Getting to Road Atlanta...

[Speedblood]

Hello All

In my next of "ask the experts for my ambitious adventures" i've been toying with the idea of going to road atlanta for petit le mans later this year for my first trip to the states.
(Throwing myself in at the deep end indeed!)

I appreciate it's not going to be the easiest track in the world to access unless you have a car but can anyone recommended places to stay or the best way to get there from the nearest big airport? Looks like car rental may have to be done...
I've got as far as flights from London to Atlanta but that's about it.

I did say i was only toying with the idea!

Any help will be most welcome in making my decision!

[redshoes]

Rental car is a given for pretty much anywhere in the US.

Made the trip last year and ended up staying in a Hyatt in the Sandy Springs / Dunwoody area (North side of Atlanta). No particular reason other than it was the right price and close to civilization. There's plenty of shopping malls / bars / restaurants in the area and the transit station is close by so easy to get to downtown Atlanta if you want something to do for a few days either side of the race. PM me if you want hotel details.

The circuit was about 45mins drive from the hotel, and really easy to get to. Just get on the i85 and head towards Braselton. When you get there park at the Speedway opposite the main entrance, that way you don't get stuck in traffic leaving the circuit after the race.

[mountainstar]

The airport is diagonally opposite the track on the other side of Atlanta. It probably takes about an hour or so to get there, depending on traffic. You can either take the ring road of I-285 around town to I-85 or go through downtown Atlanta on the interstate. It's not hard to get to.

I would definitely try to stay somewhere out on the NE side of Atlanta. There are tons of hotels out there to pick from Sandy Springs over to Lawrenceville.

Rental car will definitely be the thing to do to make things easy to get around.

[HJJ]

Plan on a minimum of 90 minutes to get to Road Atlanta from Hartsfield. Maybe look at Charlotte as a alternative to fly into (depending on fares). You could look at hotels north of the track in Commerce to make your trip back and forth to the track shorter (missing Atlanta traffic). Or you could camp at the track buying the things you need at Wal-Mart. I'm sure there will be many from 10/10ths posters at the track as well. The Gainesville/Oakwood/Flowery Branch area could be an option in finding a hotel as well if you don't camp. Weekend car rentals (Thurs - Sunday) should be cheap. I have friend coming in from Chicago that booked one for less than $15/day.

I'm local to the area so ask me anything! Do not miss the Thursday night practice session!

[Speedblood]

Thanks for the tips guys, most appreciated.

Would rather not camp if possible, didn't have the greatest experience at le mans and I like my creature comforts too much!

Charlotte does look an interesting alternative, will definitely be using this weekend to crack on with my research.

Thanks again chaps, I'm sure i'll have many more questions to come.

If there are any 10/10thers going then I'll definitely make sure to say hello as it'd be nice to meet fellow sportscar fans.

[broadrun96]

Agree with the 90 minute minimum from the airport, I'm 25 minutes south of it and it was close to 2 and half hours from the house to the track at midday thursday. Thinking I might take most of the week and get in line Tues night. Had a blast last year and have to go back this year, barring a job change between then and now.

[HJJ]

I did a little checking on Kayak, there are still some deals to be had (Gainesville & Commerce). Another thing, the University of Georgia Bulldogs (college football) have a home game in Athens, GA that Saturday, making hotel rooms at a premium in the area.

[-T-]

Check out the Buford area. Lots of hotels and restaurants near the Mall of Georgia. That is about a 30/45 minute drive from the track.

As it has been said, plan for the drive from Hartsfield to Braselton to take at least 90 minutes. Probably more if you plan on driving between the hours of 3 PM and 7 PM on a week day.

Thursday night practice is a must.

If you plan on parking inside the track, plan on paying $50 and make sure to get there at least three hours in advance on race day if you want a decent spot. Otherwise, there is free parking across the street at Lanier Speedway. They run free shuttles back and forth to the track but there is no schedule.

BE PREPARED TO WALK. The hills at Road Atlanta are brutal. Bring water unless you like paying four dollars a bottle. Bring your own shade. Bring sunblock. The closest restaurant to the track is about 15 minutes away, so bringing your own food is probably a good idea too, especially if you want to keep that parking spot that you worked so hard for.

The people that are just there to see fast cars go around in circles tend to leave the track around 4 or 5 PM. Most of the die-hard fans stay until the checkered flag. The post-race festivities are worth staying for and the teams tend to be a little more open to people walking through their garages after the race.

[JHamilton]

I would fly into Hartsfield. Charlotte-Douglas is a busy airport in its own right, but is 3.5 hours away and will not have the flight options you are looking for. You'll have to rent a car, no option there. 90 minutes is about right from the airport to RdATL depending on when you arrive... it could take a couple hours if during rush hour(s). I would stay as close as you can to the track. Just run some of the options by us and we can give you a thumbs up or down.

