Queally Mazda Classic
Friday, April 16
Friday, May 21
Friday, June 11
Friday, July 23
Friday, Aug. 27
Friday, Sept. 17
Friday, Oct. 29
Queally Porsche Classic
Sunday, April 18
Sunday, May 23
Sunday, June 13
Sunday, July 25
Sunday, Aug. 29
Sunday, Sept. 19
Sunday, Oct. 31
RWC Member Challenge
Saturday, May 15
Saturday, June 19
Saturday, July 3
Saturday, Aug. 7
Saturday, Aug. 21
Saturday, Sept. 11
Varsity Racing
Saturday, April 3
Saturday, April 10
Sunday, April 18
Sunday, May 9
Saturday, May 15
Sunday, May 23
Teen Camps
Intro Camp
Mon., July 12 – Sat., July 17
Advanced Camp
Mon., July 19 – Sat., July 24
Masters Camps
Mon., Aug. 16 – Thurs., Aug. 19
Sun., Aug. 22 – Wed., Aug. 25
Racing Schools
Mon., April 12 – Wed., April 14
Mon., May 24 – Wed., May 26
Tues., Jun 1 – Thurs., Jun 3
Mon., July 12 – Wed., July 14
Mon., Aug. 30 – Wed., Sept. 1
Mon., Sept. 27 – Wed., Sept. 29
When Chris Duplessis heard that Monticello would get almost 20″ of fresh powder, he and his team were standing by with plow trucks ready to roll. The crew spent the next 25 hours plowing and smoothing MMC’s South Course in preparation for the Club’s first day of snow driving on February 3. More than 25 Members played hooky to slip and slide their vehicles around the snowy track. We saw a wide array of cars: sportscars like Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW, more rugged vehicles like the Ford Raptor and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, and an ever-trusty Subaru. As with any day of snow driving at MMC, all cars were welcome as long as they had snow tires. Here’s to having more snow in the forecast!
Click here for photos from the day! PW: MMC
By Aurora Straus
MMC was full of skids and smiles at this year’s Teen Motorsports Camps. Safety was our first consideration, and we were able to form a Covid-prevention “bubble” by testing and then isolating the campers and staff interacting with them. We welcomed 13 brand-new drivers to our Intro Camp, and 14 experienced drivers to our new Advanced Camp.
Intro to Driving and High-Performance Technique Camp is designed to teach teenagers the basics of car control and racecraft. No prior experience is required, and many campers arrive having never been behind the wheel. Over six days, campers learn basic car driving, safety, and maintenance, advanced defensive driving techniques that dwarf most adults’ skills, and the basics of racecraft, from driving the proper racing line to strategically waiting for low-risk, high-reward passes. Campers learn in a variety of vehicles from our fleet of Mini Coopers, BMWs, and Porsche Cayman PDKs and also on our karting track. After finishing the Intro program, campers can advance to track days at MMC, our Race Schools, or our Advanced Teen Race Camp. There’s also a huge component of fun, and this year that included trackside twilight bonfires with s’mores, a boating trip, and a day of donuts – both the kind on the skid pad and the kind with sprinkles.
Teens looking to build on previous experience (from either Intro Camp or prior practice at MMC) participate in our five-day Advanced Camp. Drivers refine their racecraft through hours on track in purpose-built race cars. While Intro Camp is focused on driving skills (for example, correcting slides and obstacle avoidance), Advanced Camp focuses specifically on racing skills. This year, we spent time on the Rally Course with MMC’s Director of Fun and rally expert Chris Duplessis, ran advanced braking exercises in cars with and without ABS, and pushed the limits on the track in Porsche Cayman PDK race cars. Team-based karting endurance races on a reversed track taught drivers to learn the racing line on the spot. We ended our long days with bike rides on-track and “drive-in” movie nights with popcorn and hot chocolate.
This summer, MMC will host an invitation-only Masters Camp for teens, in addition to our Intro and Advanced Teen Camps. Eligible participants must be pre-approved as proficient racers, and most teens that signed up for this summer’s program intend to compete in semi-pro or professional racing series in 2022. The four-day intensive camp will include instruction from renowned drivers, and will include video and data instruction in GT4 race cars, advanced passing and racing strategy, and driver conditioning. If graduates of the Masters Camp want to pursue professional racing in 2022, we will personally guide these drivers’ transition to that path.
Our motorsports camps offer unparalleled training for young racers, but they also give the campers a strong sense of community as they form powerful bonds with each other. After camp, they’re all eager to see each other again and frequently plan mini-reunions, coordinating weekends to meet up at MMC and even vacationing together with their families. We are thrilled to add this cohort to the MMC family.
