Agree. There’s a TON of pent up interest.
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I will be willing to spend the extra $'s on a premium track and I don’t even race just out there having fun on an old Rotax! Adams at $60 (just increased from $50) is a good value and a fun track but just not top notch. I’ve only ridden Supermotos at Perris but will try the kart out there soon.
Speaking of… a club type karting facility would be cool. Like Jim Hall had. I’d do that for sure.
I started it when racing cars. My family could not see the whole track at most places. It was a nice way to share the experience with them. I still record back in karts, but only “publish” when there was a really good battle, and most the time not even then. I am planning to look at last weeks race video because it will likely confirm something that I think was happening
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I’ll be there July 24th testing if you’d like to join!
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Well I would like to but I am recovering from three broken ribs. I’ll have to decide nearer the time if I will be fit enough or I may just bring my daughter out there for some laps.
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Know some guys that just visited the track. Sounds like no gas anything allowed on the premise. Not even allowed to park a gas car on the premise. Have to park across the street and walk in.
California isn’t kidding with not allowed anyone run 2-stroke karts and trying to go full electric everything.
Sounds like a good portion of the facilities is still unfinished. Also it’s still in a soft open mode for rentals. You have to be a K1 member, not fully open to public?
I really hope they get the permits sorted, but they must be bleeding money waiting on being allowed to run gas karts and host big races.
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CA will do its level best to kill off business, especially if it involves anything fun.
Well, we have come a long way pollution wise so maybe they are onto something. True story, my dad had to leave caltech because my sister and I were having health problems with the LA area pollution in the 70s. Dammit I could a been a better surfer. But then again, they shut Clarke foam down eventually. Iirc they basically were the only company that made the fiberglass blanks that were the core of every board. I suppose they got painted into a corner by the regulations that evolved over time and had to exit the business. Someone else came up with an alternative but I have no idea if they were any good as that happened after my surfing days.
“They” did not shut down Clark Foam. Gordon Clark did.
Clark resisted stopping his use of toluene diisocyanate in his mfg process. 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate is used as a chemical intermediate in the production of polyurethane products such as foams, coatings, and elastomers. It is extremely toxic. Facing enforcement actions from the EPA, and lawsuits from former employees who suffered from exposure to this nasty stuff…Clark threw a temper tantrum and shut down his $40M business, destroying his own molds and equipment. At the time of its 2005 closing Clark Foam provided about 90% of the United States supply and 60% of the world supply of surfboard blanks. In 2002, Surfer Magazine placed him at No. 2 in its list of the “25 Most Powerful People in Surfing.”
Today, US production of polyurethane foam is over $10 Billion…and those manufacturers (totaling production 250 times larger, in total than Clark) have been able to figure out how to do it under the regulations that Clark said could not be followed. So, the whole victim thing is a stretch.
Clark is now a “hobby” farmer / rancher in OR… The ranch property was purchased in 1993…12 years before he shut down Clark. Oh and…Clark’s high profile self martyrdom did not have much of an impact beyond about 6 months. New suppliers and new technologies quickly filled the gap.
My view was that Clark’s mind was already on a new life in OR. He was done with the surfing scene and business, and his mind was already on something else. The regulatory issues just gave him a justification to do what he already wanted to do. He was wealthy by then, and could afford to just shut it down and leave the scene. Clark is a smart, hardworking guy, and he has made his new farming/ranching life a success. Clark was named 2010 Livestockman of the Year by the Jefferson County Livestock Association…
Very cool explanation, thank you. I had only heard about it from a distance, having been out of surfing for a bit at that point. What I had heard was basically that Clarke was done making the blanks and that oddly, it seemed to come as a surprise with no back up plan. It also seems like they were it, no competition. Your explanation de-mystified that, which seemed odd at the time.
I never did try a new board made with whatever replaced it. It doesn’t seem like there was a big step backwards. I’m not a shaper so maybe the old stuff was easier to work with, but the new boards seem to do just fine.
I do recall that we ended up having to send out all our photo processing needs instead of doing them in house because the chemicals involved were somehow problematic in ca.
Hmm… someone remind me in a couple weeks if this goes thru.
Well, that is 5 weeks away. If SKUSA was not certain it was on, they would not be putting out releases like that…
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K1 needs somebody in charge of communication, at least for the launch phase
Subtlety pushing the track to get shit done publicly? Blame shifting if it falls through? They were suppose to race there over a year ago. I think it was the big SKUSA national race and not the regional Cali group.
We shall see. Still hoping this works out.
Having been on the other side of this kind of communication… it can be pretty exhausting with how often things change during the process and dealing with questions from people (why did the plan change etc etc).
Then again, they are well resourced.
Yes that’s exactly why they need somebody to handle it, otherwise it gets messy really quick, especially with this caliber of a project and so many stakeholders, I can only imagine the challenges they are facing. Crossing my fingers it will all get sorted out soon!
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