Board Attendees:

  • President - Chris Nami
  • Vice President - Bob Hasenhundl
  • Secretary - Terri Thompson (ABSENT)
  • Treasurer - Tiffany Maestas
  • VP Rules & Tech - Jared Dear
  • New Rider Director - Jeff Brown
  • Race Director - John McKown
  • Rider Rep - Press & Contingency - Nate Bell
  • Rider Rep - Rulebook - Dennis Stowers
  • Rider Rep - Trophies & Class Sponsorship - Blair Harness
  • Rider Rep - PR & Events - Erik Maxwell


Estimated Voting Members in Attendance: MINUTES TAKEN VIA ZOOM
Location: Nite Owl Sports Bar and Grill
Start Time: 7:30 pm
End Time: 8:45 pm

Important Announcements:

  • Thank you as always to the Nite Owl for hosting us and for being an awesome sponsor
  • Thank you to everyone for being here!
  • Getting to be here in person is important, it gives us an opportunity to build relationships with one another and can make great impressions on people who are new to the club
  • Did the race school - it was a huge success

    • Almost a full school - there were 43 students in attendance and 27 of them have already bought licenses to potentially race with us this next season!

  • Thank you to the BoD who showed up to help with the Race School
  • Thank you to HPR and Mike Applehans for having the corner crew and the track ready to go for the race school (for going above and beyond!)

    • Opened their gates early for us Friday night

  • The rulebook is officially online and ready to go. There were still some things that needed to be ironed out before it could be released (thank you to Dennis and Bob)


Status Updates:
Chris:

  • Everyone recognizes that the BoD has been making some changes to the administrative stuff and that a lot of work is going into getting everything more streamlined this year

    • Be patient with us and please let us know as the season goes on if you notice anything that needs our attention

  • Going from an old school way of doing things to a more modern way - there are a lot of tech savvy people on the Board that will be helping with this process
  • The moral is increasing from the past couple of years (COVID however had dumped this in the trash), more participation and more excitement for getting back out on the track
  • Who would be interested in potentially doing a 2 hour endurance race at the last round of the year (we would still be running the 4 hour endurance). It would work just like our 4 hour endurance and there would not be SuperStreet


Bob:

  • Best turnout we have had since we have went back to in person meetings!
  • Round 1 is right around the corner, registration opens tomorrow at 6:00 pm
  • Race licenses will be available to pick up starting Round 1

    • MSR is supposed to keep track of your AMA membership expiration, however it is not and if you cannot license and sign up, check your AMA membership expiration

  • If you are not getting the MailChimp email blasts, you need to go to the MRA website and go to the bottom of the page to sign up
  • NATC will be at our Round 1 - they have requested a pit area. We agreed on the 2 pit sections just north of Pre Grid

    • There are going to be 18 riders and they will all have coordinated pit stuff, so it will look pretty nifty
    • Jayden Fernandez is racing with the NATC this year
    • The NATC is an official pathway to riding in MotoGP

  • Remember!! There are NO FEES for spectators, UNLESS the track itself charges for spectators. Tell your friends about Round 1 so we can have a good showing of spectators!
  • Novice Hours - if you are a Novice and you are attending the meeting either in person or in Zoom, tell Bob so he can track your Novice Hours
  • The 2022 MRA tshirts are in the works for Round 1, so keep an eye out for those


Tiffany:

  • $640 in safety fund donations
  • Race School - we came out at a $714 loss, but not bad
  • For the tickets - you must be present to win. This credit expires at the end of the year and if you do not use it, it does NOT get cashed out


Jared:

  • Round 1 is right around the corner, make sure you go through the pre-tech checklist so your stuff is READY TO GO

    • Go through everything, even if your bike at the end of last season was good to go.
    • You never know if the rulebook has changed - go through your stuff and make sure it fits rulebook specifications

  • The rulebook does change, and most changes are minute, so make sure you are aware of changes
  • There will be hard copies of the checklist available in the RaceDay office

    • Take this with you to tech! Or, use it on your phone and take that with you to tech

  • Make sure that each and every rider in your pit has a fire extinguisher - every racer needs to have a fire extinguisher (Nami will be checking!)

    • Have it visible and in a place that can be seen. Have it away from your bike that way if you bike catches on fire, your fire extinguisher is accessible


Jeff:

  • Race school went really well, weather was awesome!
  • Thank you to Fay Myers for the classroom and HPR for the Corner Workers and the track. Thank you to the instructors for all they do - if you were a student, thank your instructors! They do this all with their own time and money to help
  • KNOW THE RULEBOOK

    • We want every one to have a successful season, so make sure you know the rulebook
    • A clean bike is a safe bike. Our bikes go through a lot of abuse. When you are cleaning your bike, you may be surprised as to what has come loose

  • Good to see all the new people here - we want to see that sort of engagement
  • Everyone who is experienced in some way, either 2 years or 20, we all remember how nerve racking everything was when we started. If a Novice does not know something, tell them what they need to know. Engage with them. Make them feel welcome


John:

  • Do need corner workers for this year - in the process of contacting people for corner working this year. If you know people, send them John’s way or give them John’s contact info on website
  • Corner worker meetup April 23rd Saturday at Fay Myers from 11-1pm. Being done to build camaraderie and to build a great crew
  • A lot of equipment will need to be fixed - air fence is in disrepair, etc
  • Will be using air fence Round 1, a great way to get Novice Hours done
  • Will be talking to the Board about setting up air fence Thursday night that way it helps promote safety and doesn’t need to be done Sat Morning or Fri night
  • Make sure you have a fire extinguisher
  • Where is the crash zone? - will be talking about this during rider’s meeting. When you crash, there is a good chance someone else can crash there too. YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE CRASH ZONE

    • First thing you need to do is self-assess. If you can, check yourself over and assess.
    • Then, if you can, get out of the crash zone. Do not go over your life choices laying in a corner. We will have to throw a red fag. Give the crew a thumbs up, and move away.

