Grand Prix New York is officially OPEN!

[sydude]

We're gonna knock your socks off. Nuff said.

http://www.gpny.com

[cooleyjb]

Congrats.

Good Luck I know a number of club racers who have been looking forward to it.

Sent you a PM also.

--Joe

[wbs]

Cool!!!!!!!!!

So looking forward to this.

This is going to feel like going to the video arcade when I was a kid.

[dalyduo]

Watcha' got here kids is your Taj Mahal of karting facilities.

Of course on a nice day like today... Who needs an indoor track?!

Congrats to Sy, Nat, Yury, Ari and Kim for doing the heavy lifting of getting it to the starting line.

Let the games begin!

[CDkarter24]

About time!

Just kidding.

Congratulations! I will probably be heading over there in the next few weeks. (Going skiing this weekend)

Yippee!:bowdo wn:
thats enough smileys for now :-)

[cdh]

Yes, best wishes to the gang that have created a new standard
for indoor racing facilities, very nice, very creative, wait till ya see it

love the Sno-Kart DD

[jcraige]

Outstanding, Sy! Congratulations. I can not wait to see it.

[Juicyfan]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Watcha' got here kids is your Taj Mahal of karting facilities.

Of course on a nice day like today... Who needs an indoor track?!

Congrats to Sy, Nat, Yury, Ari and Kim for doing the heavy lifting of getting it to the starting line.

Let the games begin!

I just happened to do the same thing when we got our first snow here in Cincinnati!! Except it was an outdoor TRACK and I did about four laps...which equaled about 7 minutes of driving. Good idea until my hands froze off

[LimeRockRacer]

Congrats Sy and all our friends at GPNY! I know it has been a long hard process but the hard work will pay off.

I am hoping to stop in over the next couple of weeks.

Congrats once again!

[cdh]

Anyone planning on a visit please post here when you are going, maybe we do some impromptu racing

I'm 25 min away, would like to see ya! BTW, DD and I will be there tomorrow (Friday 2/15), come on over!

cdh

[jp56]

Looks like a great place. Your website looks good too. I wish you great success, Sy.

[dalyduo]

Spent yesterday afternoon at GPNY and had a blast. The downtown course is a wonderful challenge and very technical.

The staff is great... Everyone well trained and helpful.

Charles Anti was there and we had a ball running both tracks.

At the end of each session your printed time sheet arrives in pit lane before you get out of your kart. Very impressive service.

Many of the NYC murals are on the wall, trees are installed... The restaurant's not yet up and running so bring snacks but it's coming soon.

In it's current state the facility is impressive... When the finishing touches are added it will be spectacular.

[wbs]

Sy, you may want to add a link called "directions," or make the address at the bottom a little bolder. Took me a little while to realize the location was right there on every page.

[OLDMAN]

Sy, congrats on a big effort. I may drop by on the 17th.

Bob

[wbs]

Well, on my way to CT I stopped by at GPNY. What a trip! Saw Rob Slonaker there, so Sy's got the imprimatur of the real heavyweights.

First, you have to watch a training film, protest though you might about how experienced you are. Good thing I had no choice, as I was pleasantly surprised to recognize the stars of the film. I got to witness the hitherto unsuspected acting talents of TJR's own Pat Daly, as directed by the renowned French New Wave Auteur Doug Harrison. The film is hilarious as it consists of Pat acting out all the things the narrator is telling you NOT to do.

Anyways, I had time for only a single race but am dying to return. the surface is great - just grippy/slippery enough to give you a real workout/training session. The karts have really nice pick-up too, I had wondered about that, with the 40mph top speed, but I now assume that's electronically limited, as it doesn't take too long to get up to speed. I only got to run the "uptown" circuit, but that is really well laid out, and, as i said, I'll be back soon.