One last, but important note. Motorsports is notoriously male-dominated, but MMC feels strongly about developing women as drivers. A large proportion of our Members are women, making us unique in the motorsports world. This summer, half the participants in our Intro Teen Camp were girls – an exciting development that we expect to carry into future years.
Last fall, you may have spotted a young MMC Member or two wearing red and black Varsity letter jackets as they walked through the clubhouse. Get ready to see many more of them, because this spring, we are continuing to run the world’s first-ever Varsity Racing League!
With sports and most extracurricular activities cancelled in Fall 2020, we created a weekend Varsity Racing league for our high school and college age Members. Seventeen Members from age 14 to 22 signed up for the 8-week season, and participated in races, open lapping, and exercises that sent them home exhausted but ecstatic. Drivers were split into teams — similar to Queally races — and competed for team points, making our races group efforts rather than individual competitions. Drills ranged from lapping in cross karts to on-track passing to parallel parking.
The Varsity Racing program will continue in Spring 2021, and dates are listed in this newsletter under “2021 Key Dates.” To qualify, Members must (1) currently be qualified and approved to race at MMC, (2) currently compete in an MMC race series, or (3) be pre-approved to compete in this Varsity Racing League by Dennis Macchio. If you are interested in learning more, please contact your MMC account executive.
“Teen Race Camp” was all Massimo Risi needed to hear. He has been a race fanatic for as long as he could remember, watching car racing with his dad and dreaming of becoming a Formula 1 driver. He went on a tour of MMC with his dad, but had never driven on track. In fact, he had never driven at all. For Christmas last year, Massimo’s parents surprised him with a gift certificate to MMC’s Intro Teen Motorsports Camp. The first day of camp was his 14th birthday, making Massimo the youngest in the group of 13 teens.
In the Intro Camp, Massimo excelled – so much that he decided to stay with us to participate in the Advanced Teen Camp the following week. His love for racing continued to grow, and at the end of Teen Camp, Massimo joined MMC as a Member, then spent the Fall competing in the inaugural season of our Varsity Racing League.
Aurora Straus, a pro racer who founded our Teen Camps and Varsity Racing League, had the pleasure of getting to know Massimo and watching him grow as a driver. Reflecting on this, she says, “Massimo is guaranteed to always have a smile on his face, and is one of those special kids who never takes any opportunity for granted – he was the driver who was always suited up and standing in the pits five minutes before he was slated to drive. It’s easy to focus on how kind Massimo is, but he’s also very skilled and motivated as a driver. Within the month of August, he went from no driving experience at all to comfortably racing an MX-5 Cup Car. I could tell the second Massimo walked in that he would be at home at MMC, and since then, he’s found a second family – the friends he’s made during Camp and Varsity are clearly his friends for life. My favorite part about running these programs is watching the amazing relationships that drivers develop with one another.”
What is your favorite memory from Camp?
Overall, the car rides back to the hotel after each day of the Advanced Camp. I became close with my friends from Camp, and we’d get in the car and listen to music. We’d sing along to songs and recap the day. It was a great release from an intense day.
And, your favorite memory from being on track?
On track, it would be the rush of speed. It’s paradise!
What about your favorite part of the Varsity Racing League?
The battles going double wide through the corners. Rushing over to friends afterwards and talking about what had just happened. Also, getting to talk about shared experiences the whole day.
What advice would you give to a future Teen Race Camper?
It can be scary. You’re in a brand new, high-speed vehicle with a lot of moving parts. You just have to do it. Go all in. The longer you wait to get in, the more nervous you’ll get. Be the first to volunteer and get it over with. I would always raise my hand when they asked for volunteers and tell myself, “Just do this!”
What do your friends in school think of your racing?
When I first tell people, they think it’s easy. You just sit in a car and push the gas pedal, right? None of them have the experience that I have. I have a friend with some go karting experience, and one friend who wants to do the Teen Race Camp, but that’s it.
What is your favorite thing about driving?
I love being at one with the machine. Turning the steering wheel, getting on gas, shifting. You and the machine are buds, best friends.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from driving, that isn’t racing related?
Patience. Going into this, I thought I’ve been driving a car around a little bit and expected it to be easy. You don’t get good at something in one day. I had to hunker down and really start learning.
How is it being a Member of MMC?
I’m glad that I joined. Not only are you racing, but you’re part of a family. Ari did my orientation and welcomed me to the family. That was important. We all have the same passion to drive. With the other members there, we really are just one big happy family.
MMC Members will now have until March 31 to save on membership at Exclusive Resorts, plus save at MMC!
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