[quote=“rk1951”]So, when is this track going to open for motorcycles? Do you know if there are going to be any restrictions? For example, the Pen Bay track doesn’t let 2-stroke bikes on (I just heard that they might have changed this rule, but it is way too expensive to get onto that track anyway.)
How many corners, how long is the track? Do you have a diagram or map of the track? Are there going to be practice days? TIS was pretty much open daily for practice and usually Sunday’s were event days. Anyway, I’m apart of a team here in Taiwan and I have a race bike that is pretty much useless now if TIS closes. So, I would really like to know as much as possible. If this new track is going to be similar to Ben Pay then it wont be worth it and there won’t be any riders/racers to be willing to fork out “that” much cash a year to ride and or practice.[/quote]
Too many questions at this early stage. Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
We have our own vehicles/school,Trackdays,Supercar clubs,Manufacturer days, Corporate days which should keep us busy at good rates.
Happy to consider practice days etc, but has to make sense for everyone. We already have a huge demand verbally and I will see how many days that equates to .
Let you know.
I’m not newbie to the track scene in the States and here. I know you have a lot of experience with this as well. I have been doing track events since I was about 18 years old in the States, and most tracks in the US offer the same sort of things like you mentioned. It was still affordable in the States. I was still able to practice on weekends at the track and many tracks around the United States. There is a HUGE demand here for vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Not to clown on the Taiwanese, but I have been here long enough to realize that they will do something wrong. They will build a nice facility and then demand that everyone needs to become a member and pay 30k a year just for a membership, ect. They will demand outrageous prices for track days. That is ridiculous! The scooter and motorcycles scene here is big and WANTS to grow, especially the scooter scene. There needs to be an affordable track that will let riders get on and use their rides. Yes, they need to have a proper license, or make everyone take the mandatory training course, need the proper riding equipment (leathers, helmet, gloves, boots), need to go through inspection to make sure their bikes are not going to blow up on track, but if they can pass they should be able to ride for relatively cheap. I’m not saying 500nt a day, but something in the middle. I think back home I was paying about 100 bucks a day to drive my car in track events. There is a demand here for it, but if the track turns out to be a reflection of Pen Bay then it will be garbage and only for the rich. If Longtan had the right permits and maintained their facility then it would make money. They could even charge more for practicing. It has just been going down for 20 years. They actually never once touched the track pavement in pretty much 20 years. They didn’t care! It is so sad, there are so many riders here in Taiwan that need a place. The streets are terrible to ride on. I have had 2 friends pass away mountain riding here, so we need a safe place that will accommodate the average track rider and not the stubborn ass rich people here. I just hope this new track can help with this, but I honestly don’t see it that way.
Oh! I’d love to take some English, reasonably priced ridding classes. I’m sure there are lots of things that I could learn from professional experienced riders. If that’s ever offered you have to notice it here.
PS: Note that I’m poor and stingy. You better watch your pocket if we meet haha… nah, kidding, but I don’t know what’s the budget for this type of activities and I’m concerned about money lately
I agree with the above mentioned points. Of course, a better track with better facilities and trackside staff comes at a cost, and that shouldn’t be a problem for most people who want track access to pay if there are track days (open practice) sessions. So long as the price/fee/conditions are not ridiculous like PenBay. I get the feeling that the PenBay circuit limits access to the track with high fees to cut out the riffraff that could render the conditions dangerous from sheer recklessness. But then again, the rich guys have this superhuman attitude about them which also makes them dangerous. In any case, you will most definitely get lots of attention from the rich guy car clubs. Time will tell how this plays out but I’m sorry to say i’m not holding my breath for much in favour of the average enthusiasts who would like access to a track. You can be a hero and prove us wrong.
