sunday is one of my favorite things about IMSA. Very cool to check out all the cars and pit setups up close.
And rain gear, but that's probably pretty obvious. I personally love sitting by turns 4 and 5, the Esses, and Thunder Valley. Standing on the bridge crossing over Thunder Valley is quite the rush.
SWMBOs Mom lives 10 miles away so we stay with her when we're down there, but I've had friends stay at the hotels at 71 and 97. It's < 10 miles from the track and is plenty safe, it's much more rural than heading into mansfield if that's your thing. Hoping on 71 north and going up to route 13 opens up some other hotel options as well.
I will be there with at least two kids, my boys usually invite someone to go with them. We live about 40 miles south of the track so I can't help with the camping but here is my take with the rest of your questions.
- As others have said plan on walking a lot and not much is flat. I usually bring water, snacks and a blanket but end up buying "real" food at the track, the Pizza place in the infield is the kids favorite.
- Our favorite place to spectate is Thunder Valley, there is shade from the trees and being on the bridge when the cars come flying underneath is cool. The viewing area at turns 4, 5 and 6 are also a very good place to watch, probably the best but as such it fills up fast.
- Try to do the Grid Walk and take time to explore the paddock. Fan interaction is one of the things that IMSA does really well, it is amazing how close you can get to the cars and drivers.
- One of my favorite things to do is go down between the permanent paddock buildings as the race ends. The cars come off the track there and being 3 feet from them as they come off the track is really cool.
Anyway, you will have a good time and if you think of any other questions let us know.
camera with telephoto or zoom lens needs to be on the pack list
Hey guys, who is here today? We’re at turn 5 for the Porsche race, and looking for something to do after, if anyone is around! We’re camping onsite (sleeping in car)...
