Patroon BMWCCA Drivers School (HPDE) 2011 Schedule

[crAppAchic0]

For any/all interested, here's a copy of the current schedule for this year's Patroon BMWCCA HPDE Schedule:

It's that time of year again, organize your vacation around track days instead of car shows.

*IMPORTANT*
You don't need a racecar to participate, you don't need a BMW, all you need is a car (no SUVs) in good running order and a desire to become addicted. All you people that are concerned about wrecking your daily driver, there is track day insurance available through Lockton Affinity. Everyone gets an instructor (even if you are a pro at Forza or GT5). Note that pricing is still being worked out so I have put some estimates of what the costs should be around. If you have questions feel free to ask me. If you just want to come check it out before committing to driving at an event you are more than welcome to hang out and most likely get a ride from an instructor (I will put you to work as well). There is no way people read this far so I am going to state here that you are all slow drag racers/drifters/show queers that would poop themselves if they had to turn their car (it's sad but out of those I respect the drifters the most).

The Schedule:

April 23rd - Lime Rock Park ($325) - SOLD OUT
2 student run groups (probably Novice and Advanced) and 1 instructor group in a one hour rotating schedule with "Lime Rock Club" (rich people that can't drive)

June 13th - Watkins Glen ($285 for 8-5pm, $50 for 5:30-8:30pm Open Track Solo drivers only) REGISTRATION IS OPEN
AKA the Patroon 12 hours of the Glen and will feature touring laps for visitors to the track and on site BBQ on Monday. Standard driving school schedule from 8am-5pm and then people that are signed off to drive solo during the 8am-5pm time frame will get 3 hours (yes 3 hours!) of open track from 5-8pm for an additional $50.

July 15-17th - Calabogie ($350CDN 2 day Novices, $450CDN 2 day intermediates, $550CDN 3 day advanced drivers) REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Back to 'Bogie with the Ottawa BMW Car Club and BMWCCA club racing at a fantastic track! Canada, beer and BBQ what more could you ask for. Open track for experienced drivers Friday and standard school format on Saturday/Sunday with club racing mixed in between. Come to this one to see if I can manage to not stuff my car in the wall.

August 19th-20th - Lime Rock (~$299 for friday, ~$200 for Saturday Advanced only)
Friday the 19th all student groups will run and probably 2 instructor groups.
Saturday the 20th, we will run in the morning 4 hours open track for signed off students and instructors (most likely rotating 1/2 hour blocks).

More details found at the Patroon website, driving school section:

http://www.patroonbmw.org/wordpress_driving/

Always a good time- if you are even remotely interested, it's good to go and spectate- and generally you can find one of the instructors to give you a passenger's view of the track.

Oh, and the "Me" in the above quote is Jeff K, for reference.

[SideshowBob]

BMWCCA is a great place to start.

[Pitcrew]

Hmmm, can i really justify the 285 for learning how to drive better(hopefully) and get the chance to drive around Watkins Glen.......im saving pennies.....

[WRXer]

I will be going to at LEAST one of these. If the calandar is nice to me I will go to mulitple.

[nubs1094]

This is frikin cool

[cazwrx187]

Hmmm, can i really justify the 285 for learning how to drive better(hopefully) and get the chance to drive around Watkins Glen.......im saving pennies.....

You WILL learn to drive better.  Put putting around on backroads doesn't teach you as much as you think. 

[Pitcrew]

Yea, my dad, my bro, and me have been talking about this sort of thing for the past 3years....

[Iant333]

Me and my father decided that we are going to the two day one in August at lime rock once it open for registration. Should be cool.

[Pitcrew]

Ive been talking more to my father about it, he really wants to do this, and i do to....my question is where can i go to get my car looked at to make sure i can pass the safety inspection?

[crAppAchic0]

Ive been talking more to my father about it, he really wants to do this, and i do to....my question is where can i go to get my car looked at to make sure i can pass the safety inspection?

I would suggest going to the patroon chapter website and using the form there under the link for "Contact Chief of Tech"- sends an email to them and you should get something back fairly quickly, Joe's a good guy.

[ckb1985]

"(no SUVs)" forester XTs should not count.

[Zeeeek]

There was a Chevy HHR at a Monticello event I was at last season. You may want to take up the Forester question with someone at Patroon if you're honestly wondering because that rule is really for the Explorers and Excursions of the SUV world.

Any qualified mechanic can go over the pre-event safety inspection — checking for obvious signs of wear, leaks, or safety concerns.

Hmmm, can i really justify the 285 for learning how to drive better(hopefully) and get the chance to drive around Watkins Glen

No, the question is "how can you NOT justify it?" 

[deadlydave]

One of these days i'll get my learn on at the glenn.  the bmw needs a battery tie-down that isn't a bungee cord first. 