[Charlie25]

HOLY CRAP WHAT A FREAKING AWESOME PLACE!! Sy, Ari and everyone did a really amazing job putting everything together and once all the finishing touches come into place it's just going to be absolutely sublime. The atmosphere is amazing and the whole staff is enthusiastic.

The downtown track is a perfect match to the karts, you're almost able to take the entire thing flat but you need to work really hard to keep it on the most efficient line to keep from scrubbing speed.

The best part! You can spend a whole month there and still not spend as much as a skippy weekend!

[dalyduo]

Doug did a masterful job editing the piece but you forgot to mention the best part is the opening footage! Don't want to give the surprise away but Ari is the driver and did a super job.
If you liked the uptown circuit you'll love the downtown one.

Originally Posted by wbs

First, you have to watch a training film, protest though you might about how experienced you are. Good thing I had no choice, as I was pleasantly surprised to recognize the stars of the film. I got to witness the hitherto unsuspected acting talents of TJR's own Pat Daly, as directed by the renowned French New Wave Auteur Doug Harrison. The film is hilarious as it consists of Pat acting out all the things the narrator is telling you NOT to do...

...I only got to run the "uptown" circuit, but that is really well laid out, and, as i said, I'll be back soon.

[sydude]

I'm very proud of the work all of our guys have put into this facility, and so for all of us I thank you for your very kind words. We're still adding new stuff in every day, so we're getting even better and better.

I can't wait for Donald to return from India so we can have our (slightly delayed) Turkey Day Shootout! The Super-track configuration is INSANE, and I think we can easily put 24 karts on it at a time. Figure mid-March?

[dalyduo]

You know we can only do this if Donald's kart gets 15 extra pounds of ballast and OLDMAN is charged double.

[jcraige]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

You know we can only do this if Donald's kart gets 15 extra pounds of ballast and OLDMAN is charged double.

Now THAT is funny.

[OLDMAN]

Funny stuff! Originally I had planned to bump Pat into the wall, but on second thought Jim may be making an early pit stop.

OLDMAN

[birkmama]

GPNY - oh I wish I had never heard about it. I prowled around the place about every two weeks since October and have been back every weekend since it opened! It is THAT addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you.

In terms of favorite track I am going back and forth - right now I am with uptown. Count me in for the Easter Egg Hunt for the Chase.

Congrats to the whole team for an incredible facility and passion at work.

[dalyduo]

Would never have figured you as an uptown track fan. Don't you think downtown is more challenging and technical? Can't wait to try the combined configuration...

Originally Posted by birkmama

In terms of favorite track I am going back and forth - right now I am with uptown. Count me in for the Eater Egg Hunt for the Chase..

[birkmama]

Pat,

I am sure we can start polling some of the features of GPNY shortly, when the audience here has had a chance to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the facility.


At first I liked downtown better. But the racing/passing is more fun on Uptown to me. The straight aways are a bit long for my liking in downtown. Last weekend the track was wet. That changes EVERYTHING. Strangely enough I found it more of a physical (mental goes without saying) challenge than at the higher speeds in the dry.

I also seem a bit more competitive on uptown but that has NOTHING to do with my preference. Of course not

[dalyduo]

Martin,
Have only driven the Downtown track four times and have yet to match the best lap acheived during my first session there?! It's a more interesting complex puzzle to solve at this point. Haven't achieved a comfort zone yet. On Uptown the hairpin and corkscrew are the only real challenges but I'm also more competitive there by virtue of more laps run so we should have lots of fun when we finally get to run togther. Hope to see you soon.
Pat

Originally Posted by birkmama

Pat,
I am sure we can start polling some of the features of GPNY shortly, when the audience here has had a chance to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the facility.


At first I liked downtown better. But the racing/passing is more fun on Uptown to me. The straight aways are a bit long for my liking in downtown. Last weekend the track was wet. That changes EVERYTHING. Strangely enough I found it more of a physical (mental goes without saying) challenge than at the higher speeds in the dry.