Camping at RdATL is very nice if you change your mind, but I understand not wanting to deal with that. Buy a parking pass as you will probably want to drive over to T6-7 (especially during Wed, Thurs, Fri) and you can use the car as "base camp". Stop at Wal-Mart and buy a cooler, folding chair, and perhaps a grill/food. There is food at the track but a bit pricy and only the aussie bakery is really good. You will also have to buy new shoes when you get back. There will be no mistaking what part of the country you have been in.

We'll see you in T4.

[Speedblood]

Once again chaps I can only say thanks ever so much for the tips and reccomendations. Have found a good couple of car rental quotes and flights look "reasonable" so now just going to have a run through the places to stay.

Having had a look at the options Buford does look a nice place and looks like it has enough there. If anyone can recommend a good place there then I'll try and whittle down my options as i want to get it booked sooner rather than later!

I'm more than happy with the walking, do tonnes of it at many a race events as it is. Bring it on!

Anyway i'm sure i'll have more questions to come, thanks again everyone.

[HJJ]

I was going to say the Hampton Inn across from the Mall of Georgia, but searching Kayak shows that you have to call the hotel to get the rate. A sign of not good. A nice thing with Buford is that you can use I-85 or I-985 to get R/A. Maybe moving one town back Suwanee will yield better results and rates.

http://www.kayak.com/hotels#Suwanee,...-29/2011-10-02

[Suze]

Stay near the Mall of Georgia, it's ace

I can't remember where I stayed, however used the "Super Shuttle" type service to get to the hotel - it's called Super Shuttle in Washington but can't remember what it's called in Atlanta - the system where all people heading in the rough same direction share a minibus and it drops you off at your location, and normally picks you up within a half hour time slot on the way back to the airport. Then used taxis to / from the circuit which weren't bad. Hire car could be easier though!

[ptclaus98]

It's great. Stay the full three days. I hope to do so to pound the pavement in the junior series paddocks so I can do something, anything for a team.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by HJJ

Maybe moving one town back Suwanee will yield better results and rates.

http://www.kayak.com/hotels#Suwanee,...-29/2011-10-02

I did a quick search on hotels.com and the best places I saw were in Suwanee. It's about 17-20 miles away, but not too bad.

[JHamilton]

In fact, if I were in your shoes I would stay here:

http://www.hotels.com/hotel/details....10-02-11&rooms[0].numberOfAdults=2&roomno=1&validate=false&previousDateful=false&reviewOrder=date_newest_first#descri ption

That's the best option I saw. Probably 20-30 minutes from the track and seems to have very good reviews.

[redshoes]

I wouldn't be overly concerned about buying food at the track. I thought what was available was pretty good and fairly reasonable compared to the over-priced greasy burger vans you might be familiar with at British circuits. I don't see the point in buying a grill, cooler and your own food if you are flying in. You won't be able to take them on the plane home so it will all go in the trash at the end of the weekend.

I'll second the comments about the hills, they really are a lot steeper than you think. There's a free shuttle bus that does a circular route around the infield and out to the pits. There's no schedule and the route seems to vary slightly depending on who is driving, but that will save you a few climbs.

You can save a few dollars by getting tickets in advance. Don't worry about getting them mailed to you, they hold international orders so you can pick them up at the 'will call' office near the main entrance.

[mountainstar]

I have found the food in my experience at Road Atlanta to be pretty good for track food and way better than anything I have ever found at UK or Australian/Kiwi tracks. Way better.

The other thing which I do when going to long races is sometimes I leave the track in the middle of the day and go eat lunch and then come back.

[Speedblood]

Hi Chaps

Once again thank you for all your contributions.
It's looking tentative at the moment as to whether I can go or not, I have some family commitments that are looking more and more likely to go ahead and it means I wouldn't be able to fly out until friday! Irritating timing to say the least but unfortunatley it's quite a big deal. So I'm definitely not going to venture all that way for just the race so sadly it looks like my trip may have to be postponed til next year.

Once again everyone thanks for all your help and all being well it will come in handy in 12 months time.

[gregtummer]

Anyone have any tips on driving down to the track from the North?

I'm in PA by the way.

[HJJ]

Originally Posted by gregtummer

Anyone have any tips on driving down to the track from the North?

I'm in PA by the way.

Depending where you are in PA. I-81 to I-26 (Tri Cities), I-26 South to I-85 South to HWY 53.

Piece of Cake.

[gregtummer]

Originally Posted by HJJ

Depending where you are in PA. I-81 to I-26 (Tri Cities), I-26 South to I-85 South to HWY 53.

Piece of Cake.

Thanks.

I'm in Central PA about right dead middle in the state.

[lemansnsx]

Originally Posted by gregtummer

Thanks.

I'm in Central PA about right dead middle in the state.

Then the answer is definitely 81 South as the gentleman said. I'm on the Jersey shore and I sometimes come all the way West to Harrisburg to pick up 81 rather than have to drive 95 down to 85. Longer but much nicer.