[Iant333]

How exactly would you even fail the safety inspection besides something obvious like not having all your lugnuts on or flames coming out from under the hood?

[Pitcrew]

My tiny little leaks here and there(power steering cap, tiny coolant leak,.....and my exhaust.....scared the cats away... )

[nubs1094]

I just looked up about the insurance and it says that "A 10% deductible ($2,000 minimum and $5,000 maximum) will apply for any claims you might have." Tell me that's not bullshit, when you pay at least $90 on up to over 215 if your car is worth 33k and etc... etc... The only thing it's really good for is if you total

[EJEvo]

How exactly would you even fail the safety inspection besides something obvious like not having all your lugnuts on or flames coming out from under the hood?

Thin brake pads, obvious fluid leaks, brake light out, bad wheel bearing, cracked windshield, loose battery, obviously old brake fluid, dried out radiator hose, non-compliant helmet, etc, etc - all can get you sent packing.     Reaching speeds of up to 140mph is serious driving - if a car has a weakness, the race track is not the place to find out whether it's serious or not. The stresses the track will put on your car will likely magnify any issue it has now.  Inspections are meant as much for the other participants' safety as it is for yours.  You'll be at the limit of your skills and your car's abilities, with others depending on you and your car to be predictable and reliable.



You want to make sure you've done everything you can to prevent these sorts of incidents, since you're relying on the same courtesy from the other participants.  You have to realize that your mechanical failure can lead to not only your embrace of the armco or tire wall, but to others impacting the wall backwards at speed and ending up with a portion of your car being delivered to you in a bucket.  If you dump fluids, someone else may be following close behind and get caught up in your incident. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejevo8/sets/72157602234557897/


There's another aspect to it, regarding ensuring your experience will be a good one.  If you fail the inspection, there's no refund.  If you have mechanical issues during the event and can't get out for your assigned session, there is no refund.  This isn't meant to scare anyone away from coming out, but it is meant to underscore the importance of making sure your car will pass the track inspection without a problem.  You'll have a much more enjoyable time if you're sure your car is in as good mechanical shape as possible.  It's way more fun to be out on track than to be running around trying to beg tools or find spare parts in town.



Track days are amazing - they can almost be life-changing in the amount of thrill they give you.  But it's important for everyone who participates to take their own safety and the safety of others seriously.  Don't skimp on the inspection check list.  Make sure all of the items listed are performed as specified, and you'll go a long way towards making your "luck" work in your favor at the track.

[Pitcrew]

Thin brake pads, obvious fluid leaks, brake light out, bad wheel bearing, cracked windshield, loose battery, obviously old brake fluid, dried out radiator hose, non-compliant helmet, etc, etc - all can get you sent packing.     Reaching speeds of up to 140mph is serious driving - if a car has a weakness, the race track is not the place to find out whether it's serious or not. The stresses the track will put on your car will likely magnify any issue it has now.  Inspections are meant as much for the other participants' safety as it is for yours.  You'll be at the limit of your skills and your car's abilities, with others depending on you and your car to be predictable and reliable...

With that said.....looks like i got some work to do....

[Zeeeek]

With that said.....looks like i got some work to do....

Well we can't all drive Evos.

[deadlydave]

With that said.....looks like i got some work to do....

140mph?  E30 couldn't do that if it was dropped out of a plane!     EJ has valid points though. 

[Cossey]

Too many people worry about crashing out and such at these events. It's not racing it's learning how to drive your car like you've wanted to, in the safest most controlled environment you can do it in. The most important thing you can do as a novice is listen to your instructor and just learn the track. As the day progresses, you WILL get faster. I was scared shitless my first event ever which was at LRP. It was raining earlier in the day and the track wasn't fully dry yet, but I managed pretty well.

No one needs a race car or anything for these events. Just be able to pass tech and I recommend a good track pad (Carbotech XP8 is what I used after my 1st event), good fluid, and tires with good tread on them. That's all.

[Pitcrew]

I mean getting my car able to be used...

Track brake pads....Hawk HPS pads qualify for that? 

[SideshowBob]

HPS is the street pad? It will get you buy but HP+ is much better iirc.

[Zeeeek]

I mean getting my car able to be used...

Track brake pads....Hawk HPS pads qualify for that?

Basically, no, both HPS and HP+ are street pads. (track Hawks) They don't work at the higher temperatures that result from hauling a car down from triple digits lap after lap for 20 to 30 minute intervals. Now some people will claim that they will suffice. Those people must not brake on the track. In my experience, my first event, I sufficed with street pads because of an ordering screw-up, and went through an entire set of expensive street pads over two days at the Glen, with pedal to the floor amount of braking the entire time. Less safe and fun, more expensive than using the correct pads.

[deadlydave]

Track brake pads....Hawk HPS pads qualify for that? 

Nope.  We need a big 'ol pad discussion topic in the technical section for what pads are good for each category.