I agree with the above mentioned points. Of course, a better track with better facilities and trackside staff comes at a cost, and that shouldn’t be a problem for most people who want track access to pay if there are track days (open practice) sessions. So long as the price/fee/conditions are not ridiculous like PenBay. I get the feeling that the PenBay circuit limits access to the track with high fees to cut out the riffraff that could render the conditions dangerous from sheer recklessness. But then again, the rich guys have this superhuman attitude about them which also makes them dangerous. In any case, you will most definitely get lots of attention from the rich guy car clubs. Time will tell how this plays out but I’m sorry to say I’m not holding my breath for much in favour of the average enthusiasts who would like access to a track. You can be a hero and prove us wrong.[/quote]
I hear what you are saying. I am biased of course as I would ,personally, like to promote Motorsport . The only way I could get this far was to promise someone a return on investment that was ok. I do have other plans but got to make this viable. Penbay currently has a monopoly and can charge what they like, so maybe things may change a little. The solution is to get a few of these venues going to satisfy the demand. It is a shame that Taiwan does not see this as an “industry” like many Countries would. As mentioned, you can actually let people go fast (which they will do anyway) in a much safer way ,with less danger to others .
I would hope there would be room for everyone to get a bit of what they fancy . Like everything here…(except the traffic)
.it will grind along slowly
I agree with the above mentioned points. Of course, a better track with better facilities and trackside staff comes at a cost, and that shouldn’t be a problem for most people who want track access to pay if there are track days (open practice) sessions. So long as the price/fee/conditions are not ridiculous like PenBay. I get the feeling that the PenBay circuit limits access to the track with high fees to cut out the riffraff that could render the conditions dangerous from sheer recklessness. But then again, the rich guys have this superhuman attitude about them which also makes them dangerous. In any case, you will most definitely get lots of attention from the rich guy car clubs. Time will tell how this plays out but I’m sorry to say I’m not holding my breath for much in favour of the average enthusiasts who would like access to a track. You can be a hero and prove us wrong.[/quote]
I hear what you are saying. I am biased of course as I would ,personally, like to promote Motorsport . The only way I could get this far was to promise someone a return on investment that was ok. I do have other plans but got to make this viable. Penbay currently has a monopoly and can charge what they like, so maybe things may change a little. The solution is to get a few of these venues going to satisfy the demand. It is a shame that Taiwan does not see this as an “industry” like many Countries would. As mentioned, you can actually let people go fast (which they will do anyway) in a much safer way ,with less danger to others .
I would hope there would be room for everyone to get a bit of what they fancy . Like everything here…(except the traffic)
.it will grind along slowly[/quote]
Well Shiadao thanks…please keep us posted. There isn’t much of a foreigner racer scene here. Since I started riding on the track here, I have only seen about a handful of other foreigners out there riding and only about 4 actual racing including myself. I hope there will be some kind of venue open for us “regular guy” racers and track riders out there in the future. Taiwan really needs it. Looks like TIS is gonzo. We should know for sure in about 3 weeks to a month. I’m pretty stoked to have one of the fastest Honda NSRs on the island without anywhere to ride it. The street really isn’t an option for me, just not worth it. Anyway, good luck and if you have any new info on the track please tell us.
I’m not trying to jack your post, but didn’t want to start a new threat just for this picture. I hope you don’t mind. I also can’t wait to know more about this new track. A friend went to check out the Longtan track yesterday. This is what it looks like now. The website says they will be up and running in December. I have know idea what they are doing. My god!!
Hahah, no shit! I think they are finally getting it right. Man, I shouldn’t have sold my CPI. This track would be perfect for it now! Stupid TIS :loco:
I always wanted to do a track day in the UK but was put off by the huge cost. I know, they’re running a business and the insurance isn’t cheap etc. Motorsport is for the rich. High startup costs and high running costs. Thankfully there are other sports to suit all pockets. Thats why I like mountain biking, reasonable startup costs and it costs nothing to ride every weekend. If that doesn’t suit, play football. Then all you need is a ball, or even an old tin can.
