Author: Jason

Remember these little guys?!? We’ve just heard that our friends at Moss have something new up their sleeves for MATG XXV. They won’t even tell us what it is yet, so what’s your guess?

A recent post with one of our shirts in the wild made us think, where do you wear your favorite MATG swag?

We can’t wait to see you on site but in the meantime, show us the pics of you in your MATG gear!

With 100 days(!) until we descend upon our favorite mountain roads we would like to invite all of you to share your favorite, and even less than favorite, MATG images with us! We have been compiling all of our images and would love if you added yours to our Flickr so everyone can reflect back on how much fun was had over the past 24 years!

We’d also love for you to share your favorite locations around the area in the comments, so let us know!

You can find our Flickr group linked in the picture below to get started.

See you in 100 days!

How are y’all doing? We’d like to pass on what we hope is the first ray of sunshine on 2021 and answer a few questions regarding reservations.

First off, all reservations from 2020 that weren’t cancelled or disputed have been rolled over to next year but will need to be confirmed to ensure lodging in 2021. Please call Fontana directly starting on 9/9/2020 to confirm your desires to carry over your reservation. The number to call is 1-800-849-2258.

Next, on 10/1/2020 all unconfirmed reservations will be released and open to anyone who would like to make a new reservation. We’ve worked with the staff to provide as much time as reasonable for you to carry over to 2021.

A bit of housekeeping on other questions we’ve seen popping up regularly.

*They will be honoring existing reservations but no refunds are being issued

*Any existing gift cards are not being honored by the new management company. Any of those will have to be handled with the prior operator.

*If you disputed your room charges with your credit card company and received your money back, for your 2020 reservation it WILL NOT be carried over and you need to call on 10/1 to make a new reservation. We have no control over this aspect.

Miatas at the Gap XXIV is CANCELLED

After much trial and tribulation, we’ve come to the hardest decision we’ve had to make in quite some time. Due to a confluence of unfortunate circumstances outside of our control, it is with heavy hearts that we are cancelling MATG XXIV.

As you may already be aware, there have been a few rumors about the status of our host, Fontana Village Resort. We are saddened to learn that the situation is as bad as we all feared. Fontana Village, Inc. has decided to cease operations, and to terminate the lease they hold with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which owns Fontana Village’s land and buildings. The TVA, as well as our host community of Graham County, NC, have been very open and honest with us throughout the past few days. We appreciate their candor and coordination with us throughout the process.

It has become apparent that finding a new operator for the resort village in time to open lines of communication, establish relationships with the new staff, and negotiate on behalf of all of you would be impossible to realize. This, combined with the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic will allow for safe reopening to outdoor gatherings of more than 25 but no more than 100, leaves us with no other option.

We are making this announcement as soon as possible in the hope that anyone who has a reservation, and/or purchased gift cards from Fontana Village Resort, can seek a refund and make alternative plans for the time normally spent with us. You can contact them at info@fontanavillage.com, or by calling 800-849-2258.

We understand that our decisions don’t necessarily dictate yours, and that many people may still plan to attend the most Unofficial Official Miata gathering of all time. We ask that all of you represent MATG by being respectful, keeping it between the mustard and the mayo, and patronizing all of the local establishments that make this area the wonderful sports car destination it is.

In closing, we are saddened to make this announcement. Miata owners are a great community, and we do what we do because we love to enrich, support, and grow along with you. We were looking forward to unveiling some new things to you in 2020, but as this year continues to do, a curve ball was headed down the pike. We look forward to seeing you all in 2021 for MATG’s 25th anniversary, and what we know will be the biggest and best MATG yet.

Safe travels, and we’ll see ya when we see ya on the Dragon.

Like our favorite hairstyle to make fun of; business up front; and well more of a PSA than a party out back… We plan to see all of you coming up in August; please make sure to follow our main page and also mark that you’re interested or going to the event on Facebook to keep up with the latest information from MATG!

Now, while we normally like to be happy-go-lucky, there are occasionally some things that need to be addressed. We would like to do a bit of a PSA to our fans and anyone else who may come across this post as it has been a hot topic on social pages for the area lately.

The single MOST important rule on this public road is to “Keep it between the mustard and the mayo”, colloquially. In other words, STAY IN YOUR LANE. The entire 11 mile stretch of US 129 and many of the other roads in the area are marked as No Passing. While the coast may look clear there is never any guarantee that someone isn’t coming the other direction at a high rate of speed.

We need to remember that after all, this is a public road with many tourists, cruisers, rockets, Miatae and other vehicles that all have a family that wants us to come home safe.

As we’re all hoping for brighter skies in the upcoming weeks we wanted to share a bit of good on your social feed! As most attendees are aware we raffle off a bunch of products from our vendors and sponsors each year as an unofficial MATG send off. Each year we choose a benefactor for the money we generate in ticket sales. In a few of the recent years it has been the Blount County Rescue Squad.

Otherwise known as those who save our bacon when we need it the most, they’re a full on volunteer EMS crew and your donations have helped to buy them a new emergency response rig. So when you see this out on the Dragon during your next run you can feel a sense of pride in knowing that you’ve directly contributed to the well-being of your fellow Gap riders and drivers!

Please keep them in mind during this year’s MATG and make sure you support the raffle for the local rescue squads!

As we all adapt to our new ‘normal’ daily routines we hope you all are safe and well. We’d also like to wish all of you a safe and Happy Easter!

We’ve seen a few questions keep popping up as of late, so we’d like to take this time to pass along some info. So far there have been several event cancellations for this year but as of right now we are still planning on hosting all of you at Fontana in August. As some may be aware thanks to several media outlets, Graham County still has their borders closed to all but residents and necessary commercial traffic. This also means that our host is closed, as well as any other lodging options in Graham and Swain counties. U.S. 129 is still accessible from the TN side and to date is still open to Killboy and DGMR.

We are still keeping in close contact with Fontana Village to stay well informed and keep a close eye on the virus situation. Fontana Village has ensured us that they are taking all possible precautions to prevent the possible spread of any and all viruses and bacteria.

TL:DR…

At this time, MATG XXIV is still going on as planned. As we gather further information, and make decisions regarding MATG, we will pass it along as soon as possible.

We don’t enjoy passing along less than happy news, but a long-time attendee and friend, Lee Davis, has passed. Well known since our days at Tapoco, his passion for Miatas was always a sight to see. Our condolences go out to his friends and family and we can only hope that he’s enjoying Heaven’s version of The Dragon.

Details can be found here: www.morrisbaker.com/obits/walter-lee-davis

As we continue to grow as an event we have to extend a HUGE thank you to our vendors who show of their wares. It’s pretty safe to say we wouldn’t have rewrote our record book without the help of:

Exomotive
Fab9 Tuning
Jeff Anderson
Jeff & Bonnie
KMiata
MK Turbo
Moss Miata
MX5 Digital
Nine Lives Racing
Paco Motorsports
Palm Breeze Car Care
RSpeed
SNS Mazda Parts
Spinnywhoosh
The Miata Fix
Three Spoke Garage
URace Simway
V8 Roadsters

Whew, please show them some love when you need what they have!!! We’d also like to say thanks to our special guests this year; Turbo Tom and Greg Peters. We hope to see all of you again in the upcoming years!