Earlier this year the CVAR Board of Directors has decided to offer Track Damage Insurance for
all participants at Circuit of the Americas (“COTA”) and Eagles Canyon Raceway (“ECR”). The
basic outline for both tracks is summarized below:
- Each race entrant will have the option to purchase Track Damage Insurance for a one-time fee of $50.00.
- The coverage would provide that person with coverage, provided by CVAR, for any damage to the facility over the race weekend up to $2,000. Any damage to the facility beyond the $2,000 limit would be the responsibility of the individual.
- Anyone who damages the facility and does not have the Track Damage Insurance would be expected to pay the full amount of any damages assessed to them.
- The responsibility to pay for damages, beyond any insurance coverage, would be communicated as the obligation of “ladies and gentlemen” to be responsible for their behavior.
For background, both ECR and COTA, like many modern racing facilities, have decided to pass
along some costs formerly considered as “normal wear and tear”, to the race organizers. The
specifics of the charges are set forth in our contracts with them.
The issue for CVAR is that we don’t feel it is fair for the club to incur 100% of the costs that are
the result of a problem created by one individual, such as an oil spill. For example, last year at
ECR we had an incident where a competitor had an engine fail and left a trail of oil for
approximately 3/4ths of a mile. The cleanup for that one incident cost CVAR approximately
$2,000. On the other hand, we want to be fair to our members and guests. If someone attends
our event and is on a budget, getting a bill for several thousand dollars on top of the normal racing
costs could be a big problem.
At COTA, we had no incidents and at our Spring event at ECR, we had a few small issues. The
Board feels that some flexibility needs to be dialed into CVAR’s handling these expenses. Neither
CVAR nor ECR are looking for “nickel and dime” reimbursements from our members. The
purpose of the insurance and the policy of responsibility is to avoid substantial disruptions that
affect the profitability of a race weekend. After further internal discussions in conjunction with
ECR we have come up with a form to help connect incidents with expenses and responsibility.
In summary, we think this approach provides a fair approach to limit financial exposure to our
entrants along with providing CVAR with reasonable financial protection.