Good luck with the project. I know there will be a lot of demand from the people who rode at Longtan, and there are a lot of them. But what’s this, has Longtan won the legal battle? Great news if there will be two tracks in the north. I’ll deffo go and check it out one day when you open. (Just to watch, mind. Make sure your cafe has great sandwiches please)!
[quote=“shiadoa”][quote=“rk1951”]So, when is this track going to open for motorcycles? Do you know if there are going to be any restrictions? For example, the Pen Bay track doesn’t let 2-stroke bikes on (I just heard that they might have changed this rule, but it is way too expensive to get onto that track anyway.)
How many corners, how long is the track? Do you have a diagram or map of the track? Are there going to be practice days? TIS was pretty much open daily for practice and usually Sunday’s were event days. Anyway, I’m apart of a team here in Taiwan and I have a race bike that is pretty much useless now if TIS closes. So, I would really like to know as much as possible. If this new track is going to be similar to Ben Pay then it wont be worth it and there won’t be any riders/racers to be willing to fork out “that” much cash a year to ride and or practice.[/quote]
Too many questions at this early stage. Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
We have our own vehicles/school,Trackdays,Supercar clubs,Manufacturer days, Corporate days which should keep us busy at good rates.
Happy to consider practice days etc, but has to make sense for everyone. We already have a huge demand verbally and I will see how many days that equates to .
Let you know.[/quote]
I have a major supplier within a few hundred meters of this place, and I’ll be visiting him early next week. Would I be seeing any progress on the site or is it still too early?
[quote=“MJB”][quote=“shiadoa”][quote=“rk1951”]So, when is this track going to open for motorcycles? Do you know if there are going to be any restrictions? For example, the Pen Bay track doesn’t let 2-stroke bikes on (I just heard that they might have changed this rule, but it is way too expensive to get onto that track anyway.)
How many corners, how long is the track? Do you have a diagram or map of the track? Are there going to be practice days? TIS was pretty much open daily for practice and usually Sunday’s were event days. Anyway, I’m apart of a team here in Taiwan and I have a race bike that is pretty much useless now if TIS closes. So, I would really like to know as much as possible. If this new track is going to be similar to Ben Pay then it wont be worth it and there won’t be any riders/racers to be willing to fork out “that” much cash a year to ride and or practice.[/quote]
Too many questions at this early stage. Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
We have our own vehicles/school,Trackdays,Supercar clubs,Manufacturer days, Corporate days which should keep us busy at good rates.
Happy to consider practice days etc, but has to make sense for everyone. We already have a huge demand verbally and I will see how many days that equates to .
Let you know.[/quote]
I have a major supplier within a few hundred meters of this place, and I’ll be visiting him early next week. Would I be seeing any progress on the site or is it still too early?[/quote]
This is Taiwan .Things grind along slowly. You may see some drilling/survey guys on the job. They will be the ones chewing Betel nuts pretending that they know what they are doing
Good if Longtan can survive BTW.
[quote=“shiadoa”]
Good if Longtan can survive BTW.[/quote]
Longtan is dead and gone. It has already been demolished. I saw a picture of the place last week. You can’t even tell there was a track there. They posted on their website that they are done. It has been opened since 1993. So sad that it is finally gone. Now what the hell am I going to do with my race bike? There is no place in this entire country to get on a track. Ben Bay doesn’t count because that place is for rich people and plus it is too far away.
[quote=“shiadoa”][quote=“MJB”][quote=“shiadoa”][quote=“rk1951”]So, when is this track going to open for motorcycles? Do you know if there are going to be any restrictions? For example, the Pen Bay track doesn’t let 2-stroke bikes on (I just heard that they might have changed this rule, but it is way too expensive to get onto that track anyway.)