  • Make sure you read the rulebook - will save your butt

    • 2-wave starts - if you are in a big class, there will most likely be a second wave. If you are in the second wave, you need to put your hands up to show you are not going to take off

  • We would like to see if we can secure an RV sponsor - there is a great chance here! We need to branch out and find other sponsors for our events. Let us know if you know of any potential sponsors


Nate:

  • Couple of current and future Road Racing World press releases coming out
  • Really looking forward to Round 1 - super pumped, feeling the camaraderie
  • Apologies for the announcing during Race school - learning as we go!

    • If you know someone, send them our way but we will be good either way (Nate is excited to announce)!

  • Corner crew meetup on April 23rd at Fay Myers

    • Will be great for the safety crew for team building and for training purposes
    • Once upon a time, Novices had to do Corner Working for a certain amount of time. We no longer do this, but if you are a Novice and are not racing Sunday, Corner Work! You can learn a lot - including how slow you are

  • The shirt design was accepted and has been sent out to Tait at 64 Degree Racing so keep an eye out for tshirts!
  • READ THE RULEBOOK


Dennis:

  • Go over the rulebook - I know it has been said over and over again, but it is important
  • What happens when you have to use another bike than the one you qualified on? This is all in the rulebook - know it! Especially when you start running for Championships
  • SuperSport rules in general - the premise is that you get a bike off the showroom floor and you turn it into a race bike based on a list on how you can replace/change/modify/etc parts

    • Just because it looks like it is easy to modify, does not mean that it is SuperSport legal (aka R1 swingarm). There is a list of modifications you are allowed to make

  • We do surprise inspections sometimes to keep everyone honest. Board members or other official personnel can also request the VP of Rules and Tech to look over bikes they think may not fit the bill
  • One job you have as a racer is to keep your competitors honest - you can protest an individual whose bike is illegal for certain classes
  • You are going to need a transponder - on busy rounds, we may not have any leftover to be able to rent. It may be beneficial to your race program to go invest in your own transponder

    • mylaps.com are the transponders we use specifically. There are lots of options for transponders
    • Make sure your transponder is prepped and ready BEFORE the round so you have your ducks in a row and it doesn’t fail on you

  • Make sure your race numbers are easy to read from a distance. We require them to be easily identifiable in the pits and also require numbers on helmets in the case of multi-bike crashes
  • Know what you can protest - can also protest race infractions such as passing under a waving flag


Blair:

  • Still contacting people about securing sponsorships

    • If you know anyone who wants to sponsor anything, get them in touch with Blair

  • Trophies are in the process and have been secured at this point
  • A sponsorship page has been added to the MRA website and is a great place to get more information if you want to sponsor a class
  • You could print your own sponsors in the rulebook and advertise them that way - tell your sponsors thank you in our Rulebook! It is a great way to advertise. Get with Erik (sooner rather than later) if you are interested in advertising

    • The sizes and prices for the rulebook advertising had went out in the previous MailChimp if you are serious about advertising

      • Will put a new post out on the MRA website that has the same information regarding rulebook advertising

    • Due date for advertising is April 20th so we can get rulebooks printed in time for Round 1


Erik:

  • We like to see all yall in person!
  • Season schedules have been printed out - grab some for you and your friends
  • Have some leftover stickers - throw them on everything to advertise the MRA!
  • Have been doing a sponsor blast on the MRA website and the Facebook group. If you need body work done, talk to Greentech Auto Body. If you need windshields done, talk to Apex Auto Glass.

    • Performance Cycle, etc. Check out our facebook for others

  • Was contacted by Warren Tech Motorcycle School - was interested in having Erik come out and give a talk about racing in a safe environment and talk to everyone about how cool racing is
  • Signed up for the IMS show in June - our target audience is going to be there

    • Contact me if you would like to volunteer. You can make your novice hours this way (just by talking to people!)

  • Will start going to lapping days at HPR - will be setting up a booth and handing out schedules and super street flyers. Can always accept volunteers for this too!
  • Read the rulebook!
  • Performance Cycle got in the new airbag system, so go check that out! They managed to sell all their suits in ONE DAY. A new shipment will be in in 3 days


Member Questions:

  • Register tomorrow because if you are late, you do not get first dibs anymore!
  • What classes are open for Sponsorship this year?

    • Do not have the list in the top of my head, but reach out so we can get all that squared away.

  • What does it cost to sponsor a class?

    • It depends! It ranges from $550 to $850 depending on the type of class you want to sponsor

  • Are they going to be trophies or medals?

    • Most of the classes are going to be medals, there are a couple that will be trophies however

  • How do we know what our race numbers are if this is our first year and we had to put in multiple?

    • Bob will send out a list to the race school participants to let them know what their numbers are
    • There is a rider list on the website that has been helping a lot, if you have any questions, give that a look

  • ARMA is coming the next weekend to HPR, come check out ARMA and support another club dedicated to safe racing! Can set up a booth there too?

    • Their early registration ends today. Can race contingency at ARMA if you have a valid MRA license. You will need to provide proof that you are an MRA racer - email Bob and he can get you a PDF version of your license for ARMA

  • Are we still looking for photographers?

    • We are always looking for photographers! If you know someone, send them our information so we can get them on the right path. They will need to talk with John before they can go out on track