I also seem a bit more competitive on uptown but that has NOTHING to do with my preference. Of course not

[birkmama]

I first drove up- then downtown - immediately took a liking to downtown. But now that I have about the same number of laps on each (I would guess 120 or so) I have come back to uptown. Finessing the hairpin, and the corkscrew require a lot of focus and I believe there is some time buried in the final turn.

BUT - I yet have to drive on the super-track. So I reserve my final judgment and also like to stay open to rechange my mind.

[arig]

Oh come on, you guys are both slow. but if you would just come at a good time and follow me, and not someone else, you'll get faster.

after posting that, i realized i was a bit harsh. however, we are planning on holding an adult driving clinic, you both are welcome to attend.

[dalyduo]

Be nice Ari... Your cell phone still accidently auto-dials me while jostling in your pocket about 3 times a week. I know more than you think...

Originally Posted by arig

Oh come on, you guys are both slow. but if you would just come at a good time and follow me, and not someone else, you'll get faster.

after posting that, i realized i was a bit harsh. however, we are planning on holding an adult driving clinic, you both are welcome to attend.

[CDkarter24]

*sigh*

When will you learn...Isn't it obvious that the young people are taking over!!!

Ill show you how its done.

'nuff said.

[birkmama]

Originally Posted by arig

Oh come on, you guys are both slow. but if you would just come at a good time and follow me, and not someone else, you'll get faster.

I will gladly follow you
a) when I am not in a rush or
b) when I need some draft to save fuel

But last time I tried to go faster following you I slammed so hard in the back of your gokart that I was afraid you'd break your spine

[dalyduo]

Originally Posted by birkmama

I will gladly follow you
a) when I am not in a rush or
b) when I need some draft to save fuel

But last time I tried to go faster following you I slammed so hard in the back of your gokart that I was afraid you'd break your spine

[AlDelattre]

OK, had a posting issue - sorry - scroll down to read my eloquent prose- thanks for your patience...

[AlDelattre]

Add me to the list of the converted.

I finally had a chance to schlep my family (wife, 2 little daughters) over to GPNY yesterday. Thanks to Sy, Ari, Nat and their team - they were great.

First off, even though it's not quite done yet - it is IMPRESSIVE. The facility is awesome, first class all the way. Great attention to detail - the word "professional" comes to mind. Karts, suits, helmets...s__t this place makes the Skippy locations look like...well....

The staff? Outstanding - especially considering the place is still pretty new. Friendly, low-key, accomodating, but right on top of everything.

A highlight was the (in)famous orientation video - heck, that should be a feature on David Letterman. Pat Daly....well, I'd keep your day job, but my 5 year old was laughing her "tooshie" off at your antics.

We ended up spending most of our time socializing with Ari and Sy, so we only had time for one race - so I put my lovely bride into the fray (I had to watch the kids).

Bear in mind, my wife has a lead foot and is subject to road rage - but also bailed out of a Skippy driving school once (she got stuck in the back seat of a skid truck - think "technicolor" results)

She did great. Using her race name ("Mommy"), she did pretty well in her first ever race (she wasn't last...) and her lap times came down 1-2 seconds every lap. My 4 and 5 year old daughters - who stayed up VERY late the night before cheering on Felipe Massa (don't ask) were the cheering section.

Hopefully, she's now converted, and I can bring her over to GPNY every now and then to offset my guilt about being gone (working, or racing) a bit. My 5 (almost 6) year old daughter wants to start racing tomorrow - but she can barely reach the pedals on the kiddie karts.

Last - was able to work with Sy's marketing guy, Nat - we're going to auction off a couple junior racing schools and some adult programs at our kid's school. GPNY was overly generous, but we're going to help promote the hell out of this - it's good clean family fun.

Sy - congrats. This place will kick ass.

(note to GPNY visitors - the police in that 'hood are pretty strict - so mind your velocity. If possible, put a Marine Corps decal on your car and cut your hair - that saved me twice yesterday!)