How many corners, how long is the track? Do you have a diagram or map of the track? Are there going to be practice days? TIS was pretty much open daily for practice and usually Sunday’s were event days. Anyway, I’m apart of a team here in Taiwan and I have a race bike that is pretty much useless now if TIS closes. So, I would really like to know as much as possible. If this new track is going to be similar to Ben Pay then it wont be worth it and there won’t be any riders/racers to be willing to fork out “that” much cash a year to ride and or practice.[/quote]
Too many questions at this early stage. Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
We have our own vehicles/school,Trackdays,Supercar clubs,Manufacturer days, Corporate days which should keep us busy at good rates.
Happy to consider practice days etc, but has to make sense for everyone. We already have a huge demand verbally and I will see how many days that equates to .
Let you know.[/quote]
I have a major supplier within a few hundred meters of this place, and I’ll be visiting him early next week. Would I be seeing any progress on the site or is it still too early?[/quote]
This is Taiwan .Things grind along slowly. You may see some drilling/survey guys on the job. They will be the ones chewing Betel nuts pretending that they know what they are doing
Good if Longtan can survive BTW.[/quote]
Your lack of optimism in that last post suggests that this new track is still someone’s pipe dream and the chances of seeing it built anytime in the near future appears slim to none. I did see something posted by Option Magazine on Facebook about a mini Suzuka go-kart track park attraction for Miaoli county (probably lihpao land) which is in the area where you mentioned this new track will be. One thing is for sure, they demolish tracks much faster than they build them.
Found this price card for track rentals in PenBay.http://www.pic-taiwan.com/en_hire_list.php That’s a bit pricey compared to the 100$nt per session at Longtan, eh RK1951?
Yeah it is pretty expensive. Even more expensive then the tracks where I used to race in Arizona and California.
Actually Elegua you are wrong. That is another problem with Pen Bay. It isn’t safe. Have you ever watched any videos of the track on Youtube? The track is full of walls, there is little runoff. At least at Longtan, there weren’t as many walls. So would think that when a company builds a state of the art track in this day and age you would build proper runoff. Also, I have many friends that race the track now and the surface is quite bumpy. So, I personally have not ridden the track, but the walls situation sucks.
Yeah it is pretty expensive. Even more expensive then the tracks where I used to race in Arizona and California.
Actually Elegua you are wrong. That is another problem with Pen Bay. It isn’t safe. Have you ever watched any videos of the track on Youtube? The track is full of walls, there is little runoff. At least at Longtan, there weren’t as many walls. So would think that when a company builds a state of the art track in this day and age you would build proper runoff. Also, I have many friends that race the track now and the surface is quite bumpy. So, I personally have not ridden the track, but the walls situation sucks.
You can’t compare the two tracks, that is pointless. Yes, 100 percent Pen Bay is a way better track. I know all about the Lontan track as I have been racing there for 4-5 years on it. But yeah I am not defending the Lontan track by any means. Yes, that track was a death trap, but so is Pen Bay. Light years?? Oh man, that isn’t true. Ben Pay looks way better, but the builders could have made that track so much safer. It is sad that they didn’t. Ben Pay is unsafe in my opinion. Also have to remember the speed difference. The top speed anyone would ever get to on the longtan track was never over 140kph and I am am being generous, the speeds are way higher at Pen Bay, with walls on every single corner. Anyway, this is a pointless thing to argue about.
Sure. It’s far from perfect. But it strikes me there are a lot of less safe tracks elsewhere. Make sure that you don’t ride on all those unsafe tracks back home in the US or UK or wherever.
Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
. Like everything here…(except the traffic)
Anyway, good luck and if you have any new info on the track please tell us.
Longtan was able to be cheap because it wasn’t full every day and they spent almost zero on maintaining it ( as mentioned on this thread). Hard to spend Millions… and rent it out for buttons as it would not be worthwhile. It will be longer than longtan with excellent facilities and I hope a lot safer but that all comes at a cost. It is a little like a Hotel, in that if it’s quiet …it is cheaper. Have to evaluate the situation and decide nearer the time.
